County charter proponents lose first appeal
Group not giving up hope to get their issue before voters
Members of Sustainable Medina County say they have not given up their fight to place a county charter issue on the ballot. Photo by GLENN WOJCIAK
MEDINA – Proponents of placing a county charter issue on the ballot lost another round when visiting Judge Peter Handwork ruled against them in Medina County Common Pleas Court.
Members of Sustainable Medina County, the grassroots group trying to enact a new county charter, had filed an appeal in court after the Board of Elections voted not to certify their petitions to place the issue on the November ballot.
Handwork heard arguments in the case July 18 and affirmed the decision of the Board of Elections that same day.
Handwork said in his ruling: “The court further orders that the petition is invalid on the separate but equally valid grounds that, 1) the petition fails to adequately provide for an alternative form of government, and 2) the petition attempts to exercise control over the administration of state and federal law in a manner that is not within the authority of a county to act.”
Judge Handwork’s ruling may not be the final word in this issue. The lawyer for Sustainable Medina County, Terry Lodge, said a protest will be filed with the Ohio Secretary of State’s office, another step in a process that could lead to an appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court.
Lodge argues the . . . “conclusion that the petition does not adequately provide for an alternative form of county government, and that it contains provisions that are outside the initiative power because they are not within a county’s authority to enact, and not supported by law, are arbitrary, capricious and otherwise are not lawful.”
This is the third straight year that Sustainable Medina County has attempted an initiative drive aimed at giving Medina County voters an opportunity to adopt a charter form of government. The initiative was killed in each of the last two years mainly by rulings from the Ohio Secretary of State that the proposed charter did not meet requirements of the Ohio Revised Code.
This year, the Medina County Board of Elections voted not to certify the charter petitions on the recommendation of Assistant County Prosecutor Mike Lyons. Lyons said the charter proposal should be rejected on grounds similar to those spelled out in Handwork’s court order.
The charter proposed by Sustainable Medina County is similar to the ones suggested in 2015 and 2016 with minor refinements aimed at answering the objections raised by Secretary of State Jon Husted the last two years.
If enacted, the new charter would not replace the county commissioners and other elected officials, but would create home rule provisions and a so-called bill of rights that charter proponents think could empower elected officials to regulate large pipeline projects and natural gas wells that threaten the environment.
Provisions in the charter state that it puts residents’ preferences above the preferences of industry and special interests and the state’s actions to make those special interests impossible to challenge.
The charter also states it extends the right to self-government that the Ohio Constitution guarantees, but that is currently prevented due to restrictions on local authority over drilling.
Members of Sustainable Medina County, the grassroots group trying to enact a new county charter, had filed an appeal in court after the Board of Elections voted not to certify their petitions to place the issue on the November ballot.
Handwork heard arguments in the case July 18 and affirmed the decision of the Board of Elections that same day.
Handwork said in his ruling: “The court further orders that the petition is invalid on the separate but equally valid grounds that, 1) the petition fails to adequately provide for an alternative form of government, and 2) the petition attempts to exercise control over the administration of state and federal law in a manner that is not within the authority of a county to act.”
Judge Handwork’s ruling may not be the final word in this issue. The lawyer for Sustainable Medina County, Terry Lodge, said a protest will be filed with the Ohio Secretary of State’s office, another step in a process that could lead to an appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court.
Lodge argues the . . . “conclusion that the petition does not adequately provide for an alternative form of county government, and that it contains provisions that are outside the initiative power because they are not within a county’s authority to enact, and not supported by law, are arbitrary, capricious and otherwise are not lawful.”
This is the third straight year that Sustainable Medina County has attempted an initiative drive aimed at giving Medina County voters an opportunity to adopt a charter form of government. The initiative was killed in each of the last two years mainly by rulings from the Ohio Secretary of State that the proposed charter did not meet requirements of the Ohio Revised Code.
This year, the Medina County Board of Elections voted not to certify the charter petitions on the recommendation of Assistant County Prosecutor Mike Lyons. Lyons said the charter proposal should be rejected on grounds similar to those spelled out in Handwork’s court order.
The charter proposed by Sustainable Medina County is similar to the ones suggested in 2015 and 2016 with minor refinements aimed at answering the objections raised by Secretary of State Jon Husted the last two years.
If enacted, the new charter would not replace the county commissioners and other elected officials, but would create home rule provisions and a so-called bill of rights that charter proponents think could empower elected officials to regulate large pipeline projects and natural gas wells that threaten the environment.
Provisions in the charter state that it puts residents’ preferences above the preferences of industry and special interests and the state’s actions to make those special interests impossible to challenge.
The charter also states it extends the right to self-government that the Ohio Constitution guarantees, but that is currently prevented due to restrictions on local authority over drilling.