Athens County Democrats were ecstatic tonight after they learned that the controversial Senate Bill 5 was repealed. Athens voted against the bill in a landslide vote as of 11 p.m.
Issue 2 was officially voted down in Athens County with 12,557 votes against the issue and 3,070 for, according to the Athens County Board of Elections.
Statewide, the issue failed by a vote of 1,842,031 against, 1,195,532 for, as of 11 p.m.
“Issue 2 went down in flames — as it should have,” said Paul Wiehl, a Democrat who was re-elected as mayor of Athens last night.
Other local Democrats shared his sentiments.
“We ran a good campaign, and this has been a really exciting time at Ohio University,” said Jacob Chaffin, a junior studying education and organizer with We Are Ohio. “I think students here at OU have been paying attention to the political climate, and that’s not common on an off-year election. We have people here who care about the election and they wanted to be a part of it.”
In a statement released shortly after reports of Issue 2’s failure, Ohio Gov. John Kasich reiterated that the focus will remain on bringing jobs to Ohio and keeping them in the state.
Throughout the summer, supporters of SB 5 stood behind positive economic effects for local governments that the law would bring.
“The local business community and, in particular, the Chamber of Commerce aren’t on our side,” said Pete Couladis, chairman of the Athens County Republican Party. “They should be our allies; they complain about the city government, but every time there is a local election, they run and hide.”
ld311710@ohiou.edu
