Mar. 2—Euclid voters will have five proposed charter amendments on the ballot during the March 19 Primary Election.
The Charter Review Commission reviews the City Charter every eight years and considers bringing potential changes to the voters.
The five proposed amendments this year include one to replace wording that was previously all-male pronouns within the charter to be gender-neutral to reflect the modern Charter’s Review Commission’s membership and to streamline the text within the charter itself.
The change in wording was because during review the commission found most of the pronoun references within the charter were male skewed.
“As we were looking through the Charter everything in there had more male pronouns,” said commission member Kandace Jones. “So, to make the charter easier flowing as far as reading and referencing it we felt the gender-neutral terminology needed to be fit in place.”
Another proposed charter amendment would put in place language that would allow City Council to be judge of the election and qualification of its own members and removal, according to a preview ballot on the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections website.
If passed, the amendment would clarify the process of removing a councilperson. According to Jones the process was already in place in city procedures, but the review committee wanted to add the language into the City Charter itself to clarify the process to the public.
“So, it’s known that this process can be done, because if someone doesn’t know it’s in the administrative code, how would you know it’s there?” Jones said. “And a resident can come to the City Council and say that they would like to move forward as far as looking into having a councilperson removed.
“There were procedures on how to do that, but there were no references in the charter and the charter review commissioners felt like it needed to be referenced in there at least.”
In two separate charter amendments the commission will be seeking a two-year residency requirement for anyone seeking election to be mayor or on City Council. The amendment for councilpersons includes a clause that they live in their respective wards for at least a year immediately preceding their election or appointment, according to a preview ballet on the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections website.
Jones said the reason behind having the requirements was to ensure that whoever was running had a sense of what the community and the city needs in a representative.
“Just to make the commitment, so that somebody is at least living in the city for two years,” Jones said. “They will at least know something about what is going on in the city, and for the councilperson in their ward they will know the residents in the ward and the conditions and issues that the ward faces first-hand.”
The last charter amendment would remove the requirement that Euclid has in place regarding election petition circulators. Previously, anyone distributing petitions for elective officers in the past was required to live in Euclid. This goes against Ohio Revised Code which states Ohio residency is the only residency required.
Jones said the charter amendment would put Euclid in line with state guidelines.
Amanda Smith is a dedicated U.S. correspondent with a passion for uncovering the stories that shape the nation. With a background in political science, she provides in-depth analysis and insightful commentary on domestic affairs, ensuring readers are well-informed about the latest developments across the United States.
