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A recall effort is underway to remove all members of Nelsonville’s charter council. But what then?
By: David Forster
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — An effort is underway to recall the members of Nelsonville’s charter City Council, the latest move is a long-running dispute over who should run the city.
If the effort is successful and all charter council members are recalled, it’s not entirely clear what would happen next. The city’s charter does not address what to do in this situation, which could result in more litigation.
If the effort is only partially successful, with some members recalled and others not, the city could find itself right back where it stands now, with two rival councils claiming to be the legitimate governing body.
Meanwhile, a case before the Ohio Supreme Court could resolve the entire situation if the justices do what the courts so far have not done: make a decision that will leave only one council standing.
The dispute traces back to a citizen initiative that sought to abolish the city’s charter government and return the city to a statutory government.
Under a charter, a city creates its own custom government structure. A statutory government uses a template established under state laws. It’s the default structure for cities that don’t have a charter.
Nelsonville was a statutory government until it adopted a charter a little over 30 years ago. Under the charter, the council holds the power and chooses a city manager to handle day-to-day operations. Under the previous statutory government, power was split between the council and an elected mayor.
Members of the charter council fought in the courts to keep the initiative to abolish the charter off the ballot. They lost that battle, and in the November 2024 election the initiative, known as Issue 23, was overwhelmingly approved by voters.
That set the city on a course to transition from a charter government to a statutory one. This included electing a statutory council, mayor and other officials who would take over at the start of this year after the charter expired on the last day of 2025.
But three months before the November 2025 election, the charter council voted to repeal Issue 23, arguing that the initiative lacked an adequate transition plan and that the council has the power to overturn citizen initiatives.
The council then tried unsuccessfully to get the candidates running for the planned statutory government removed from the ballot. That left the city starting 2026 with the charter government claiming it was still in control and the newly elected statutory officials claiming they are the rightful government.
Members of the statutory government have filed legal actions arguing the charter council did not have the authority to repeal Issue 23. But so far the courts have not provided a definitive answer to this question. It’s possible the Supreme Court will in the case before it, but the court is under no particular deadline.
Charter doesn’t address a total recall
Meanwhile, Dan Sherman, who was elected president of the statutory council, is leading the effort to recall the entire charter council.
Sherman told WOUB that he and the other recall organizers are close to getting the required number of valid signatures for the recall petition.
“I think we have enough as it is right now,” he said, “but we want to gather some extra signatures to make sure.”
If enough recall signatures are gathered, the council members subject to recall can either voluntarily resign after the petition has been found sufficient or a recall election will be held.
If things go the way Sherman hopes they will, voters will recall all seven charter council members, and then another election will be held to elect new charter council members to replace them.
Sherman says he expects the members of the statutory council will run to fill those seats. If elected, he says, they could continue to operate as the charter council until a court finally decides whether the repeal of Issue 23 was valid.
Or they could simply vote themselves to overturn the repeal of Issue 23. This would dissolve the charter, and therefore the charter council, and the newly elected charter council members would then resume their seats on the statutory council under what would now be a statutory government.
But these scenarios could run into some snags.
The charter says if an officeholder is recalled, that vacancy will be filled as specified in the charter. Vacancies on the council are to be filled by appointment, made by a majority of the remaining council members or by the council president. The charter says nothing about holding an election to fill vacant seats.
WOUB reached out to attorneys with expertise in municipal law and charter governments, who agreed to speak on background. They said it’s clear the authors of Nelsonville’s charter did not anticipate a situation where all council members, including the council president, are recalled, leaving no one left to make appointments to fill the vacancies.
It’s unclear what would happen next.
The Athens County Board of Elections cannot simply schedule an election on its own to fill the seats. It doesn’t have this authority, said Tony Brooks, the board’s executive director.
State or courts may have to intervene
One possibility is the state attorney general or the secretary of state could step in and direct the board to schedule an election, Brooks said. But he doesn’t see this as the most likely outcome. Instead, he and the legal experts said the issue of how to fill the vacant seats would likely end up in court, meaning more litigation.
A court could order the elections board to schedule an election. Or it could make its own appointments to fill the vacant seats. Brooks sees the latter as the more likely outcome. The courts have made appointments to fill council seats in other situations where for some reason a vacancy could not otherwise be filled.
Legal experts said it’s possible the court could solve two issues at once and appoint the members of the statutory council, who were elected to their seats, to fill the charter vacancies. This could also put an end to the charter vs. statutory legal dispute because the statutory council members, in their new capacity as court-appointed charter council members, could then vote to overturn the repeal of Issue 23.
But all of this speculation presumes that all charter council members are recalled.
It’s also possible that all of them will survive a recall vote or that only some of them will be recalled.
If some of the charter council members keep their seats, they can then appoint replacements for the recalled members, and it’s likely they will choose people who support keeping the city a charter government.
This would leave the city right where it is now, with two rival councils.
Cam Peck, president of the charter council, says he’s not too worried about these scenarios.
He doubts the recall petition will get enough signatures to qualify for the ballot. And even if it does, he believes he and his fellow council members will survive a recall vote.
“I am in no way afraid of a recall effort,” Peck said. “I have no problem making my case to the residents.”
If there’s one thing Peck and Sherman, the statutory council president, can agree on, it’s that they would prefer to get some finality from the Supreme Court. Of course each believes the court will rule in their favor, but whatever the outcome, they both said they’ll just be glad when it’s over.
“It would just be nice to put it to bed,” Peck said.
“Trust me, we’re all tired of it,” said Sherman.