Title
To oppose passage of the proposed petition initiated ordinance which would enact Chapter 107 of the Columbus City Codes, 1959, and commit taxpayer dollars to fund political campaigns.
Body
WHEREAS, on October 27, 2012, a petition committee consisting of five electors of the City of Columbus filed a petition with the Auditor of the City of Columbus to allow for the circulation of petitions and gathering of signatures to forward to Columbus City Council a proposed ordinance that would enact new Columbus City Code sections and commit taxpayer dollars to fund political campaigns; and
WHEREAS, after more than one year, on November 7, 2013, the petition committee submitted to the City Clerk petitions containing signatures of Columbus voters purporting to support placement of the petition initiated ordinance before Columbus electors, of which, less than half were determined valid by the Franklin County Board of Elections; and
WHEREAS, at the time the Clerk was required by the Columbus City Charter to determine the sufficiency of the signatures contained on the petitions, the total number of valid signatures equated to less than five percent of the total number of voters who participated in the last general municipal election to be certified by the Franklin County Board of Elections; and
WHEREAS, despite the fact that, at the time the Clerk was required by the Charter to determine the sufficiency of the signatures contained on the petitions, 2013 general municipal election results were not yet certified, the Clerk determined the number of signatures contained on the petitions sufficient based on the exceptionally lower 2013 estimated voter turnout which resulted in a far lesser standard for sufficiency than would have otherwise been required; and
WHEREAS, while simultaneously determining the sufficiency of the number of valid signatures contained on the petitions, the Clerk forwarded the petition language itself to the Columbus City Attorney for review...
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