Cincinnati, Ohio, Issue 3, Mayor and City Council Procedures, Requirements, and Compensation Charter Amendment Initiative (November 2021)
| Cincinnati Issue 3 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 2, 2021 | |
| Topic Salaries of local officials and Local charter amendments | |
Status Defeated | |
| Type Initiative | Origin Citizens |
Cincinnati Issue 3 was on the ballot as an initiative in Cincinnati on November 2, 2021. It was defeated.
A "yes" vote supported amending the city charter to
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A "no" vote opposed this charter amendment to change city council compensation and provisions governing vacancies, requirements, and procedures for the mayor and city council. |
A simple majority was required for the approval of Issue 3.
Election results
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Cincinnati Issue 3 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Yes | 22,304 | 43.61% | ||
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28,842 | 56.39% | ||
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title for Issue 3 was as follows:
| “ | Shall the Charter of the City of Cincinnati be amended to require approval by Council before litigation on behalf of the City of Cincinnati or any of its officials can be filed; to establish the compensation for members of Council to the amount equal to the median family income for the City of Cincinnati and adjust that compensation annually; to require candidates for Mayor and Council to be residents of the City of Cincinnati for at least one year prior to assuming office; to eliminate the use of successor designation by members of the Council and to provide that if a member of council dies, resigns, or is removed, then the person who received the highest number of votes for election to council at the most recent municipal election but who was not declared elected to council at such election and who is not otherwise already serving or has served as a member of council since the most recent municipal election shall be the successor to hold the office for the remainder of the unexpired term of that member of council. To require the Mayor to assign legislative proposals to the appropriate committee no later than thirty days after being filed with the Clerk and to require the Mayor to put legislative proposals on the Council agenda no later than thirty days after they are reported out of Committee; to provide that the Mayor and members of Council are personally liable for violations of state law regarding open meetings or public records where the violation was to avoid or circumvent those laws or was purposeful, knowing, in bad faith, or in a wanton or reckless manner; and to provide for the removal of the Mayor as provided by state law and other processes, by amending existing Sections 3, 4, 4a, and 4b of Article II, “Legislative Power,” and amending Section 2 of Article III, “Mayor,” and enacting new Section 11 of Article IV, “Executive and Administrative Service,” and new Section 2c of Article IX, “Nominations and Elections.” | ” |
Full Text
The full text of this measure is available here.
Ballot language error household vs. family income
An error in drafting the ordinance that called for the election on Issue 3 resulted in the ballot language saying that the measure would set the compensation of city council members to be equal to the median family income ($62,941 in 2021). The initiative petition text was written to set the compensation of city council members to be equal to the median household income ($46,260 in 2021). As of the beginning of 2021, the salary of city council members was $60,000.[1]
The city council passed an emergency ordinance on September 30, 2021, stating that the language in the initiative petition text (household) controls and would have become the effective salary level if Issue 3 had been approved.[1]
Support
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The Hamilton County Republican Party supported the charter amendment.[2]
Opposition
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Opponents
- Cincinnati Democratic Party[2]
- Charter Committee of Greater Cincinnati[2]
- Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley[2]
- Cincinnati Mayorial Candidate David Mann[2]
- Cincinnati Mayorial Candidate Aftab Pureval[2]
Arguments
- Charter Committee of Greater Cincinnati President Darrick Dansby said the measure, "was put together without any input from the community, without any public discussion of the issues. It's a very dangerous thing to have that many amendments in one ballot issue. This is not the way it should be done. Voters shouldn't be forced to cast an all-or-nothing vote. I can't support eight major changes to the charter in one fell swoop."[2]
- Kurt Grossman, a candidate for Cincinnati City Council, said, "Issue 3 prevents our city's law department from bringing any lawsuit unless it is approved by a majority vote of City Council. That means council members would have to spend their time micromanaging every one of the more than 2,600 civil and criminal lawsuits brought by the city every year, no matter how small or routine. ... Issue 3 was brought to the ballot box under the false pretense of curbing corruption. It should be rejected for the harm it would bring to our city government. Please vote 'NO' on Issue 3."[3]
Path to the ballot
This measure was put on the ballot through a successful citizen initiative petition drive.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Cincinnati City Council, "Emergency Ordinance file #202102882," accessed October 2, 2021
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Cincinnati Public Radio, "Explaining the proposed Charter amendment known as Issue 3 on the November 2021 ballot," accessed October 8, 2021
- ↑ Cinncinnati.com, "Opinion: Issue 3 belongs on the scrap heap of bad policy," October 26, 2021
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