Mayor: Charter vote a surprise

Strong support for a city charter commission came as a surprise on election night, said Lorain Mayor Jack Bradley.

The city’s chief executive was the top vote-getter among 35 candidates seeking 15 seats on a city Charter Commission, if voters approved. They did, with 12,292 ballots in favor and 8,407 against, according to unofficial final results of the Lorain County Board of Elections.

There may not be much work on a city charter until later this month, after the elections board meets to certify the results.

After that, Bradley said he expects the 15 members will begin coordinating their schedules for meeting times.

Bradley, who received 8,402 votes, acknowledged the numbers were a surprise. “I thought it would be much closer,” he said.

“I’m honored to have been selected by the citizens of Lorain and I hope to represent them well and to help develop the best proposed charter that we can to the voters in the next year,” the mayor said. “I always say it’s not about me, it’s about the citizens of Lorain.”

Bradley said knows some of the other 14 presumed charter commissioners. But he has not met all of them, or if he has met them briefly, he did not know them well.

The day after the election, Bradley said the only other one he had spoken with was Rick Soto, who serves as his chief of staff.

“I think it’s a good cross section of not only the community but also the political spectrum, so I think there’s going to be a good cross section of representation on that Commission,” he said.

The commissioners will have to agree on an initial meeting and likely will select a chairperson and vice chairperson to maintain orderly meetings. Bradley predicted they may use social media initially to begin coordinating times to meet.

The Charter Commission meetings also will be public, meaning residents can attend and my have a chance to comment, Bradley said.

The Charter Commission may request to use the Lorain City Council chamber at the first floor of City Hall, 200 W. Erie Ave. The chamber has been set up with spaced seating, hand sanitizer and plastic barriers to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, Bradley said.

After 10 months in office, Bradley declined to name specific details about things he would like to change.

“I think that I’m going to be looking at charters in other communities and talking to mayors in other charter cities to see what advice they could give me regarding the advantages and disadvantages that their charters provide in their cities,” Bradley said.

That way the Lorain Charter Commission can make sure it avoids pitfall in what it proposes for the city, he said.

Bradley said his legal background, and that of apparent seat winner Jessie Tower, may help the Charter Commission with some preliminary legal questions.

Tower, a Republican, was the opponent on the ballot when voters in November 2019 tapped Bradley, a Democrat, to lead the city.

That won’t make a difference on the Charter Commission, Bradley said.

The Charter Commission is not party affiliated, but represents the interests of the citizens of Lorain, he said.

“As long as we all remember that, that we’re representing all the citizens of Lorain, I think we’ll be able to work well together,” Bradley said.

SOURCE: LORAIN COUNTY ELECTIONS BOARD Lorain voters cast their ballots for a city Charter Commission. The top 15 vote-getters according to unofficial final results are noted.