We are Pro-Good Development, and Pro-Democracy.
Both are essential.

We fully support forward-thinking development in Worthington, including more housing, that enhances our city without burdening residents with excessive costs. You will hear our opponents claim that we're anti-development and that an accessible right of referendum will stop all development. Here's the truth: Projects like Worthington Gateway, Stafford Village, Granby Place, and Cotter House have all been built in recent years, without public opposition or referendums. The right of referendum encourages good projects, and deters the bad. 

Better decisions are made when the public has a strong voice.

About Our City Charter

Worthington’s City Charter serves as our local constitution. It establishes the basis and distribution of various powers—for the residents (Article 1) and the governmental system they have created through the Charter: City Council and Mayor (Article 2), City Manager (Article 3), and our Boards & Commissions (Article 6).  Our Charter begins with a declarative Preamble, echoing that of our nation’s Constitution:

We, the people of the City of Worthington, Ohio, in order to provide a democratic and efficient form of governmental organization, to secure for ourselves the benefits of municipal home rule, and to exercise all the powers of local self-government, do hereby adopt for our Municipality the following Charter.

In Article 1, Section 1.01, we read that it is the inhabitants residing within the corporate limits that constitute in perpetuity the City of Worthington.  Full text here. 

Charter Amendment Proposals on the 2026 ballot

This fall, Worthington voters will be voting on four Charter amendments. Issues 35, 36, and 37 were developed internally by the City government through the 2026 Charter Review Commission.  Issue 38 is a citizen-initiated amendment placed on the ballot through a grassroots effort of over 1,000 in-person, neighbor-to-neighbor conversations.

Collectively, Issues 35, 36, and 37 propose consolidating power within City Hall, prioritizing developer interests while weakening the ability of residents to provide input and the right to make appeals on major, high-impact development projects. These three measures would cut in half the window for public review and appeal of re-zonings, arbitrarily tie petition signature thresholds to statewide gubernatorial elections, eliminate three important review boards and instead create one 8-member, council-appointed "Development Commission," while weakening ethical standards for public officials. In contrast, Issue 38 exercises municipal home rule to establish an appropriately accessible, locally-based means of making appeals related to high-impact rezonings.

Information and brief commentary for each Issue are provided below.  

Issue 35  (Click for full text)

Cuts in half the number of days (60 to 30) for citizens to appeal zoning changes they judge to be harmful to the community. The City’s own Charter Commission report states that 75% of public feedback opposes this City proposal, and yet they still put it on the ballot.  Issue 35 would reverse a direct vote cast by Worthington residents in 2015, which established the 60 day period.  It would weaken a vital check and balance while diminishing the voice of the residents.

VOTE NO on 35.

Issue 36  (Click for full text)

A copycat measure City Council introduced after citizen-led Issue 38 was already certified for the ballot. The Commission’s own report admits that Issue 36 was hastily drafted at its final meeting specifically to counter the citizens’ petition proposal after they realized that the public supported our effort.  Issue 36 arbitrarily ties signature requirements to votes for governor, solely for the purpose of trying to make it harder for residents to be heard.

VOTE NO on 36.

Issue 37 (Click for full text)

Would eliminate the Architectural Review Board, Municipal Planning Commission, and the Board of Zoning Appeals. Instead, Issue 37 would concentrate power in a single 8-member Municipal Development Commission. This dismantling of our review process is high on the developers' wish list. This translates into far fewer resident decision-makers and avenues for public testimony and appeal. 

Issue 37 would also weaken ethical standards for Council and City staff (Section 4.08 & Section 9.03). Eliminates the mandatory removal from office for officials who knowingly violate conflict-of-interest rules; carves out exceptions to the strict prohibition against city officials and employees holding financial interests in city contracts; and weakens penalties for employees/officials who knowingly enter contracts exceeding budgeted appropriations.

VOTE NO on 37.

Issue 38 (Click for full text)

Restores access to the right of referendum by reversing the state legislature’s more than tripling of the number of signatures required. This will return us to a standard that worked well in Worthington for decades. Sensibly, the Issue 38 signature threshold for local referendums is based on votes cast in our local elections (not governor).

About the signature thresholds in Issue 36 versus Issue 38:
Our opponents claim that Issue 38's municipal standard for petition signatures sets the bar too low, and that Issue 36's gubernatorial standard is the solution. Some have even resorted to using inaccurate figures.

Here are the facts:

• Over the past three gubernatorial elections, using the gubernatorial standard (votes cast for governor) yielded signature requirements ranging from 604 to 902.
• During that same period, using the municipal standard (votes cast at municipal elections), that range was 518 to 854.
• The 2015 municipal election yielded a higher signature requirement (650) than the 2014 gubernatorial (604).
• The language of Issue 36 specifies using the number of votes cast for governor, not overall turnout.  Issue 38's language specifies using the number of votes cast AT the election (overall turnout), rather than limiting the standard to a particular contest.
• All of the above figures refer to the number of valid signatures. In any petition effort, to reach a required number, it is important to gather many more than that figure because the Board of Elections will reject many signatures for a variety of reasons. Estimates vary as to how many more it is prudent to gather, but one charter commission member during the 2016 process (chair during the 2026 process) suggested that petitioners would need 300% of the required signatures. From the minutes:  "Ms. Princehorn recalls an old rule of thumb in that three signatures are needed in order to get one good one."
  
  Source of election data: Franklin County Board of Elections