Shawn ([info]starburst8213) wrote in [info]oberlin,
@ 2005-08-19 16:27:00
Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Don't change that voter registration address just yet...
Hey Obies, watching the Cleveland news yesterday I heard that some residents of Oberlin (the town) put together this huge petition against the city counsel's decisions regarding zoning of the Wal-mart that will be built next year, whether we like it or not. I believe the deal is now that the zoning issue will be put on the ballot for the November election.

Anyway, I was wondering if anyone had any information about this issue, and also just to let other people know, so that people who registered to vote in Oberlin last year for the presidential election can stay registered to help the town out on this issue too. We may not be able to stop Wal-mart, but we may be able to push it far out of town.

(Post a new comment)


[info]shannonmc
2005-08-19 08:40 pm UTC (link)
people will still go to it if it's just outside of town. but if it's *in* town, the schools and the city get the benefits of taxes. that's what happened in my town -- walmart built *just* outside of city limits, so now the city and the schools don't even get help from taxes.

(Reply to this)


[info]burdenofdreams
2005-08-19 09:38 pm UTC (link)
Hey, so, I know a great deal about this situation and it is really fucking complicated and goes back to zoning laws being changed by a previous council in 1998. I'll try to type up something more informative and comprehensive this weekend if people are interested but for now I'll leave it at this:

I know many of the members of City Council. A majority loathe Walmart, what it stands for, etc. If the petition is successful and this is up for a vote (my bet is a court strikes it down and it never ends up on the ballot) , you won't be voting on whether Walmart should happen in Oberlin. You will be voting on the specific plans for this design of Walmart.

A no vote means they just draw up plans again. It delays Walmart. It does not end Walmart in this area. Voters do not have the power to keep Walmart from happening since the land has been zoned for commercial development for some seven years now. This was a huge mistake and thankfully a much more progressive City Council now governs Oberlin.

It would be illegal for Oberlin to change the zoning once a project comes forward that it doesn't like. This would be a violation of private property rights. Were Walmart asking for land to be rezoned for commercial use, then it would be at Council's discretion as to whether to allow Walmart to come to Oberlin. Unfortunately that's not the case.

But the other sentiment mentioned -- voting in Oberlin -- I can't encourage people enough to register to vote in this town. You live here. A big election is going on this Fall and speaking as an alum and someone working in the downtown, we really need to continue the positive changes that were made in city government after the 2003 election. It has enabled projects like the East College Street Project and other progressive legislation to move forward.

and www.shopoberlin.org




(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]ilunas
2005-08-19 10:50 pm UTC (link)
Hear here on voting and on delaying Wal Mart.
I know a lot about this already, but I think people always benifit from hearing more, so if you do feel like typing up more, I expect it will be very welcome.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]lo_spettro
2005-08-21 04:34 pm UTC (link)
I'll try to type up something more informative and comprehensive this weekend if people are interested

It'd be great to get something like that on OberWiki...maybe hit up the Voting in Ohio page?

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]mrartichoke
2005-08-19 10:10 pm UTC (link)
Okay, I have a problem with this: people who registered to vote in Oberlin last year for the presidential election can stay registered to help the town out on this issue too.
The way I see it, people who registered to vote in Oberlin should stay registered in Oberlin (if they're still living in Oberlin) not for the purpose of individual issues, but because doing otherwise is basically voter fraud.

I'm registered in Oberlin. I think it's important for students to register in Oberlin. I also think it's really important that if you register to vote in Oberlin, you're honest about it, which means that you're willing to stick with it while you're at Oberlin. There are elections coming up in Massachusetts that I would really really like to vote in, but I gave up my right to vote in Massachusetts because I decided (and declared under pains of perjury) that, for the purposes of elections, Oberlin is the place where I live. Switching back and forth depending on where the election seems more important would be lying, and it would be an awful lot like voting twice.

(Reply to this)


[info]riddlemithis
2005-08-19 10:40 pm UTC (link)
How do I register in Oberlin?

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]ilunas
2005-08-19 10:49 pm UTC (link)
The OC Dems will be tabling during enrollment, as usual, I expect.

(Reply to this) (Parent)
voting in town
(Anonymous)
2005-08-20 08:05 pm UTC (link)
Please register, get informed and vote here. You live here for four years and that's as long as many other residents. There are lots of important issues and elections over the course of 4 years: city council is coming up this fall and probably a school levy too.

(Reply to this) (Thread)
Re: voting in town
(Anonymous)
2005-08-20 08:33 pm UTC (link)
and a levy for the local library! No more free rentals if you don't vote

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]freesiayourmind
2005-08-23 07:28 pm UTC (link)
Too late, I've already got my absentee ballot for Massachusetts. Oh well, I'm certainly interested in what's going on there as well. (I'm not sure I'm convinced it's "cheating" to switch around. People can live in more than one place in a certain time period, and take an interest in the affairs of both places.)

(Reply to this)

die wal-mart, die!
(Anonymous)
2005-08-24 07:35 pm UTC (link)
from my experience living in a small town with a wal-mart all my life, it probably won't matter much if it's in or out of town. even in town, our wal-mart has successfully avoided paying taxes for over 15 years by doing tricky things like moving and expanding at the right times. sadly, now that we have a super wal-mart, all my favorite stores downtown our going our of business. i just went into my favorite bookstore and they had two shelves of books left. it almost made me cry. sadly, there may not be much hope left for saving oberlin from a similar fate.

(Reply to this)

Create an Account
Forgot your login or password?
Login w/ OpenID
English • Español • Deutsch • Русский…