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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Lakewood Committee of the Whole Meeting - July 2, 2025: Charter Review & Ranked Choice Voting

Council Meetings — Wednesday, July 2, 2025

BodyLakewood, Ohio

SessionCouncil Meetings

DateWednesday, July 2, 2025

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 1:19:45

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:00

All right, we will call to order the committee of the whole meeting.

0:05

Note that all members are present, as well as members of the administration.

0:09

Thank you for being here.

0:12

So first, I will move to approve the minutes of the June 16th meeting.

0:19

Second.

0:19

Motion's been made and seconded.

0:21

Any discussion?

0:23

Hearing none.

0:24

All those in favor?

0:25

Aye.

0:26

And that motion passes.

0:28

Okay.

0:29

So the uh only item of business tonight is discussing the report of the 2024 Charter Review Commission.

0:36

Um tonight we're gonna my intention is that we'll go through each of those recommendations and have some discussion.

0:44

We may even reach a decision of asking the law department to draft language.

0:49

Um, but first we're gonna talk about it.

0:52

So we'll we'll do that.

0:53

Um first up, one of those.

0:56

So just for a little background for anyone who doesn't know, um, we are a charter municipality.

1:01

Our charter functions essentially like a constitution.

1:04

Um and so it overrides everything we do.

1:07

It is voted upon by the voters.

1:10

Uh and every 10 years we form a charter review commission, a citizen charter review commission to review that charter uh and make recommendations back to council.

1:22

Council may take those recommendations and then place uh any of them or all of them on the ballot for voters to then vote whether or not to amend the charter accordingly.

1:35

So what we're doing tonight is looking at each of those recommendations uh and seeing uh what we want to do.

1:41

So one of those recommendations is uh the Charter Review Commission recommended that council consider language on the ballot that would give voters the option or would give voters uh would vote to give council the option to potentially vote using ranked choice voting uh in our municipality.

2:04

This would affect specifically municipal elections, it would not affect school board elections because that is set by the state, um, but it would affect our municipal elections.

2:13

It would not dictate that council would uh or that vo we would use ranked choice voting.

2:20

It would give council the option of in the future if we wished to implement ranked choice voting.

2:25

So I thought it would be helpful tonight um to do a little background on ranked choice voting.

2:31

This isn't something that everyone's familiar with and understanding how it could work, how it works other places, and um just give us a little opportunity to dig into it and ask some questions of the experts.

2:45

So with that, uh we have Justin Wells with us from um uh rank the vote Ohio.

2:51

And uh Justin, if you want to come up, you're welcome to either stand or sit whatever is more comfortable for you.

2:55

Um if you push that button, it should turn green.

2:59

Yes.

3:00

Welcome, Justin.

3:01

And we've got your presentation up uh if you want to uh take it away.

3:05

Certainly.

3:06

Uh I would ask, could I have a little clicker just to move the slides?

3:10

That works.

3:18

Thank you all for having us.

3:20

Uh like I said.

3:22

Uh yeah, okay.

3:25

Um my name is Justin Wells.

3:27

I'm the former executive director of rank the vote Ohio.

3:30

Uh and until three days ago, uh Lakewood West resident.

3:35

Um so I do want to ask, uh I know that the idea was that no one actually knows what uh ranked choice voting is, but I do actually want to ask uh how many people are at least aware of ranked choice voting.

3:48

Uh and in the crowd, too.

3:50

I do.

3:52

Uh okay.

3:52

So everyone at least has a passing familiarity with it.

3:55

Uh so for the few who don't, uh, the idea of ranked choice voting uh is instead of just choosing the one, you rank your choices.

4:06

Uh as simple as that can be.

4:09

Uh so what we have on screen now is the concept of new balance, uh, and these are ones that are actually used.

4:17

Um all of your choices are there.

4:20

Uh you fill in your first choice uh for the person that you want, you fill in your second choice for the person that you want, uh, and so on.

4:28

So you might be asking, why are we doing this?

4:33

Why exactly are we actually pushing for ranked choice voting?

4:37

The short answer being uh American democracy is not entirely in the best of shape right now.

4:45

Um and one of the most clear things that we know is that a staggering number of people simply do not vote.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Ranked Choice Voting█████████████████████████████████████████████85%

Election Procedures███6%

Procedural███5%

Personnel Matters█2%

Voter Engagement█1%

Racial Equity█1%

Summary of Proceedings

Lakewood City Council Committee of the Whole Meeting - July 2, 2025

On July 2, 2025, the Lakewood City Council Committee of the Whole met to discuss the recommendations of the 2024 Charter Review Commission, with a primary focus on ranked choice voting (RCV) for municipal elections. The meeting included a presentation by Justin Wells, former executive director of Rank the Vote Ohio, and public comment. Council voted to direct the law department to draft legislation on each commission recommendation, with the goal of potentially placing charter amendments on the November 2025 ballot.

Consent Calendar

Unanimously approved the minutes of the June 16, 2025 Committee of the Whole meeting.

Public Comments & Testimony

Teresa Permenter (President, League of Women Voters Lakewood): Expressed the League’s full support for RCV, stating it improves democracy and representation of women and people of color.
Chris Bindle (1212 Hathway): Supported RCV for Lakewood, emphasizing elimination of costly primaries, increased voter turnout, reduced negative campaigning, and broader candidate access. He noted the Charter Review Commission’s recommendation would allow council to adopt plurality or RCV via ordinance.
Glenn Campbell (15305 Landing Avenue): Supported RCV, citing better voter participation, elimination of low-turnout primaries, and the chance for Lakewood to lead statewide reform.
Dean Jackson (Charter Review Commission member): Supported RCV, arguing it solves Lakewood problems such as the need for primaries with many candidates and low representation (e.g., no person of color on council until his appointment). He also flagged the council pay recommendation.
Jim Woolley (Lake Avenue, Charter Commission member): Questioned whether a charter amendment for RCV is necessary, noting lack of evidence of a specific problem with current Lakewood elections.

