Drive for charter in Warren begins

By ED RUNYAN

runyan@vindy.com

WARREN

Two of the three Warren councilmen outvoted 6-3 two weeks ago while trying to put a charter question before Warren voters this November say they have begun to gather signatures to place the question before voters in May.

Councilmen John Brown and Al Novak and former councilman Dan Crouse, the chairman of a citizens committee that studied the charter question this spring, discussed their plans at a press conference Friday afternoon at the Sunrise Inn.

They hope to give voters a chance at the primary — at the same time as council and mayoral elections — to decide whether a panel should be chosen to write a charter form of government.

If voters say yes to writing a charter, they would decide at the May 2012 election whether to adopt it.

“Time is on our side now,” Brown said of gathering signatures over the next five months to get the question on the ballot and giving residents time to gather the signatures they need to get on the ballot as a charter commission member.

Brown said he understands why some council members voted against the charter question two weeks ago — they thought too little time was left for potential charter commission members to circulate their petitions.

This time, everyone will have plenty of time, and it could make for an interesting political season in Warren, Brown said.

“I think it [the charter] will be a leading issue in the race,” said Brown, whose own position on council will be up for election.

Robert Nicholson, a Warren resident who attended the press conference, said that between now and December, volunteers will talk to a large percentage of Warren residents about what type of government they would like to have.

“It will force us to rethink the way things are,” he said.

Novak and Brown say a charter form of government allows Warren citizens to decide how many council members and administrators it should have, rather than operate under the statutory form of government written into law 100 years ago.

“I think we can consolidate administrative positions, council possibly, and save money that could be used to bring back safety forces,” Brown said.

Brown said he has already gathered about 200 signatures. He and others are likely to continue gathering them long after they’ve got the approximately 1,300 valid signatures required by state law.

“I’m hoping to get three times that many,” Brown said.

Likewise, Brown hopes 30 people qualify to be on the ballot in May as a charter commission member so that voters can pick the best 15.

Crouse’s committee spent several months learning about charters from professors at Kent State University and Hiram College and people in other communities with charters. The committee recommended that council place the charter question on the ballot this November.

One of the chief opponents of the charter, Councilman Bob Dean, said too few people believed Warren needed a change in government and too many questions were unanswered about how to pay for the charter commission’s work.