With less than a week before the August 2 special election, where voters will decide if they want a hybrid council, made up of 10 district and three at-large seats, pressure is climbing for groups Represent Columbus and One Columbus to get out the “Yes” and “No” votes, respectively.
Forums, debates and podcasts have been heard in the short weeks and now days leading up to the special election. Wednesday, Columbus Underground Co-Founder Walker Evans moderated a Columbus Metropolitan Club forum on the issue, where attendees heard from both sides and posed questions about the pros and cons of Issue 1. There, speaking on behalf of One Columbus, was Bryan Clark and James Ragland. Whitney Smith and Jonathan Beard spoke on behalf of Represent Columbus.
Both sides had the opportunity to clarify and promote their own agendas, with One Columbus insisting that the city’s current problems can be solved by the current council, and that people who want more of a voice should participate in their neighborhood’s area commission. Represent Columbus countered, saying area commission members don’t attend council meetings because they lack any real power or voice; the only way now for people to have a voice is to vote for one next week.
The past weeks have also seen ad campaigns on either side, first from One Columbus, with an ad quoting several numbers, emphasizing the cost of putting six more members on council. Represent Columbus responded with their own ad this week, using words like “scandal,” “cronies” and “corruption” to communicate a need for more representation.
Wednesday, the Franklin County Republican Party, which endorses Issue 1, issued its own response to the One Columbus ad in the form of a press release.
“Even by the standards of political advertisements, the City Hall that gave us the Redflex scandal has arranged an ad campaign that is extraordinarily deceptive,” said the press release. “City Hall’s cynical calculation is that the citizens group seeking Council reform won’t be able to afford answering the false ads with its own advertising that tells the truth.”
The ad cites a few inflated numbers that Clark described at the CMC forum as One Columbus putting all the numbers up front, to inform voters.
“One Columbus is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on television and mailed flyers claiming Issue One creates a council almost twice as large as it actually does,” said the press release. “In reality, Issue One plainly creates a council 13 in number, with 10 of those council members coming from neighborhood districts.”
The One Columbus segment advertises a 25-member council with an $80,000 bill for each of them. Council at 25 members would have 22 from specific districts and three still at-large, representing twice as many people as there are today. According to calculated estimates by Columbus Underground, a city population of 1.6 million wouldn’t be reached until approximately 2075.
“Further, the One Columbus advertising tells people that council members will be paid $80,000 a year under Issue One reforms,” said the press release. “When the plain truth is that council pay isn’t changed at all by Issue One.”
Thursday morning, One Columbus issued a “third-party analysis” citing more numbers detailing the the cost of 13 council members, claiming a $20 million dollar bill over the next decade should the issue pass.
“This proposed increase of Councilmembers from seven to 13 will introduce significant uncertainty in the ability of the City of Columbus to efficiently budget and plan on a long-term horizon,” the report said. “Additionally, the impact of Issue 1 would require current reallocation of City resources to meet the expected budget shortfall in the near term, potentially eroding resources from other city government projects.”
The press release containing the report also denied accusations that council votes in their own raises, as suggested from Represent Columbus representatives at the CMC forum.
“Despite claims from pro-Issue 1 campaigners, council salaries are now set by the Citizens’ Commission on Elected Official Compensation,” said the release. “Council may not exceed the recommendations of that entity. City employee salary ranges are based on market rate analysis.”
Columbus voters will put the debate to rest next Tuesday at the special election.
To hear more from both sides, CLICK HERE to listen to Episode 1 of the Confluence Cast, or CLICK HERE to subscribe via iTunes.
For more information visit www.onecolumb.us and www.representcolumb.us.