You Cannot Sell Rights
Dear Ted, Lisa and Gary:
I appreciate your comments. Whether any city council member or I personally agree with the five referendums is irrelevant. I voted against approval of these plats, but had I voted for approval and honestly believed that such conduct was int eh best interest of the city, I would still refuse to rescind the ordinances and pass them under the emergency powers.
When faced with a council decision that they believed to be detrimental to the community a substantial number of citizens signed petitions to provide for a referendum on these decisions at the next election. Under our constitution, Ohio citizens have the right to use referendum when they feel the elected officials do not represent the views of the community and wish to place ordinances passed by the council before the entire electorate for review. This is fundamental and any elected official who does not have any more respect for constitutional principles than to circumvent the very rights of the people who entrusted them with power is perhaps not an appropriate person to hold elected office.
Against this right many have either espoused the politics of fear or appeal to economic benefit. I would reject the argument that we should circumvent our citizens?’ rights in order to protect a good deal. No deal is worth the denigration of the rights of the citizens to question the decisions of even an elected government by the use of procedures protected by our state constitution. To argue that we should abandon principles because a developer attempts to bully our citizens into abandoning rights by threats of litigation or has offered us more money as an enticement to bargain away these rights is a position that any thoughtful person should be ashamed. It is if we would somehow believe that Judas behaved correctly if we were told that his betrayal was induced by his fear of beating at the hands of the Romans or because he was able to bargain his way up to forty pieces of silver.
I hope that you and the rest of the people who are more concerned with these issues come to council and make your opinions known. As Benjamin Franklin noted: ''Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.'' Whether you agree with the referendums or not is unimportant. What is important is that the rights of the people of Pickerington should neither be bullied nor bought from them
By David Shaver
Dear Ted, Lisa and Gary:
I appreciate your comments. Whether any city council member or I personally agree with the five referendums is irrelevant. I voted against approval of these plats, but had I voted for approval and honestly believed that such conduct was int eh best interest of the city, I would still refuse to rescind the ordinances and pass them under the emergency powers.
When faced with a council decision that they believed to be detrimental to the community a substantial number of citizens signed petitions to provide for a referendum on these decisions at the next election. Under our constitution, Ohio citizens have the right to use referendum when they feel the elected officials do not represent the views of the community and wish to place ordinances passed by the council before the entire electorate for review. This is fundamental and any elected official who does not have any more respect for constitutional principles than to circumvent the very rights of the people who entrusted them with power is perhaps not an appropriate person to hold elected office.
Against this right many have either espoused the politics of fear or appeal to economic benefit. I would reject the argument that we should circumvent our citizens?’ rights in order to protect a good deal. No deal is worth the denigration of the rights of the citizens to question the decisions of even an elected government by the use of procedures protected by our state constitution. To argue that we should abandon principles because a developer attempts to bully our citizens into abandoning rights by threats of litigation or has offered us more money as an enticement to bargain away these rights is a position that any thoughtful person should be ashamed. It is if we would somehow believe that Judas behaved correctly if we were told that his betrayal was induced by his fear of beating at the hands of the Romans or because he was able to bargain his way up to forty pieces of silver.
I hope that you and the rest of the people who are more concerned with these issues come to council and make your opinions known. As Benjamin Franklin noted: ''Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.'' Whether you agree with the referendums or not is unimportant. What is important is that the rights of the people of Pickerington should neither be bullied nor bought from them
By David Shaver
