Election Day and Charter Amendment Ballot Issue for Pepper Pike

Text of an email I sent out this evening.

Greetings.

I do believe that, as residents of Ohio in this election year, it is in fact impossible to not know that Tuesday, November 6 (tomorrow or today, depending on when you read this) is election day. And perhaps, like me, you've voted already (I'm lucky to be in Washington, DC for election night coverage from a social media warroom at the NPR headquarters - you can read more about that here if you're interested). If you have voted, thank you. If not, I hope that you plan to.


Becaue I've received multiple inquiries about the ballot issue that Pepper Pike voters will vote on, I wanted to share with you what I've shared with those who've contacted me individually. I've been told it's helpful, but just in case, I've also attached the Mayor's 10/15/12 letter to residents that includes an FAQ about the ballot issue. [Please let me know if you would like it emailed to you - it's not attached here and is in pdf form so I'm unable to upload it to this blog]


The ballot issue is for voters to approve or reject a charter amendment. As background, the charter for the city sets up the basic structure of the city's government. Then, there is the code for the city, also sometimes called the ordinances. These are the laws that govern the city. Both are legally binding sections of law.

The zoning laws are often referred to as the zoning code and are part of the ordinances (or code). The charter, as it is currently written, says that Council is unable to change anything whatsoever in the zoning laws - no matter how big (map changes - like changing a residential area to a commercial area) or how small (change a setback requirement) unless Council places it on the ballot for all voters to vote on - every single time, no matter the change.

The mayor proposed the charter amendment on the ballot this year so that the Council can take up text changes (but not map changes) to the zoning code and begin to update the entire zoning code. Residents will retain the right of referendum (i.e., putting an issue on the ballot that they believe all residents should vote on) on such legislation, but the referendum would have to be pursued after Council has gone through its process for giving public notice of the legislation, having council sessions during which the legislation would be discussed and then having a public vote on the legislation. The charter amendment you are being asked to vote on includes provisions that Council wanted in there in order to protect residents. These include, among others:

1. Residents can sign up to receive notice from the city when such legislation is coming up for public meetings

2. Any such proposed legislation cannot be voted on as an emergency declaration (which would remove the right to referendum)

3. All such proposed legislation must pass with a vote of at least 5 council members in favor (most legislation requires only a quorum which is 4).

Ultimately, I would like to see our city pursue a comprehensive zoning overhaul process through which resident input is obtained, public sessions are held and we then work with a planner to inform the zoning law changes. However, this ballot change to the charter will assist in addressing outmoded provisions now while we do, hopefully, press for a more comprehensive, needed review and overhaul of the entire zoning code.


Stay safe, please vote and have a great week.

Thank you as always,
Jill

Stowe approves term limits for Council, reaffirms them for mayor

From Council member Mike Rasor's blog:

Tonight, the Good Ole Boy Network received perhaps the strongest indictment against it yet.

People overwhelmingly voted to add term limits to city council (75.13 percent) and finance director (72.8 percent). They strongly rejected an opportunity to remove term limits on mayor (60.98 percent) and law director (62.36 percent).*

They are tired of the same old people calling the shots. They want a cycle of new ideas and energy.

Mike was elected in November 2009. I've mentioned his blog before. He's very open on it - and also just graduated from law school last year. I've not checked in to see if he took/passed the bar exam, but I have no reason to believe that he didn't do both. I commend him for blogging about his work on Council.

*I'm not sure if finance director and law director are elected or appointed in Stowe but have emailed Mike to find out.

[Live-chat] THURSDAY: The Pulse of Pepper Pike, 12:00-12:30 PM

Today's Pulse will beat to the drum of the topic in this article in The Economist, "Money and Power: Beware the Lure of the Businessman-Politician."

The live-chat info/formalities are below the chat frame.

