Reform and recall

Yesterday I wrote about The Professor's discovery that he can't start a drive to recall Jimmy Dimora. He's so frustrated, he's talking about taking a time machine back to Ohio's constitutional convention of 1912. But there's one lesson our anonymous instructor hasn't thought of.

The Professor has done a great civic service: he's stumbled upon another way that our antiquated county government lacks checks and balances. And he did it at the same time a bunch of people are talking about writing a charter for Cuyahoga County, which would take effect in 2011 (too late to help his recall-Dimora movement, but still...)

Ohio's constitution prevents us from recalling county officials because counties are "creatures of the state." The counties all have the same structure, which the state created -- except one. Summit County has its own charter. And it turns out that our neighbors in Akron and Green and Cuyahoga Falls can recall their county officials -- their charter says so.

If and when the groups looking at Cuyahoga County reform publish a draft of a charter, I'll let you know if it includes a provision for recall.