City Voters Again Reject Anti-Fracking Measure
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Youngstown voters rejected for the fifth time the so-called Community Bill of Rights, but by a narrower margin than in the past.
The amendment to the city’s charter, which would have restricted activities related to the oil and gas industry within the city limits, lost, with 51.47% of city voters casting their ballots against the amendment and 48.53% voting for it. According to the unofficial results from the Mahoning County Board of elections, 6,028 votes were cast against the amendment and 5,683 were cast for it.
The Youngstown Warren Regional Chamber, which spearheaded the effort against the charter amendment as it has the four previous attempts, issued a news release following the election results in response to the latest defeat of the “economically crippling measure,” as it characterized the proposal.
“Youngstown’s hard-fought economic recovery avoided another set-back with the defeat of this dangerous amendment,” said Guy Coviello, the chamber’s vice president of government affairs. “We hope the individuals behind this ill-conceived proposal finally get the message. The Mahoning Valley wants more jobs and opportunity, not less.”
The chamber’s news release also contained statements from Butch Taylor, Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 396 business manager, and Jaladah Aslam, Community Mobilization Coalition vice chairwoman.
“Tonight we celebrate another victory over those who want to limit the jobs available to the hard-working men and women in the skilled trades,” Taylor said. “We thank the voters and say to amendment organizers: enough is enough. The trades will rally against this terrible amendment whenever it is before voters. However, we would rather spend our time training our people for good paying jobs.”
“Youngstown voters wanted no part of this deceptive and destructive charter amendment,” Aslam said. “That was clear from our discussions with thousands of residents over the course of this election. Voters saw this amendment as a poor attempt to block progress and deny workers job opportunities. I am confident voters will again reject this amendment if its organizers continue to press this bad idea.”
Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
