Explanation
On October 22, 2019, petitioners Christina L. Gonzaga, Tyrone Spence, Udell Hollins, Dolores A. Williams, Irene Gil Llamas, and Jabarisidiki Gregg filed with the City Clerk a pre-circulation copy of a petition for a proposed ordinance, titled “To authorize and direct the City Auditor to establish an Energy Conservation and Energy Efficiency Fund and a Clean Energy Education and Training Fund and to take the necessary actions to transfer $10,000,000 from the general fund of the City of Columbus to each of these funds for a total of $20,000,000 for the appropriate purposes; and to authorize and direct the City Auditor to take the necessary actions to transfer $10,000,000 from the general fund of the City of Columbus for the purpose of funding a minority business development program; to establish a Columbus Clean Energy Partnership Fund; and to authorize and direct the City Auditor to take the necessary actions to transfer of $57,000,000 from the general fund of the City of Columbus for the purpose of funding an electricity subsidy program for residents of the City of Columbus; to establish a transparency and accountability reporting requirement for the City Auditor for all uses of funds in section [sic] 1,2,3, and 4’ to declare this Ordinance to be an emergency measure and shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.” Following this, on October 16, 2020, petitioners filed with the City Clerk a petition for said ordinance. Petitioners filed 444 part-petitions containing 10,128 signatures.
On November 6, 2020, City Attorney Zach Klein advised Columbus City Council, through a review of the petition as required by Section 42-9 of Charter, that the petition as submitted was deficient as to form.
On November 9, 2020, the Franklin County Board of Elections 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 exceeds the st...
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