The Athens County Board of Elections has moved Nelsonville’s long-awaited council recall election to the May 4, 2027 primary, rejecting the city charter council’s request to hold the vote on December 15 of this year.
At its regular meeting on Wednesday, October 21, the board voted to schedule the recall for the 2027 primary instead. Board members cited the calendar: a December 15 election would have left the board only a few weeks to prepare while it was simultaneously overseeing the results of the November 3, 2026 general election, and the Nelsonville charter requires a recall election to be held at least 75 days after the clerk of council certifies a petition.
The board also flagged an unresolved legal question in the petition itself — it did not specify successors to the council seats in question. The board’s counsel, Athens County Assistant Prosecutor TL Warren, said he would seek clarity on the issue of successors through the city’s legal representation.
The recall targets all seven members of Nelsonville’s charter-based council: Amy Hollenbaugh, Charlotte Beach, Cameron Peck, Gregg Clement, McCray Powell, Nic Joseph-Saul and Nancy Sonick. The petition, filed by Daniel L. Sherman and submitted to the council clerk on September 22, was verified with between 138 and 152 signatures per member — enough for acting clerk Danielle Huber to certify it as sufficient on October 2.
The delay frustrated members of the city’s statutory council, the rival body that has claimed to be Nelsonville’s legitimate government since January 2026. Statutory council member Sue Powell, who attended the October 21 meeting, said she and her colleagues were ‘frustrated and disheartened’ by the decision, though she acknowledged the difficulty of holding an election so close to the general election. Board member Lauren Dikis said the board had no choice but to ‘follow the law and make sure that we lawfully hold every election.’
The recall fight grows out of Nelsonville’s two-year government dispute. In November 2024, nearly 70 percent of voters approved abolishing the city charter, but in August 2025 the sitting council passed an ordinance nullifying that vote, even after the board of elections had certified candidates for a new statutory form of government. Litigation followed, and two cases — one in the Ohio Supreme Court and one in the Fourth District Court of Appeals — remain pending.
For now, Nelsonville residents will wait until May 2027 to settle the recall question at the ballot box. In the meantime, the charter council continues its regular business, with its next meeting set for Monday, October 26, at 7 p.m. in Council Chambers at Nelsonville City Hall on Lake Hope Drive.
Photo: Tim Kiser (w:User:Malepheasant), CC BY-SA 2.5