Resident and organizer Patti Gorcheff
BEAVER TOWNSHIP — “Local fracking opposition has been denied in an attempt to place a Home Rule issue on the November ballot.
The Ohio Supreme Court on Sept. 14 denied a writ of mandamus that would have forced the township trustees to submit the issue to the Mahoning County Board of Elections. The ruling found that the group used an incorrect form to collect petitions to place the issue on the ballot.
… Home rule allows municipalities to pass laws and ordinances as they see fit to further their operations, within the bounds of the state and federal constitutions. Davis said the group was attempting to put the home rule issue on the ballot so that if passed the trustees would have the authority to pass ordinances regulating actions related to fracking such as noise pollution and weight on the roads. Additionally the group would have been able to form another citizens initiative to petition residents to place another issue on a future ballot that would have strongly influenced fracking in the township.”
— Kevin Howell, Salem News
