CH voters to decide on proposed amendments to city charter

Cleveland Heights residents will be asked to vote on two proposed amendments to the Cleveland Heights City Charter when they go to the polls on Nov. 8.

Ballot language for the proposed amendments, Issues 51 and 52, is as follows:

  • Issue 51: Shall Article VII, Sections 3, 4 and 5 of the Charter of the City of Cleveland Heights be amended to change the candidate petition filing deadline from 60 to 90 days prior to the election, and change the period in which electors may sign candidate petitions from between 60 and 90 days to between 90 and 180 days prior to the election; and change the filing deadline for write-in candidates from 40 to 72 days prior to the election, and the deadline to file an acceptance of their nomination to office from 55 to 85 days prior to the election?

  • Issue 52: Shall Article VIII, Sections 3 and 4 of the Charter of the City of Cleveland Heights be amended to change the filing deadline from 40 to 90 days for candidates seeking to succeed those members of Council whose removal is sought in the event that a recall election is to be held for more than three members of council; and to change the time frame from 40 to 90 days to 60 to 120 days for which a recall election, or a question as a result of initiative or referendum petitions shall be submitted for a vote of the electors of the city whenever it becomes the duty of the Council to call such an election?

According to the Heights Chapter of the League of Women Voters, “These ordinances stem from requests from the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections (BOE) that the city amend its municipal candidate petition and write-in filing deadlines and eliminate existing possible ambiguity concerning the means by which a person may become a candidate for council. The BOE also requested revision of procedures concerning write-in candidates as well as revisions to ensure that all registered voters have the opportunity to vote for initiative, referendum, and recall petitions deemed valid under the city’s charter. These amendments will bring Cleveland Heights into uniformity with other municipalities within the county so that the BOE may meet its federal requirements.”

At the Aug. 1 Cleveland Heights City Council meeting, council members unanimously voted to submit the amendments to the Board of Elections for placement on the November ballot. To view council's discussion of these amendments, watch the city's YouTube video coverage of the Aug. 1 meeting at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnWZ8g76R_c.

Kim Sergio Inglis

Kim Sergio Inglis is editor-in-chief of the Heights Observer. She lives in the Shaker Farm Historic District in Cleveland Heights.

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Volume 9, Issue 11, Posted 12:44 PM, 11.01.2016