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A judge has dismissed the lawsuit challenging a repeal of an initiative that called for a new Nelsonville government
By: David Forster
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — A judge has dismissed a lawsuit challenging the Nelsonville City Council’s repeal of a citizen initiative that called for a change in the city’s form of government.
Standing is a legal term that means a person filing a lawsuit has to show they have suffered some harm caused by people they are suing, and this harm can be remedied in some way by the court.
In this case, the lawsuit was filed by Andrea Thompson-Hashman, who at the time was a candidate for city auditor in the November election.
Thompson-Hashman was running under Issue 23, a citizen initiative passed overwhelmingly by Nelsonville voters last year. Issue 23 called for abolishing the city charter, which created Nelsonville’s current form of government, and returning the city to the government it had before the charter was adopted.
The primary difference between the two is that under the charter, the council holds the power and chooses a city manager to run the day-to-day administration. Under the previous form of government, known as a statutory government, power was split between the council and an elected mayor who ran the administration.
The City Council tried to keep Issue 23 off the ballot. After it passed, the council tried to get voters to overturn it. And when that failed, the council voted to repeal the initiative itself, saying it has the power to do so under the charter.
The council then tried to get the candidates running under Issue 23 removed from the November ballot but was not successful.
Thompson-Hashman filed her lawsuit at the end of September, a few weeks after the council’s vote to repeal Issue 23.
One of the arguments the city made in response is that Thompson-Hashman lacked standing to bring the case. The judge agreed, saying Thompson-Hashman cannot show she has suffered any injury. Her name remained on the ballot, she got the most votes, and she was certified as the winner by the elections board.
“[B]ecause Plaintiff has not been denied office, any challenge to her right to assume office is not ripe,” Lang wrote in his decision.
Presumably, this means Thompson-Hashman, and the other candidates elected under Issue 23 in November, might have standing to sue if the city refuses to let them take office.
Under Issue 23, the transition to the new government was to happen Jan. 1, and that’s when the candidates who won their races would take over.
Thompson-Hashman’s attorney, Dan Klos, said they are considering whether to appeal Lang’s decision, “but we are also evaluating other alternatives.”
One of these alternatives, presumably, would be for Thompson-Hashman to file a lawsuit after Jan. 1 if she is denied office.
The city’s position is there is no office for her to claim because Issue 23 was repealed and there will be no transition to a statutory government.