Nelsonville citizens vote to abolish their city charter, a first for Ohio
NELSONVILLE, Ohio (WCMH) – Nelsonville residents overwhelmingly voted to abolish its city charter and return to a statutory form of government. Now, the city has less than a year to prepare amid ongoing disputes over the vote's legality.
Issue 23, the citizen-led initiative to revoke Nelsonville’s charter, was approved by just over 70% of voters. The issue’s success came despite a misprint that left the issue off some printed ballots, leading the Athens County Board of Elections to ask the 98 affected voters to return and vote provisionally.
Under the charter, the city manager, council president, law director and ceremonial titles of mayor and vice mayor are all selected by the city council. With the new form of government, the mayor will replace the city manager as head city executive, and the mayor, council president and law director will all be elected positions.
The new form of government will go into effect Jan. 1, 2026. Although its new officials will not be elected until Nov. 4, 2025, the candidates will have to be submitted to the Athens County Board of Elections by Aug. 6, 90 days before the general election.
Complicating the matter is a lawsuit between the citizens behind Issue 23 and the city itself. Ohio law grants the right for cities to establish charters and lays out clear steps to do so. Ohio also grants cities the right to revoke charters, but Nelsonville Legal Director Jonathan Robe said the proper way to do so is not clear.
There is little – if any – precedent to provide clarity. Cleveland repealed its city manager form of government in 1931, but the city did so by amending its charter, not revoking it, according to Case Western’s Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Nelsonville will return to a statutory form of governance with no charter.
So far, a judge and two appellate courts have ruled in favor of the citizens, determining the initiative to be lawful as it followed the guidelines laid out by the city charter for placing an ordinance on the ballot. The city argues the charter's policies cannot be used to abolish the charter itself, and Robe previously told NBC4 the issue could still be challenged after the vote.
The most recent action was a ruling in favor of the citizens on Oct. 31. When asked if the city will continue its case after Issue 23's passage, Robe said he could only say that the city is "exploring its legal options."
Daniel Klos, the attorney representing the citizens behind the initiative, said he was glad to see Issue 23 passed.
“As for any future appeals, that’s up to if the city of Nelsonville wants to keep going with it despite over 800 residents saying they no longer want a charter,” Klos said.
City Council President Gregg Clement said he did not have a comment, adding that Council has not met since the election, with Clement saying the next meeting will be on Monday.