Just thought I'd help out my fellow Ohioans and Cincinnatians wade through the local issues they'll encounter on Tuesday's ballot.
Ohio Issue One: Attempt to reform various election issues. No big deal here.
Ohio Issue Two: Continuation of Clean Ohio program that will not increase taxes. How you see this depends on how cheap you are and whether or not you slow down when a squirrel crosses the road.
Ohio Issue Three: Gives landowners the rights to the reasonable use of natural water on their own property. I prefer that landowners can use their own land how they want.
Ohio Issue Five: The Payday Loan issue. I've written about this topic before and it rears its head again. Unfortunately, our Secretary of State allowed the Payday Loan Industry some favorable language on the ballot [not referencing the current 300+% that predatory lenders can reap from these unfortunate souls] which could affect the outcome. A "yes" vote reigns in these lenders and their [IMHO] immoral actions.
Ohio Issue Six: Casino Measure. Just know that, regardless of how you feel about gambling, this deal would screw over the state of Ohio, benefiting one business group and giving them unparalleled power. Sure, Indiana's Argosy Casino is pouring millions to stop this issue, but anyone can see that it's a bad deal for our state.
Cincinnati Issue Seven: Outlawing Red Light Cameras. I'm a little torn here. While I'm against this form of government fundraising, I'm wondering if there needs to be a charter amendment to stop it. City Council already yielded to the heat and voted down these cameras earlier in the year. Instead of constantly burdening the city charter, I prefer to keep the pressure on the politicians. Not sure that his will matter because it's certain to pass.
Cincinnati Issue Eight: Adopting the proportional representation method for electing city council. This is a method of election that is only present in one municipality in the US [Cambridge, Mass]. While it is advocated as a way of helping minorities get into office, I cannot see the benefit here. This system previously existed in the city and helped elect blacks when Cincinnati had a white majority. But the city has changed since those days. There's a lot I could say in recommending the rejection of this amendment, but the most compelling example I can offer is this: Last year it took 20,000 votes to get elected to Council. Under this method, you would only need 7,001 votes to win a seat. In our city, such a system could be easily manipulated to shut out minorities even more. Bad idea.
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TAKE NOTE: Even though everyone is obsessed with the presidential race, make sure to take some time on Monday to look at the "smaller" offices you'll be voting for.