AKRON, Ohio — Voters in Akron approved Issue 10 at the polls on Tuesday, beginning the process of creating a citizen police oversight board.
What You Need To Know
- Akron voted yes on Issue 10, creating a citizen police oversight board
- City leaders are now tasked with getting any legislation passed for the charter amendment within the next six months
- Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan said he will support the creation of the board
Nearly 30,000 residents voted yes for Issue 10, while around 18,000 voted no.
The Freedom BLOC, a community activist group in Akron, played a major role in getting it passed.
“This year in June, Jayland Walker was killed, which just activated the community in a different way. One that allowed us to come together and register 13,000 people to vote and collect 7,000 signatures to get this ballot initiative,” said Ray Greene Jr., the executive director of Freedom Bloc.
“People are hungry for something different in Akron and we thank the Walker family for giving us the opportunity to do that, and then using that to continue to build and build something for the city that also represents their son and their pain and their loss.”
Even though voters overwhelmingly passed Issue 10, there are still obstacles ahead. Opponents of this issue say it may end up in litigation with the city’s Fraternal Order of Police.
Akron city councilman Shammas Malik, who helped write the charter amendment, said it has wording to specifically avoid that.
“One of the things we were very clear about in drafting this is that there is language that says the language in this charter amendment has to be construed and interpreted in a way that is consistent with the police union contract. So in my mind that will help resolve any concerns,” Malik said.
In September, city council passed Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan’s proposal for a separate police oversight board. Horrigan's proposal is an ordinance, while Issue 10 is a charter amendment that will trump the ordinance.
Wednesday, Horrigan released a statement addressing the passage of Issue 10.
“I respect the will of the voters and support the creation of the citizens’ police oversight board,” Horrigan said. “The city’s law department will now take the next steps to determine the best path forward for the creation of the newly passed board.”
Issue 10 states that any required legislation must be passed by city council by June 30, 2023.
The mayor said in his statement that he will aim to meet that deadline.
“So what the charter amendment does is it lays out these broad pillars. There is going to be a board, it will have this many members, there is going to be a three-person auditors office — an auditor, a deputy auditor, and an administrative assistant,” Malik said. “Then a lot of the details will be filled in by council, which has six months now to pass legislation.”