councilperson joe cimperman -Cleveland’s Domestic Partnership Registry! - next Thursday, May 7th - cleveland city hall & more

Message from Councilman Cimperman:

We are anticipating hundreds of couples – gay and straight! – to come down to City Hall to declare their love and dedication to each other in this groundbreaking, pioneering, and open-to-all event.  This is a chance for all unmarried couples who share a residence to record their partnership and celebrate their commitment.  Please join me on the steps of City Hall at noon for this community gathering.

·         Beginning at 8 am on May 7th, you and your partner can register your relationship at City Hall (601 Lakeside Ave, Cleveland) using the attached form.  Please note that this form must be notarized; while there will be a notary available at City Hall on May 7th, we recommend completing and having notarized your registration beforehand in order to expedite the process.  Local banks, attorneys’ offices, etc, provide notary services to the public.

·         The fee for registering is $55, and cash, check, and credit/debit card will all be accepted as payment, although cash is preferred for the sake of speed.  Please note that if this fee is prohibitively expensive, contact me to discuss the possibility of other arrangements.

·         Red-shirted volunteers will be there to guide you through the process, from the time you arrive on the front steps of City Hall until you walk out with your domestic registry certification.  Also, due to the overwhelming response we are anticipating, there will be a dedicated security line at the front door of City Hall just for domestic registry participants.  Volunteers will provide wristbands to participants to access this line, located to the right of the main security checkpoint.

·         Parking will be in great demand around City Hall on Thursday, so I strongly recommend using the Muni Lot on Marginal Road.  Or, take advantage of the free RTA B-Line downtown trolley. 

Not only will May 7th be the first day for you and your partner to register your relationship, we also have events planned all day to celebrate you and all of the hard work that went into the Domestic Partnership Registry:

·         From 12 noon until 2:00 pm, a cross section of Northeast Ohio’s public and interfaith leaders will gather with couples, families and supporters on the front steps of City Hall to commemorate the spirit of the day, enjoy live music, and learn about exciting plans for future efforts.  Open to all, whether you are registering or not.

·         At 7 pm, join us at Pilgrim Congregational United Church of Christ in Tremont (2592 W 14 St) for a celebratory service and worship.

·         A festive gathering at Bounce/Union Station (2814 Detroit Ave) following the service to cap off the day’s events.

If you and your partner intend on registering next Thursday, and I sure hope you do, I would only ask one thing of you in advance­: Please visit the website of our partner in this effort, the LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland, to RSVP.  Simply visit [http://www.lgcsc.org/thecenter/300couples.php [1]] to sign-up. And even if you’re not planning on registering, it would be great if you could forward this email to anyone you think might be interested in taking part!

I hope you are as excited as I am for next Thursday.  Your support and participation will make this a day of love, commitment, and companionship unseen before in Cleveland!

Sincerely,

Joe Cimperman

Office: (216) 664.2691
Fax: (216) 664-3837
ward13 [at] clevelandcitycouncil [dot] org

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