NB: There is a possibility that I will not be finished by 12noon today with an appointment that will be starting mid-morning.  The Pulse will start beating as soon as that commitment is complete and I will send a reminder email at that time for folks who might like to jump in.  Thanks so much but, as they used to say on Saturday Night Live's Coffee Talk with Linda Richman, "Discuss amongst yawselves!"  From the article:

How likely are these bosses-turned-politicians to keep their promises? There are a few successes. Michael Bloomberg has been such a hit as mayor that normally irascible New Yorkers have elected him to a third term. Businesspeople do have more experience of squeezing efficiency gains from the internet than professional politicians and they have less of a vested interest in expanding the supply of government.

But there is little evidence to support the common belief that businesspeople possess management skills that can easily be imported into the public sector. On the contrary, government and business are built on very different principles. For all the fashionable talk about empowering employees, bosses are ultimately the masters of their own domains. There are no civil-service style regulations to protect employees from the wrath of an angry CEO: when he or she says jump, you jump. Company bosses can usually escape from the pressure of public opinion and the glare of publicity that defines political life. Even those who are drafted into politics rather than forced to stand for election, find they are in a far more confusing world than the one they are familiar with.

Prohibition on talking to other electeds is common

A few residents have heard my story about learning that I can't talk to more than two other council members at any time without being in a public meeting. And they've also heard me comment on how I feel about that - and felt about it when I learned about it.

Not that I ever think we are alone, but here's more evidence that we're not, as a town in Connecticut, just trying to get its grass cut, is held up by similar rules:

Killingworth’s governance is managed by a three-person Board of Selectmen. Should two of the three selectmen meet and discuss lawn mowing or any other aspect of town business, the gathering would constitute a quorum of the governing body and an illegal meeting, since its holding had not been posted in a public notice.

With Selectman Richard Cabral not available, and in order to get the lawn mowed, [Selectwoman Catherine] Iino had to post the special meeting so she legally could talk to [Selectman Fred] Dudek about it.

“When I became a selectman, I was told you can’t talk to the other selectmen,” Iino says. “I thought they were joking.”

“I understand the need for public access to deliberations, but with a three-person board, you just can’t have a working conversation,” she said. “It seems you ought to be able to have a conversation about running the town without violating the law.”

I have no objection to public notice requirements or meetings.  But I would love to see these rules updated for the 21st Century. Especially in a place like Connecticut where some of the communities and their rules literally date back nearly 300 years, the advent of audio and video recording, not to mention electronic notification of meetings can be treated as the evolutionary tools they are that can alleviate some of these scenarios and enhance and improve government efficiency.

Election Results

Just sent to folks on my distribution list. Let me know if you'd like to be added.

Good evening/morning.

I've attached a screenshot of the results page at the county BOE website (you can visit the site here).

The tax rate increase issue did not pass but the budget approval process charter amendment did pass.  Provisional votes are yet to be counted but it's not likely that they will change the results.

I want to thank everyone who voted, everyone who participated in any other way and I implore you to remain involved.  We have great opportunity in this time of decision making.  Please be sure you continue to let us know what you're thinking.  And I'll continue to try my hardest, and best, at letting you know what I'm thinking.

Have a wonderful week and remember: there is an Oversight Comm. meeting on Monday, Aug. 9 and a Road & Safety/Finance & Planning meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 11.

I'm heading out to keynote a training workshop aimed at getting more women to run for political office.  Seems like exactly what I need to keep my eyes on and moving forward.

Thank you for giving me the privilege of being on Council. And, as always, thanks for living in Pepper Pike.

Very truly yours,
Jill

Where to View Results of Today's Vote

Visit this page at the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections site.

Don't forget - if you're at Garfield, you are NOT at Garfield today - I've already received one call from a confused voter.

Thank you for voting and participating.

Akron City Council Expands Public Comment Opportunities

According to this article (it appeared in today's Plain Dealer, but was originally in the Akron Beacon Journal a couple of days ago), Akron City Council did not permit citizen commenting during council meetings, unless a public hearing was being held on a specific topic.

People wishing to speak when a hearing isn't scheduled must submit a written request to the clerk's office the day before the meeting. The requests are forwarded to the council member who chairs the committee in charge of the topic the resident wishes to address.

