For those of you planning to vote in Oberlin in the primary election in March, be aware that the Oberlin City Council has put seven charter amendments on the ballot. While it would be reasonable if you decided to skip voting on these, it would NOT be reasonable simply to vote yes for all seven unless you clearly understood what each was about. Some Oberlin citizens are opposed to the first of these, known on the ballot as Issue 9. 

This amendment would double the length of an elected Council member’s term to four years and set up a system where only three or four seats would be open every two years. You should know that some on the Charter Advisory Committee were opposed to this change, as was at least one current Councilmember, but all felt that this issue should be decided by the voters.

I would urge you to vote NO on Issue 9 for several reasons. The first is, simply, why fix what isn’t broken? What is the problem with having all council seats open every two years? We have had this system since the election of 1979. A second reason is that elections with few open seats discourage interest and participation in the electoral process. It is easier to think that you just have to come in seventh during an election than that you have to come in third. Another reason is that it is important for all council members to face the voters every two years.

 Finally, the argument that this change would promote continuity on council hides the fact that that has not been a problem in all the years of the current system. In fact, the number of incumbents re-elected has varied from two (three times) to six with a median of four.

Please, if you do vote on the charter amendments, vote NO on NINE.