COLUMBUS, Ohio — A new effort for a charter amendment – from the group behind Issue 7 in Columbus – has failed.
The Franklin County Board of Elections said the group did not collect enough valid signatures for an effort that sought $107 million from the city’s general fund, according to documents provided to 10TV by the city of Columbus.
The board said only 3,991 signatures were valid out of the 6,500 submitted.
This means that for another ballot measure, the group will have to start from scratch with a new petition and new signatures.
The petition for the Energy Conservation Fund was filed before the Nov. 2 election in which Issue 7 was defeated by a wide margin.
Issue 7 would’ve taken $87 million from the city and placed it under the oversight of an outside entity for “green energy efforts.” Petitioners behind Issue 7 said the money would have also supported minority-owned businesses.
City leaders called the effort a scam in widely-televised ads.
“The people of Columbus have made it very clear how they feel about this scam - their approach - and the people behind it,” Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said on Tuesday after Issue 7 was defeated. “We should not allow the ballot to be used by a small group of people who want to profit from our larger community.”
10TV reached out to several contacts from this group and did not immediately hear back.