Explanation
On June 19, 2019, petitioners Josefa Soto, Connie M. Hammond, William M. Lyons, Gregory Thomas Pace, Karyn A. Deibel, and Sandra M. Bolzenius filed with the City Clerk a pre-circulation copy of a petition for a proposed amendment to the Charter of the City of Columbus, titled “To establish a community bill of rights for water, air, and soil protection and to prohibit fossil fuel extraction and related activities and projects.” Following this, on June 18, 2020, petitioners filed with the City Clerk a petition for said amendment. Petitioners filed 257 part-petitions containing 8,991 signatures.
On June 28, 2019, the City Attorney advised this Council that the subject petition complied with Section 42-2 of the City Charter, which sets forth the requirements as to form for each petition for a proposal initiated by a citizen.
On June 30, 2020, the Franklin County Board of Election certified its examination of the part-petitions, as required by Section 42-9 of the City Charter. The Board of Elections found that the total number of valid signatures failed to achieve the standard as defined in Section 45 of the Charter (“equal to not less than ten percent of the total vote cast at the last preceding municipal election”).
Based on the foregoing, this Council finds that the petitioners’ failure to comply with the requirements of Section 45 of the City Charter is fatal to the petition. As such, this Council finds that the petition for an initiated charter amendment is not sufficient and shall not be placed on the ballot.
Title
To find not sufficient a petition for a proposed amendment to the Charter of the City of Columbus, titled “To establish a community bill of rights for water, air, and soil protection and to prohibit fossil fuel extraction and related activities and projects;” and to declare an emergency.
Body
WHEREAS, the Charter of the City of Columbus vests with the people of the City of Columbus the right to initiate Charter amendments by pe...
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