Issue 6 Passes Easily - Big Changes Ahead For Cuyahoga County Government

Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Topics: Politics
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Cuyahoga County voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to throw out its current form of government and adopt a new structure; the measure passed 66% to 34%. A competing ballot issue to delay county reform for at least a year was rejected by 72% of the county's voters. ideastream's David Molpus has more.

By a two-to-one margin voters favored Issue 6 - the “reform now” proposal will replace the county-commissioners with a county executive and an 11-member council to be elected next year.  Issue 6 not only carried the suburbs but also won handily in the city of Cleveland, capturing 60 percent of the vote.

There’s little doubt what gave the reform effort political legs this time ‘round.  As County Commissioner Peter Lawson Jones told the Plain Dealer last night, “the public was absolutely disgusted and sickened by what it saw in public corruption” and “whatever flaws Issue 6 has must have seemed insignificant by comparison.” Jones had supported Issue 5 which was rejected by 72 percent of the voters.