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By Kathy Wray Coleman, editor, associate publisher

CLEVELANDURBANNEWS.COM, CLEVELAND, Ohio-  The Cuyahoga County Board of Elections will not count any votes relative to  two charter amendments on the ballot for the March 17,  2020 primary election that would reduce Cleveland City Council and cut members salaries

But the measures will remain on the ballot, election officials said Tuesday, because it is too late to remove them from the  ballot.

The announcement comes after the group leading the initiative sought to withdraw the ballot measures beyond the 70-day time period required under state law, and city council, in turn, passed an ordinance on Monday that was signed by Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson that, in effect, nullifies any votes that come in regarding the controversial issue.

State law requires that withdrawing such measures from the ballot must occur at least 70 days before the election at issue.

In short, the charter amendments will remain on the ballot but no votes on the measures will be tallied.

The proposed charter amendments would cut the number of council members from 17 to nine and reduce their pay from $83,370 to $58,000.

Currently eight of the council members are White, eight are Black, and one is Hispanic

Clevelanders First, led by Cleveland restaurateur and Lakewood businessman Tony George and some activists, many of them suburbanites, moved to withdraw the initiatives from the ballot after activists complained and after meeting with east side Black pastors who were concerned the move could set up an east side-west side split in the city, a city divided along racial lines.

The group, led by George, had collected the necessary signatures to put the measures before voters, its members arguing that the council members have become lackadaisical and patsies for the establishment.

Blacks primary reside on the city's east side and Whites on the west side, separated, in fact, by the Cuyahoga River, Cleveland the second most segregated city in the nation behind Boston.

Cleveland City Council President Kevin Kelley, who is White, while four-term Mayor Jackson, who is currently serving and unprecedented fourth term, is Black, has said the measures, if adopted, would give residents less access to local government.

Black Cleveland activists were torn over the matter, most of them against the reduction in city council saying it is racist and targets resources or council people in a largely Black city unlike neighboring majority White and affluent suburban communities like Shaker Heights and Beachwood, who have fewer constituents per council person than Cleveland.

By charter Cleveland's 17 all Democratic councilpersons generally serve some 25,000 constituents per council person, per ward.

(www.clevelandurbannews.com) / (www.kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com)