The Case Against Madison Gesiotto Gilbert

“In Northeast Ohio, only Emilia Sykes has the experience, determination and seriousness to lead. As a former Ohio House Minority Leader who’s worked across the aisle to get things done, Emilia already knows what it will take to deliver for Ohioans in Congress. And unlike her opponent, Emilia is focused on delivering solutions for families, workers, and small businesses, rather than spreading divisive lies on TV,” said DCCC Chairman Sean Patrick Maloney.

To: Interested Parties
From: Abel Iraola, DCCC Regional Press Secretary
Date: May 3, 2022
RE: The Case Against Madison Gesiotto Gilbert

Madison Gesiotto Gilbert has made her name as an extremist commentator moving from job to job and platform to platform looking for new ways to enrich herself off radical, divisive rhetoric. With no record of helping families, workers or anyone in Ohio, she has made it clear she doesn’t have what it takes to be an effective, independent leader for Northeast Ohio in the U.S. Congress.

Former Ohio House Minority Leader Emilia Sykes stands in stark contrast to Gesiotto Gilbert. Rather than spending her time spreading a message of division and extremism, Sykes has been a local leader and passionate public servant who rose up to serve as State House Minority Leader. During her time in the legislature, Emilia Sykes has worked with both sides to build consensus and deliver real solutions for Ohio, while opposing extremist legislation like a near-total abortion ban. Sykes led efforts to pass a bipartisan bill ensuring safety for survivors of domestic violence and oversaw one of the most bipartisan legislative sessions. Emilia has worked to provide tax relief for Ohio’s families and fought for higher wages for teachers and healthcare workers. In Congress, she would be laser-focused on making life better for Northeast Ohioans by working to lower costs, make health care more affordable and accessible, fighting for safer communities, and to protect reproductive freedom.

Ohioans can count on Emilia Sykes to continue delivering for them – just as she already has as one of the most prominent young leaders in Ohio.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING

Akron Rep. Emilia Sykes enters race for competitive 13th Congressional District [Akron Beacon Journal, 1/18/22]

“Ohio Rep. Emilia Sykes will run for the open the 13th Congressional District, giving Democrats a high-profile contender in what’s shaping up to be a competitive race … she cast herself a fighter who could leverage her bipartisan work in Columbus to find common ground with congressional Republicans … Sykes was first elected to her Akron district in 2014 and became the first Black female lawmaker under the age of 30 to serve in the Legislature …

“In the Ohio House, Sykes got a bill signed into law that allows victims of dating violence to get protective orders, pushed to make sure Black Ohioans got needed resources during the pandemic and served on the Ohio Redistricting Commission. If elected to Congress, she said she aims to tackle a range of issues including health care, rising costs and access to high-speed internet.”

“According to the Legislative Service Commission, 40% of the bills passed by the House during Sykes’ first year as minority leader were bipartisan, almost double the percentage during the previous four years. Even before she became minority leader, Sykes managed to get Republican leadership to make one of her bills – HB 1, which helps victims of dating violence obtain civil protective orders – a top priority.”

Madison Gesiotto Gilbert: Not Serious Enough for Primetime

Focused On Division and Conspiracies, Not Solutions
Gesiotto Gilbert’s career has largely revolved around promoting divisive and often misleading rhetoric on various extremist right-wing platforms. What she does not have to show: any efforts to improve the lives of Northeast Ohioans. While Gesiotto Gilbert has spent her time airing her controversial views on various topics, defending insurrectionists and spreading conspiracy theories, she’s dedicated precious little of it to talking about issues that people in her district are facing, or how she would deliver solutions while in Congress. Of the American Rescue Plan, which helped save Ohio’s economy and get it back on track, Madison Gesiotto Gilbert was deeply critical – all while her family and employers benefited from thousands in PPP loans.  It’s clear that after already changing districts once this cycle, Madison Gesiotto Gilbert is only interested in getting to Congress for one person: herself.

Ready To Join Other Extremists in Congress
Gesiotto Gilbert has made it clear that if she were elected to Congress, she would be ready to stand with the GOP’s squad of obstructionist extremists – not moderates ready to work together and deliver for their communities. She criticized the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that will see Ohio receive historic and much-needed investments for the state’s roads, bridges, highways, electric grid, and more. And she hasn’t said a word about Congress’s bipartisan efforts to boost American competitiveness to better compete with China or efforts to limit the cost of insulin to $35 per month and help bring down health care costs for families in Ohio. Gesiotto Gilbert also minimized the concerns of Black Americans regarding police violence, saying they were like “the boy who cried wolf” when it came to criticisms of the criminal justice system, showing just how far she is willing to go to cater to the MAGA base.

A Threat To People’s Livelihoods & Reproductive Rights
Gesiotto Gilbert has criticized her own party for not doing more to repeal health care protections enshrined in the Affordable Care Act, which would have ended coverage for millions of Americans including over 500,000 Ohioans. There is no doubt that if Madison Gesiotto Gilbert were in Congress, attacking Americans’ health care would be among her top priorities. She’s also promoted dangerous cuts to Medicare and Social Security that would have a devastating impact on families and workers across Ohio, and has promised to be another radical extremist voice in Congress against preserving the reproductive rights that so many Americans depend on. In fact, her views on choice are so extreme, she supported Ohio’s proposed six-week abortion ban without exceptions for rape or incest, and said that a leaked report about Roe v. Wade’s imminent demise was “Amazing, just amazing news!!!”

THE PATH TO VICTORY

The difference between Emilia Sykes and Madison Gesiotto Gilbert is clear. Former House Minority Leader Sykes has a record of putting in the work of delivering for Northeast Ohio while Gesiotto Gilbert has focused on doing media appearances to spout divisive and extremist rhetoric, promoting conflict and helping no one. Families, workers, and businesses in Northeast Ohio need a representative in Congress who is proven, ready to lead, and ready to work across the aisle and do what it takes to deliver for them. Emilia Sykes will be that representative.

The new OH-13 takes on a different configuration from its predecessor and is centered around the Akron-Canton area, taking in all of Summit County, northern parts of Stark County, and a small part of Portage County. In 2020, President Biden received 51.46% of the vote in the most recent iteration of Ohio’s 13th Congressional District, a slight improvement over Secretary Clinton’s performance in 2016.

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