Columbus Freepress - November 7th 2013 Nov 7 2013 | Page 5

Post election issue
By: the Free Press Staff

by big business and the power and social
elite.
Seattle Proposition 1 was a companion
proposal to fund elections through property
taxes. It failed 54percent to 46percent.
In Columbus, the Columbus Coalition
for Responsive Government announced on
Thursday, November 7th that they would be
submitting signatures for a campaign finance
reform law. In addition, the Coalition is
collecting signatures for a proposal to move
from a 7 member At Large council to an 11
member council with 4 members elected At
Large and 7 members elected from Districts.
ELECTION RESULTS
Voters Overwhelmingly Reject Coleman’s
Education Plan
In a stinging rebuke to Mayor Coleman
and big business, voters rejected Coleman’s
signature Columbus Education Plan proposal to increase Columbus City School property taxes by 24 percent. Despite spending
over $2.4 million on a campaign with glossy
mailers, non-stop radio ads and television
commercials with cute kids, the Mayor’s
Columbus Education Plan (Issue 50) was
trounced by voters at the polls, losing with
69percent in opposition to 31percent in
support (44,417 to 19,548). The companion
issue, Issue 51 which would have created a
new auditor position overseen by the City,
also failed, losing 61percent to 39 percent.
The ball of string started unraveling in
September, a month after the pro levy forces
started running commercials and sending
glossy mailers. In a first for Columbus,
organized opposition to the levy came from
newly-formed citizens groups named “No
Cheaters No Charters Columbus,” “It’s
OKAY To Vote No,” and “Citizens Against
Issues 50 and 51.” In a preliminary rebuke,
the Columbus Council of PTA’s refused to
endorse the levy, and one PTA member’s
statement that the Columbus Education
Commission did not listen to the people
prompted an emotional Coleman to melt
down and yell at a parent “I didn’t have to
engage in this ever. I could have let it float
off and then it would burn down.” Further, homeowners and landlords organized
in objection to the increased tax on their
properties.
In his concession speech, Mayor Coleman
said “it is clear to me that the District must
continue to restore trust … while at the same
time changing in the process. That is what
the voters are saying.” Alex Fisher, CEO
of The Columbus Partnership wrote “today,
voters expressed a lack of trust in our school
district … the voters are asking for reform
before new taxes.”
This public assignment of blame to the
Board of Education is stunning, since this
appears to be the first time the campaign
mentioned the Board of Education in
connection with the levy and because the
community leaders had been stunningly
quiet about the Board’s ineptitude prior to

money but using resources more wisely i.e.
reducing overhead, etc. It’s also hard for me
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