Now, however, as the result of one of many suggestions related to Akron's charter review process (you can see the commission's report here; Akron has their charter reviewed every ten years; Pepper Pike's charter provides for no charter review and has not in fact ever been reviewed systematically the way other cities review theirs on a routine, as-required by their charter basis):

Beginning next week, the council will permit a half-hour open mic before the regularly scheduled 7 p.m. council meetings for anyone who wants to talk about anything.

One member of the council — the first week it will be Jim Hurley, who represents Ward 1 — along with representatives of the administration, will listen to the comments.

Council President Marco Sommerville said this will ''provide another layer to better assist the citizens of Akron.''

Sommerville made the change in response to a petition drive by former Akron Councilman Ernie Tarle for a charter change that would require a half-hour public comment period during council meetings and 15 minutes during committee meetings.

Sommerville said the change would be an experiment and a group may still be formed to take a look at whether additional opportunities for comment are needed.

The article seems to indicate that there will be a three-minute speaking time limit.

On today's 7-0 vote to place a .5% income tax increase w/sunset provision & budget process charter amendment on the August ballot

Below are comments I wrote early this morning and read later this morning at Pepper Pike City Council's Special Council Meeting today.   I want to thank every single person who has engaged in any way and/or communicated with me and/or any member of Council or fellow resident who then in turn communicated to us their sentiments over the last four months regarding how to attack and resolve the City's fiscal situation.  Please don't stop.  It is what gave me confidence to hold my ground when and where I did, but also gave me the sense of need and direction for making the final decision today.  

I could not have imagined, when I was addressing Pepper Pike residents as a candidate for City Council just over seven months ago, how much my thoughts then would ring through my brain during the last four months.

Back then, I talked about how I see Pepper Pike as a community that is taken care of and takes care of itself.  And I said,

…the present and future challenge in taking care of our city is this: If Pepper Pike was ever homogeneous in terms of the life phase in which our residents were enjoying our city, it is far less so now. We have multiple constituencies for whom taking care of our city may have different, even competing meanings.

I also did not imagine that literally within days of being sworn in on January 13 that I would be launched into one of the most intense problem-solving processes I have ever experienced in my life, in any setting. And I was an Ombudsman at a mental health agency.

I have experienced the same emotions and asked the same questions and demanded the same explanation as many Pepper Pike residents.  The key difference – due to my decision to run for City Council and the residents’ decision to let me serve them on City Council – is that I am no longer allowed to advocate for just my position, as I was able to do from the audience. 

Pepper Pike City Government 101, Lesson 2: "Strong Mayor"

As a resident and as a candidate, I've heard people over the years talk about concerns that the Pepper Pike City Council was just a rubber stamp for whatever the mayor wanted to do.  It was usually said in a very pejorative way, as though someone was standing on their necks forcing them to align with the mayor.

I'll get back to this idea of council as a rubber stamp in another post at another time (and I will, I promise), but what every Pepper Pike resident should know, which I didn't know until after I was elected and had a more than two hour meeting with the city law director, at my request, in order to learn about the law and the city, was that our charter gives voice to what is called the strong mayor form of mayor-council government.  While whomever is the mayor might interpret his or her charter-given authority in different ways from a predecessor, the reality is that this strong mayor structure is legitimate, it is used by other communities and it would exist regardless of who actually was the mayor of Pepper Pike.

Pepper Pike City Government 101, Lesson 1: The City Charter

When I decided a little less than a year ago that I would run for Pepper Pike City Council, I'd already been through the White House Project's training program which focuses on teaching women skills for getting elected.  I also did my own research and organized many resources so that I would have an idea of how you do this thing called campaigning.

Now, I'm one of the biggest proponents of the idea that campaigning and governing (or being part of a city government) require two very different and often not overlapping sets of skills.  But some of the basic information a candidate and a council member need to know is the same.

One such set of knowledge is also the most obvious and possibly the least familiar to most Pepper Pike residents: the city's charter.