Issue 40: We’ve Been Here Before — Why I’m Voting No

On November 3, Garfield Heights voters will decide Issue 40. It asks whether all seven members of City Council should serve four-year terms instead of two, starting with the November 2029 election.

Under Issue 40, terms would start December 1, Council would pick its President at its first December meeting, and all seven seats would be elected together with the Mayor once every four years instead of every two.

We have been here before

I served seven terms on this Council, representing Ward 1 from 2007 to 2021. In 2016, Council voted 5–1 to put four-year council terms on the ballot. I cast the only vote against it. On November 8, 2016, you, the voters, turned it down, 58 to 42 percent.

Why I would still vote No

Two-year terms are the shortest leash residents have. If you get a council member who does nothing for the ward, two-year terms let you replace that member within two years. Under Issue 40, short of a recall, that member can sit there for four. A recall takes a petition signed by voters equal to 20 percent of the ward’s turnout at the last November city election, and then a recall election. Four years is a long time to live with a mistake.

Council sent Issue 40 to you by a 7–0 vote at a special meeting on July 28, 2026. The case for it — fewer elections, lower campaign costs and more time for long-term planning — is real. Even Councilwoman Mack, voting yes, said longer terms “should be balanced with accountability.” I do not find the case persuasive, because the price is paid by residents who want someone replaced and cannot do it.

I am asking you to vote No on Issue 40.

Don’t skip Issue 3

Issue 3, the only statewide question on your ballot, would write a photo-ID requirement to vote in person into the Ohio Constitution. Photo ID to vote in person has been required by state law since 2023; a No vote keeps it in the law but out of the Constitution. Yes puts it in; No leaves it out. By law it comes first among the ballot questions, above every local issue. Don’t skip it.

Dates to keep

Early in-person voting and vote-by-mail began Tuesday, October 6. Ask for a mail ballot by Tuesday, October 27, 8:30 p.m. Election Day is Tuesday, November 3, 2026 — polls are open 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. For your polling place or a sample ballot, visit the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections at boe.cuyahogacounty.gov or call 216-443-VOTE (8683).

Sources

• Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, certified Issues List, November 3, 2026 (Issues 3 and 40)
• Garfield Heights City Council, special meeting minutes, July 28, 2026 and Ordinance 65-2026
• Garfield Heights City Council minutes, July 11, 2016 (Ord. 24-2016, adopted 5–1)
• Board of Elections official results, November 8, 2016 (Garfield Heights Issue 60, Charter Amendment – Terms)
• Signal Cleveland, August 4, 2026, on the Issue 3 ballot language
• Garfield Heights Charter §6 (recall); Ohio Revised Code 3505.06(B) (order of ballot questions)

From The Ward 2A Report, Issue 2026-003. If a figure here is wrong, tell me and I will correct it.