Akron voters approved all three city charter amendments on the Nov. 3 ballot on Tuesday, backing two housing measures and a package that strengthens the city’s Citizens’ Police Oversight Board, according to unofficial results reported by the Akron Beacon Journal with all precincts reporting.
Issue 11 passed with 57.8% of the vote in the unofficial results reported by the Akron Beacon Journal. The amendment requires property owners and operators to offer three- or six-month security deposit installment plans, makes it a criminal offense to fail to notify tenants and prospective tenants of that right, bans fees, charges and deposits before a rental agreement is finalized, and criminalizes collecting application fees.
Issue 12 passed narrowly, with 50.9% of the vote, the Akron Beacon Journal reported. It establishes criminal history — except for sex offenders and arson offenders — and source of income as protected classes in housing, and prohibits owners and operators from refusing to rent or engage in real estate transactions based on criminal history.
Under Issue 12, the Akron Civil Rights Commission gains jurisdiction over real estate discrimination claims in the city, and Akron City Council must pass implementing legislation within 90 days of the amendment’s effective date, according to the Akron Beacon Journal.
Issue 13 passed with 57.7% of the vote — Signal Akron independently reported the margin as nearly 58 percent. The amendment grants Akron’s independent police auditor subpoena power to compel records and to compel attendance and testimony from private citizens and public employees, adds three community-selected board seats chosen through a civil rights organization process, and requires the police chief to respond in writing to auditor recommendations within 45 days, according to the Akron Beacon Journal.
Signal Akron reported that Issue 13 also reduces City Council control over the oversight board’s day-to-day operations, and provides that if the mayor or the Akron Police Department do not respond to challenges to disciplinary findings, the auditor’s recommendations are enacted by default.
The measures reached the ballot through a signature-gathering campaign by Freedom BLOC, a nonprofit focused on economic and social issues, along with other local organizations, according to the Akron Beacon Journal and Signal Akron. They passed despite opposition from developers, the Fraternal Order of Police and the mayor, the Akron Beacon Journal reported; Signal Akron reported that Mayor Shammas Malik had recommended voters reject Issues 11 and 12. At the group’s watch party, Freedom BLOC Executive Director Ray Greene Jr. told the crowd, in remarks reported by the Akron Beacon Journal: “I am beside myself with excitement… we did that, and the numbers are going to show that we won.” All results are unofficial and subject to certification by the Summit County Board of Elections.