Discussion Items

Background on Charter Review: Council President Sarah Kepple explained that Lakewood’s charter functions as a constitution, reviewed every 10 years by a citizen commission. Recommendations can be placed on the ballot by council.
Ranked Choice Voting Presentation: Justin Wells presented on RCV mechanics (instant runoff, majority requirement), benefits (reduced spoiler effect, increased voter turnout, more civil campaigns), and examples from Maine, Alaska, New York City, and other jurisdictions. He noted 60+ cities and two states use RCV.
Council Questions and Comments:
- Councilwoman Strebig asked about transparency of tallying and recounts; Wells explained hand-counting is possible and software exists.
- Councilwoman Marks expressed support after prior discussion with Chris Bindle.
- Councilman Evans voiced strong support, hoping Lakewood leads the region.
- Vice President Baker questioned practical implementation, including whether Cuyahoga County Board of Elections has experience with RCV (last used in Ohio in 1962). He sought legal clarity on a pending state bill vs. charter amendment option.
- Councilman Bullock asked about the problem statement and sample size; Wells cited Maine and dozens of cities. Bullock cautioned about unintended consequences and emphasized need to avoid process disguising other goals. He favored using general election voters over primary activists.
- Councilwoman Hamilton Steiner argued RCV addresses lack of representation (e.g., people of color on council), noting primaries disadvantage minority and lower-income candidates.
Legal and Operational Considerations: The city law department received a Legislative Service Commission (LSC) opinion indicating the pending state bill (not yet passed) may not apply to charter amendments. The LSC opinion stated the bill as written would prevent ordinance-based RCV but would not necessarily prevent charter amendments, though the bill could be amended to threaten local government funds. Council President noted the September 5 deadline to place something on the November ballot, and that the state bill outcome may not be known by then.
Other Charter Commission Recommendations: Council briefly discussed council salaries (inadvisable as drafted due to ethics law) and redistricting. Assistant Director Swallow noted the salary proposal would need to be structured as a future-term adjustment (e.g., based on CPI). Law department agreed to draft legislation on all proposals.

Key Outcomes

Council voted unanimously (motion by Councilman Bullock, seconded) to direct the law department to draft language for each of the Charter Review Commission's recommendations, allowing council to decide which to advance.
The timeline discussed: introduce legislation at the next regular council meeting, hold a committee meeting, and potentially adopt by the first September meeting to meet the November 2025 ballot deadline. Council may also consider placing some items on the 2026 ballot if needed.
Further committee discussion on each recommendation (including redistricting) will occur before final votes.

Meeting Transcript

All right, we will call to order the committee of the whole meeting. Note that all members are present, as well as members of the administration. Thank you for being here. So first, I will move to approve the minutes of the June 16th meeting. Second. Motion's been made and seconded. Any discussion? Hearing none. All those in favor? Aye. And that motion passes. Okay. So the uh only item of business tonight is discussing the report of the 2024 Charter Review Commission. Um tonight we're gonna my intention is that we'll go through each of those recommendations and have some discussion. We may even reach a decision of asking the law department to draft language. Um, but first we're gonna talk about it. So we'll we'll do that. Um first up, one of those. So just for a little background for anyone who doesn't know, um, we are a charter municipality. Our charter functions essentially like a constitution. Um and so it overrides everything we do. It is voted upon by the voters. Uh and every 10 years we form a charter review commission, a citizen charter review commission to review that charter uh and make recommendations back to council. Council may take those recommendations and then place uh any of them or all of them on the ballot for voters to then vote whether or not to amend the charter accordingly. So what we're doing tonight is looking at each of those recommendations uh and seeing uh what we want to do. So one of those recommendations is uh the Charter Review Commission recommended that council consider language on the ballot that would give voters the option or would give voters uh would vote to give council the option to potentially vote using ranked choice voting uh in our municipality. This would affect specifically municipal elections, it would not affect school board elections because that is set by the state, um, but it would affect our municipal elections. It would not dictate that council would uh or that vo we would use ranked choice voting. It would give council the option of in the future if we wished to implement ranked choice voting. So I thought it would be helpful tonight um to do a little background on ranked choice voting. This isn't something that everyone's familiar with and understanding how it could work, how it works other places, and um just give us a little opportunity to dig into it and ask some questions of the experts. So with that, uh we have Justin Wells with us from um uh rank the vote Ohio. And uh Justin, if you want to come up, you're welcome to either stand or sit whatever is more comfortable for you. Um if you push that button, it should turn green. Yes. Welcome, Justin. And we've got your presentation up uh if you want to uh take it away. Certainly. Uh I would ask, could I have a little clicker just to move the slides? That works. Thank you all for having us. Uh like I said. Uh yeah, okay. Um my name is Justin Wells. I'm the former executive director of rank the vote Ohio. Uh and until three days ago, uh Lakewood West resident. Um so I do want to ask, uh I know that the idea was that no one actually knows what uh ranked choice voting is, but I do actually want to ask uh how many people are at least aware of ranked choice voting. Uh and in the crowd, too. I do. Uh okay.

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