By Kimball Perry, The Columbus Dispatch
COLUMBUS – Voters in Upper Arlington will go to the polls today to decide whether four city council members keep their jobs.
Polls are open from 6:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. Polling locations can be found at vote.franklincountyohio.gov or by calling the Franklin County Board of Elections at (614) 525-3100.
The special election, which will cost Upper Arlington residents more than $60,000, is the climax of complaints from a group of residents who say the council doesn’t listen to community input, especially criticism.
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The Franklin County Board of Elections says more than 27,000 voters are eligible to cast ballots in the special election.
Four of the seven council members are subject to recall. Council President Debbie Johnson and Councilmen David DeCapua, John Adams and Kip Greenhill insist they have been patient and receptive to the arguments of the opposition, but have grown weary of what they perceive as attacks.
A large group has backed the four on council, saying they have governed well. That group, called “Believe in UA,” raised more than $30,000 and has campaigned hard to keep the four, praising them for the work they have done in the face of heavy criticism from what they believe is a small number of residents.
The other side, “UA for Accountability,” collected more than 3,100 valid signatures to place the issue before voters, a sign, they say, that not all is well in the city’s government. It raised more than $10,000 for its campaign to oust the four.