(Pardon me for being ultra-local in this one.)
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Here in Columbus, we have a special single-question election coming up on August 2nd. It's called Issue 1, and it proposes to completely restructure our City Council.
It would remove our current seven at-large council members and replace them with a ward system and a much larger council. There would still be three at-large members, plus a number of ward/district council members -- ten at first, growing to as many as 22 eventually. A City Council of between 13 and 25 people. Ward/district maps would obviously need to drawn. By whom? On what basis? No one knows.
Supporters of Issue 1 claim it would give us more direct "representation." It would certainly give our Council more bodies. Not so sure about anything else.
Issue 1 supporters are, for the most part, white Republicans unhappy to be living in a Democratic city with a Democratic Council.
If you haven't voted yet, please read the ballot language before you pull the trigger. It is a lengthy thicket of confusing crapola, and a recipe for regular gerrymandering. Even the Dispatch says it's no good.
Our long-standing City Council structure is very simple. And by any objective measure, as a large and growing city, Columbus is doing very, very well.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Vote "No" on Issue 1.
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