The Clintonville Area Commission gets a fighter and longtime labor advocate in Will Klatt, but he had to fight to make sure his election was not overturned. Some on the commission tried to prevent Mr. Klatt from assuming a position he was overwhelmingly elected to by using a technicality.
A candidate has to stay 100 feet from a polling place and Will crossed that invisible line. There were no markers indicting the 100 foot rule. When it was pointed out to him, he immediately backed up, but a couple of his opponents tried to use it to disqualify him. One witness there who did not even support Will said that if every election was negated because of that, few elections would even be upheld throughout the State of Ohio. The Commission took the matter up without even contacting Will, but he happened to show up at the meeting where an argument ensued. The matter was tabled until the next meeting, that happened just a couple days ago on Oct. 2.
Will was able to get supporters to come to the meeting, and after comments by various people, the Commission unanimously voted to dismiss the complaint and they certified Will Klatt's election to the area commission.
Will Klatt will be a terrific voice of the people on the Clintonville Area Commission. He is a well-respected labor advocate and not a lackey for developers.
Will said “It wasn’t a vote for me. It was a vote to send the city a message that for far too long City Hall’s public policy decisions have prioritized a small group of economic interests and campaign donors over the community and neighborhood interests. No one is against development. We’re against the lack of democracy and meaningful neighborhood input.”
On other matters addressed at the Commission meeting, a young woman who works for local politicians was there representing Columbus City government and talked about the zoo levy and the almost two billion dollar bond issue that will be on this November’s ballot.
When someone asked why other surrounding counties are not included in the levy for the zoo, the lady pointed out Franklin County had a far larger population and most of the benefits from the zoo.
Here’s a breakdown of population numbers:
Franklin County: Approximately 1.3 million residents, making it the most populous county in Ohio.
Delaware County: About 205,000 residents, known for its rapid growth and suburban appeal.
Fairfield County: Roughly 157,000 residents, featuring a mix of urban and rural communities.
Licking County: Around 180,000 residents, with a blend of small towns and larger cities.
The combined populations of Fairfield, Delaware, and Licking counties is 542,000 people, so those counties could contribute to the zoo.
The young lady from the City also brought up the two billion dollar levy and talked about how it was for affordable housing and other things. She made it seem affordable housing was the prime focus, when in fact only 250 million is designated for that. Also, she did not know and could not define what "affordable" was.
She also said taxes won't go up. When an entity that is funded finds itself on the tail end of a bond payoff period, it realizes that it can borrow more money without taxpayers paying more than they currently are. They simply tack more bonds on and add more years of payment. Everyone’s taxes stay the same and the entities gets more money.
So, no tax increase bonds actually do increase your taxes. The bond is a tax. It is not free money that magically appears, and people should be dealt with honestly on how it works.
