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Members of Raise Up Cleveland and the Service Employees International Union hold a rally in front of a McDonald's fast-food restaurant on E. 30 Street and Carnegie Avenue in support of raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour on Thursday, April 14, 2016.

(Lisa DeJong, The Plain Dealer)

Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson and Council President Kevin Kelley urge leaders to oppose a Cleveland-only $15 minimum wage. Congress members place bets over the NBA Finals. Tom Morello's new political supergroup is coming for the RNC. Read more in today's Ohio Politics Roundup, brought to you by Robin Goist, filling in for Henry J. Gomez.

The fight against 15: Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson and Council President Kevin Kelley are asking state and national leaders to oppose the proposal to raise the city's minimum wage to $15 an hour, cleveland.com's Leila Atassi writes.

"Nineteen letters dated June 3 were sent to members of Congress, state legislators and others, including Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, who is now running for the U.S. Senate," Atassi writes. The letters argue that the minimum wage proposal, which would affect only Cleveland, would put the city at an economic disadvantage and result in disinvestment and job loss.

Sen. Sherrod Brown received a letter. He issued a statement that echoed what he said earlier on the issue, but not taking a position on the Cleveland-only proposal: "I believe we need to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour nationwide, and as a Clevelander, it makes me proud to see my neighbors pushing for a better wage for local workers," said Brown, who sponsored a federal bill to phase in a $15 minimum wage by 2020. He added that he hoped city leaders and the community would work together "to determine the best path forward in order to lift workers into the middle class and grow Cleveland's economy."

Brown's Benefit Bank: Brown said Friday in a speech at the City Club of Cleveland that he wants part-time workers, freelancers and contractors to receive benefits from their employers, cleveland.com's Mary Kilpatrick writes.

"His 'Benefits Bank' proposal would allow these workers to receive sick leave and retirement money from their employers, and have taxes withheld. Workers could keep their accrued benefits as they move from job to job," Kilpatrick writes.

Brown acknowledged that his proposal is unlikely to pass soon because of the Republican majority in Congress as well as the fact that it's a presidential election year.

Ohio Congress members go #ALLin: The Cavs' loss to the Golden State Warriors didn't stop Cleveland-area members of Congress from placing bets last week on the series outcome, cleveland.com's Sabrina Eaton writes.

Wadsworth Rep. Jim Renacci, who was in the news last week for attributing RNC safety concerns to media hype over Donald Trump, tweeted Friday at California Rep. Mark DeSaulnier, conceding that Cleveland will "give" them Game 1, but that their wager is still on. The prize? Great Lakes Brewing Company beer or California wine.

Youngstown-area Rep. Tim Ryan and California Rep. Jared Huffman agreed to a bet Thursday on Twitter, which will also earn the winner a case of Cleveland beer or some California vino.

Rage against the RNC: Newly formed political activist supergroup Prophets of Rage are headed to Cleveland next month "to cause a ruckus," cleveland.com's Joey Morona writes.

"The supergroup - though band member Tom Morello told Rolling Stone he prefers the term 'elite task force of revolutionary musicians determined to confront this mountain of election year bull----,' - is made up of Morello and two of his former Rage Against the Machine bandmates along with Public Enemy's Chuck D and Cypress Hill's B-Real," Morona writes.

Morello told Bloomberg Politics that the RNC "will be a perfect place for a band like Prophets of Rage to cause a ruckus, and we will be there on the streets, in the field."

Obama and Sanders on Social Security: President Barack Obama said Wednesday that the decline of pensions and the difficulty of saving for retirement makes Social Security "more important than ever," cleveland.com's Sabrina Eaton writes.

Obama said that Social Security should be more generous so that future retirees can receive increased benefits, adding that the wealthiest Americans, including himself, can afford to contribute more.

Sen. Bernie Sanders' campaign quickly jumped on Obama's remarks by releasing a statement, CNN's Athena Jones writes.

"I applaud President Obama for making it clear that it is time to expand Social Security benefits," Sanders said in a statement, adding, "Millions of seniors, disabled veterans and people with disabilities are falling further and further behind on $10,000 or $11,000 a year Social Security."

Optimistic Ohioans: According to a poll conducted last month, Ohio voters are more optimistic about the future of the Buckeye State than voters in the rest of the country, cleveland.com's Jackie Borchardt writes.

About 52 percent of Ohio voters said the state is going in the right direction, with only about 26 percent disagreeing. National polls show that 63 percent of Americans feel that the country is moving in the wrong direction, while 30 percent said the U.S. is on the right path.

So goes the nation? Cleveland.com's Rich Exner has launched his series on Ohio presidential election results through the ages, which starts with the 1960 election between Richard Nixon and John Kennedy.

"Though winning the White House, John F. Kennedy lost in Ohio to Richard Nixon in the 1960 presidential election. Kennedy is the last presidential candidate to win nationally without also winning Ohio," Exner writes.

In the 1964 election, Lyndon Johnson won Ohio and the White House against Barry Goldwater. "The victory margin of 25.9 percentage points was wider than any other presidential election in Ohio since then," Exner writes.

Cleveland on TV: The combined international audience watching this summer's events in Cleveland will be immense, The Plain Dealer's Mark Dawidziak writes. National TV news operations will be covering the RNC, and now with the Cavaliers in the NBA Finals, "The Forest City" will be on tubes across the world this summer.

"...Television will provide the ringside seat for anyone wondering what will happen and how," Dawidziak writes. "Trump's candidacy has boosted the ratings for news channels across the spectrum, so, like him or hate him, the news producers love him and love covering him. The Cleveland crescendo should be deafening, with TV going wall to wall with coverage of the four-day event."

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