ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — Two Nelsonville residents are again asking a judge to order the City Council to put an initiative on the ballot that would lead to a change in government in the city.
The new motion was filed Wednesday, two days after an appeals court rejected an attempt by Nelsonville City Council members to block the initiative.
The initiative proposes abolishing the city constitution, which runs the city through a city manager who can be hired and fired by the city council, and instead the city will be run by an elected mayor who is independent of the city council, as was the case even before the constitution was passed 30 years ago.
The initiative received the number of signatures required for initiatives under the city’s constitution, but the council declined to instruct the county election committee to put the initiative to a vote.
The council argues that an initiative to abolish the charter should instead be processed under a section of the Ohio Constitution on amending charters, which requires more signatures to be placed on the ballot.
Two Nelsonville residents, one of whom organized the signature drive for the initiative, sued the city council last month to force it to put the initiative on the November ballot.
With the voting deadline fast approaching, the two residents asked the judge to issue an order immediately rather than waiting until the case was fully processed and a decision was made at the end.
The judge agreed, but also scheduled a hearing at which the council could explain why it did not have to comply with the order.
The Council filed an appeal before the hearing date.
On Monday, the appeals court dismissed the appeal, saying it was filed too early because the Athens County judge had not yet had an opportunity to hear the council’s arguments and make a final decision.
For this reason, the two residents again asked the judge to instruct the city council to immediately put the initiative to a vote.
If the judge grants this second request, another hearing will be scheduled to give the council a chance to appeal. Depending on the outcome, the case could then end up back in the Court of Appeals.
The entire process would have to move quickly to get the initiative on the ballot. According to the court document filed by the two residents on Wednesday, the deadline for printing Nelsonville ballots for the Nov. 5 general election is Sept. 16.
