Columbus City Council and organizers with the Our City Our Say movement are weighing a potential compromise ahead of a ballot measure this November.
The Our City Our Say coalition wants only voters within each of Columbus' nine city council districts to be able to vote for their representative. Currently, every Columbus voter gets to vote for each council member.
The broad coalition — including former city council candidate Jesse Vogel, Columbus Stand Up, the Columbus Education Association, Indivisible Central Ohio and others — gathered enough signatures this summer to put their measure on the ballot.
A city council spokesperson confirmed staff and council are meeting with the organizers to come up with an agreement to reform council elections.
The spokesperson said the conversations are "fluid" but this could include expanding city council by adding several at-large seats alongside nine true ward seats, campaign finance reform and even redrawing the current city council map.
Columbus City Council President Shannon Hardin expressed optimism about the conversations in a statement.
“I appreciate the candid, good faith conversations that we’ve been having with advocates about how we can work together for reform. It’s too soon to say where that dialogue will land, but we’ve found common ground, and one way or another, residents will get to make choices this November about the city’s future," Hardin said.
Some coalition members, like Clintonville Area Commissioner Will Klatt, voiced support for this deal on social media.
Others, like former mayoral candidate Joe Motil, blasted it on Facebook, arguing it goes against the measure more than 15,000 Columbus residents signed a petition to get on the ballot.
"Giving away 4 at-large seats is criminal," Motil said.
A spokesperson for the Our City Our Say coalition said in a statement the coalition’s steering committee met Tuesday night to discuss an agreement, but there is not yet a definitive result that can be shared.
Council is expected to read the proposal into the record once it returns from its summer recess for a council meeting on Aug. 24. If a compromise is reached, it would have to be agreed upon soon to make the November ballot.
