Pickerington Area Taxpayers Alliance

Solutions continued


Instead of a recall petition we could call for one or more of the council member to stand for election in say 90 days. Maybe after six months in office we could circulate a petition and demand ?“Council man Joe to stand for election in 90 days.?” Obviously if you called for a new election you would need to have someone available to run in the new election against the seated council person. That takes the re-appointment process away from the very ones we are trying to rid ourselves of. This would need to be a city charter amendment and it could be placed on the ballot by using a citizen?’s lead initiative.


OK, that takes care of some of our local government problems and protects us in the future. Now I still have the Charter Amendment to prohibit out council from passing any zoning ordinance or resolution as an emergency. I think that should still be placed on the ballot. It would protect us from any future contract zoning like what has happened with the Diley Farm and the Painter/Kohler Farms.

I believe the council is dragging its feet in regards to this moratorium on housing starts until we develop a growth management plan. We could circulate an initiative to stop residential building for two or three years until they have a growth plan in place with the Township.


To recap:

1. Instead of Recall; Call for new elections.
2. Financial disclosure on all elected leaders and including the Manager.
3. Term limits
4. Inhibit passing zoning ordinances and resolutions as emergency.

These four initiatives would be Charter amendments and if we started this month and turned the petitions in by say March first they could be verified by mid-March Council then would be obligated to place them on the ballot in 90 to 120 days (June-July range). We could delay a little and they could place in on a ballot in August.

The housing moratorium would be an ordnance and it would appear on the November Ballot.

If we got this passed in June we could call for some of the remaining council persons to stand for election again next November or even in January. We don?’t have to file these initiatives for charter amendments until we have the signatures.

Sorry to be so windy but there would need to be a concerted effort to get these issues on the ballot. So it will be up to the citizens of Pickerington to decide if we are going to wait and see or do we all do something this year to change our government?’s direction?

Help with my typing

If we do this someone please help with the typing!!I transposed letters in my name. Sorry.

Opinions and Questions

Ted,

I would like to address some of the points you have brought up. Some to offer my opinion and some to just ask questions. While I have not been convinced that a recall is prudent at this time, before I formed that opinion I listened to both sides. I heard people speak about the merits and I heard people speak about the shortcomings. I have also read with an open mind the postings on this site and letters in the papers on the subject both pro and con.

I agree wholeheartedly that a recall ?– appointment ?– recall cycle would be self perpetuating once started. I don?’t believe the citizens of the community stand to gain significant rewards by what I perceive would be the resultant and ongoing scandal of such a cycle. I tried to find a softer word than scandal to use there because some of the pro-recall people I have spoken with said there was nothing scandalous about democracy in action. Do I believe that some of the elected officials in the community as a whole need to be replaced? Certainly, and I am not speaking about just the City. I too want to see democracy in action ?– full action. That is why I hope that instead of pursuing recall any further, the citizens of this community, as a whole, redirect their efforts and energies towards working together to seek qualified and motivated candidates and support them for office in the November election. I believe that if the right people are elected and supported after they take office, and based on the experience this community has gained from previous Council appointments, the cycle of regurgitating the same like-minded people through Council will come to an end.

The incumbents have shown in the past that they will be well financed this November. They have shown they have access to unlimited resources other than financial to help them get reelected. However, one Councilman has shown that money isn?’t everything. One Councilman got elected on hard work, a shoestring budget and a groundswell of grass roots support. Historically, incumbents have an easier time getting reelected than challengers have getting elected. That again was proven to not always be the case by the same man. The same level of effort by the same people that supported this relatively unknown candidate and the citizens whose respect, admiration and support he has gained since taking office should be able to produce the same results in the election.

Now on to your comments about regaining control of our local government. Your first suggestion was term limits. Not a bad idea but it has a weakness. Well, maybe more than one but this one springs to mind first. A prominent citizen in our community (who is very like-minded to you and I) said this the other night and it echoes what I have said in the past on this subject. As a newcomer in a four year term, you spend at least the first year or year and a half learning the ropes. Then you have at best the next 18 months beginning to become productive. Then the campaigning starts over again. If you are reelected to your second and final term, you are productive for perhaps the next three years and then you start campaigning again - this time for who you hope to be your replacement. So you end up being effective for perhaps four and a half years of the eight years you are in office.

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Opinions and Questions cont.

However, on the upside of two-term limits, you are saddled with unscrupulous characters for eight years maximum. So term limits can be effective, it is just that the number of terms might need further thought.

I got a little confused about the part where you are asking Councilmen to run for office on demand. Are you saying that at any point through their term they might have to get reelected? I think that just from a campaign finance aspect that could be quite cumbersome. Additionally, funding a special election on a repeated basis could prove burdening on our City budget. Also, don?’t you think the voters could get confused and could start to lose interest if they had to get out and vote that often with new names and faces in front of them all the time? Like I said, this part of your posting confuses me so you might be able to clarify.

Financial disclosure? You and I have talked about this in the past and it is a great idea. I can?’t imagine there is an elected official in the community who could come out against that one, especially in an election year. However, I would hope to take it one step further and ask that the higher ranking hired officials also file disclosure. People who are in managerial and financial positions would be a must. People who are entrusted and empowered with public funds should all have to disclose. Since Dublin already has the law, we could request a copy of their Charter through FOIA and have the verbiage ready for adding it to ours.

Emergency zoning ordinances or resolutions should not be permitted. Emergency actions are reactive. Our Council should be much more proactive. They should have a better growth plan that would preclude emergency passages by just sticking to the plan. We can learn from the zoning instances you mention and never repeat those mistakes again.

So for my recap:

1. I am not in favor of a recall at this time. I think in the long run it would do more harm than good. I believe it would be scandalous (yes, I looked it up in Webster?’s) and we don?’t need to subject our community to the discomfiture (is that a better word?). If you want them out of office, vote them out.
2. I truly admire the people who have met to consider a recall. Many of these people I know personally and I have found them to be very upstanding and solid citizens and nothing like some of the elected officials have portrayed them. If I was a candidate for office, there would be no group of dedicated, passionate, knowledgeable and resourceful people I would rather have behind me and whomever they choose to back in November will be fortunate and will win.
3. Term limits have merit and shortcomings. It should be investigated further.
4. Financial disclosure is a must. I don?’t think it should be limited to City Council and the City Manager. I think all elected positions in the community should be subject to disclosure and hired positions that are entrusted with spending public money.
5. Zoning should not be done by emergency.

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