Word ‘ward’ evokes crime, corruption

The Dispatch’s choice to use the word “wards” when discussing the ballot initiative to change the structure and increase the accountability for Columbus City Council runs the risk of tainting the forthcoming debate. Everyone in the leadership of Everyday People for Positive Change has been careful to discuss the “districts” rather than “wards” because we’re aware of the negative connotation, earned or otherwise, that the latter of these two carries in a state like Ohio.

“Wards” are for places with infamous histories such as Chicago, Cleveland, or Detroit, cities whose outsider narratives involve harsh winters, high crime rates, interparty battles and rampant corruption. Those places have their problems, but Chicago is a cultural epicenter of the region and is three times our size. Cleveland has shrunk by 90,000 people since 2000. In the same period of time, Columbus has grown by more than 140,000.

Detroit converted to a ward system after its latest shakeup, not before. Beyond that, we have wards in this city already, but they serve an electoral function, not a political one.

Also, council President Shannon G. Hardin’s wording about attempts to “divide up the city” intentionally distorts the real issue. There’s already a gaping division in the way this council appropriates funds to wealthy areas while allowing the ones in low-income or minority-majority areas to fend for themselves.

The amendment petition submitted by Everyday People creates an avenue for just and fair representation. That’s about diversity of priority and opinion — a healthy part of the process — not division.

David Harewood Columbus