Dec 16, 2018 7:15 AM
A last-minute filing to the Lucas County Board of Elections has put another roadblock in the way of fairness and democratic action in Toledo. A protest document filed on behalf of one person threatens to overturn the work of numerous citizens who spent hundreds of hours collecting over 10,000 signatures to get the Lake Erie Bill of Rights before local citizens for a vote.
Members of Toledoans for Safe Water have attended numerous Board of Elections meetings, where they have often been told they are not allowed to present their case. Yet one petitioner has the power to abort a citizens’ initiative to protect Lake Erie and everybody who relies on it for clean, safe water. The lake and the animals who live in it also deserve protection. Because they cannot speak for themselves, they need the voices of citizens to speak for them. That is the goal of the Lake Erie Bill of Rights.The Board can add the Lake Erie Bill of Rights to the ballot at no additional cost. It must do the right thing for the democratic process it oversees.
Lake Erie is right here at our doorstep. The threat to our clean drinking water is real and time is critical. Add your voice to tell the Elections Board to do the right thing. Citizens did the work required to get this initiative before Toledoans. Let’s vote on it!
SAM WRIGHT
West Toledo
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