In Inside Courts, retired judge Tom Hodson explains the complexities of the law and legal cases, helping you understand what’s at stake — and how it affects you. This column references filings made through Sept. 3, 2025. Stay up to date here.
The City of Nelsonville is slogging through a legal quagmire.
Come January 2026, will it stay a charter city operating under the 1995 charter or will it become a statutory city pursuant to Issue 23 passed by 70 percent of voters?
Will Nelsonville City Council’s August 11 repeal of Issue 23 stand as constitutional?
Will current candidates for the statutory offices remain on the ballot or will they be removed by court order?
These questions now rest with the Ohio Supreme Court, and all interested parties are anxiously awaiting the court’s decision on this “Expedited Election Issue.”
The Ohio Supreme Court case has taken some winding turns that may be difficult to understand, so let me walk you through what’s happening.
City of Nelsonville’s complaint
On Aug. 13, the City of Nelsonville filed a ”VERIFIED COMPLAINT FOR MANDAMUS, PROHIBITION, OR ALTERNATIVELY FOR PEREMPTORY WRITS” as an expedited election measure with the Ohio Supreme Court.
Nelsonville is asking the court to find that the current Nelsonville City Council had the power to repeal Issue 23 because it was an ordinance, instead of being an independent ballot initiative under the Ohio Constitution, and to remove candidates from November’s ballot who are running for the “statutory positions.”
The city is relying on opinions of the Athens County Common Pleas Court and the Fourth District Court of Appeals to support its position. The city will call on prior court decisions, too.
On Oct. 24, 2024, the Fourth District Court of Appeals found that the Nelsonville City Charter’s Article X set up the appropriate means to repeal a charter. It found that citizens followed the appropriate procedure and therefore, the council was required to pass an ordinance to put the repeal issue on the ballot.
The appellate court said: “The Nelsonville City Charter provides the method to abolish the charter, and appellees obtained a sufficient number of signatures. Because the petition to abolish the charter was sufficient, the charter requires Nelsonville City Council to pass the ordinance placing the abolition of the charter on the ballot. They have no discretion to do otherwise.”
As a result, the matter of eliminating the charter government and replacing it with a statutory form came before voters in November 2024, and a huge majority voted to revoke the charter, to start a statutory form of local government on Jan. 1, 2026.
Plans had been made for this transition and candidates filed with the board of elections to run for statutory council positions and other statutory offices, such as mayor.
However, on Aug. 11, the current Nelsonville City Council passed Ordinance 54-25, repealing Issue 23. The rationale was that if Issue 23 was an ordinance, then the council, under the charter, could repeal it.
The council claims it had power under the current charter, still in effect, to repeal the ordinance.
Article X section six of the charter says: “If a majority of qualified electors voting on a proposed initiative vote in its favor, such initiative shall be considered adopted upon certification of the results and shall be treated in all respects in the same manner as ordinances or resolutions of the same kind adopted by council.”
The council says that if it is ordinance then it can be repealed by the council, regardless of the overwhelming vote of the citizens.
If the ordinance is repealed, then the city argues that candidates on the November ballot for the statutory positions should be removed.
On Aug. 13, the Athens County Board of Elections refused to remove the candidates, claiming it had no power to do so.
On that same day, the City of Nelsonville filed its complaint with the Ohio Supreme Court asking the court to:
- Issue an order “to decertify, or otherwise remove, the current slate of statutory positions set to appear on the November 2025 ballot for elected positions within the city of Nelsonville.”
- To prohibit the election of people to statutory positions in the City of Nelsonville because the City Charter is still in effect.
Responses to the lawsuit
The Athens County Board of Elections filed an answer to the city’s complaint on Aug. 15. It argues that it doesn’t have the power to decertify candidates once they are certified and therefore, the board cannot do so without a court order.
On Aug. 18, one of the statutory candidates, Andrea Nicole Thompson Hashman, asked to join the lawsuit and made arguments against Nelsonville City Council’s position.
The court allowed her to join the suit.
Dismissal of Nelsonville’s lawsuit
However, on Aug. 19, the Ohio Supreme Court dismissed the City of Nelsonville’s complaint saying that the city missed a deadline to file a brief and present evidence to the court.
If that ruling had stood, the case would have been over.
Nelsonville’s Motion to Reconsider
Instead, on Aug. 21, Nelsonville asked the court to reconsider its position claiming that the court miscounted the days for briefing and that the city had not missed the deadline.
Motion to Reconsider Granted — Case back on
On Aug. 27, the court granted the motion to reconsider, and the case was put back on track with Nelsonville being given three days to file evidence and a merit brief (written legal arguments supporting Nelsonville’s position.)
The deadline for filing of the brief fell on a holiday weekend so Nelsonville was given until Tuesday, Sept. 2, to file its brief.
No Ohio Secretary of State
Meanwhile, there was a side skirmish about whether the Secretary of State Frank LaRose needed to be joined as a party to the case. The Ohio Supreme Court, on Aug. 29, said no.
So, the case will go forward with three parties: City of Nelsonville, Athens County Board of Elections and statutory-Nelsonville auditor candidate Andrea Nicole Thompson Hashman.
Stipulation of facts and affidavits
The City of Nelsonville and the Athens County Board of Elections filed a stipulation of facts in the case Sept. 2 with the Ohio Supreme Court, plus sworn affidavits from two attorneys: Thomas N. Spyker and Jonathan E. Robe.
These filings will stand as the factual evidence to be considered by the Ohio Supreme Court.
Respondent Andrea Nicole Thompson Hashman also can file counter facts if she desires.
The joint statement of facts submitted Tuesday consists of 24 pages of critical dates and documents for the court to review in making its decision.
Brief of City of Nelsonville
In its brief to the Ohio Supreme Court that was filed on Tuesday, Sept. 2, the City of Nelsonville recognizes that the Aug. 11 action of the council to repeal Issue 23 was a last-ditch effort to save governmental continuity.
The city claims that it attempted to put the mandates of Issue 23 into place but there were glaring problems with implementation and repeal of the voter initiative ordinance was necessary for proper city governance.
Nelsonville claims, for example, that if it had not repealed Issue 23 that there would be no officials for the month of December and no city services available to residents for a one-month period.
Charter-based city offices terminate at the end of November, and the statutory form of government was not to take place until Jan. 1, 2026, leaving the one-month gap.
Issue 23 also had not established wards or established any compensation for statutory offices, such as mayor.
In May 2025, the city put forward a charter amendment before voters that would have eliminated these problems, according to the brief. However, voters narrowly defeated the issue.
So, the transition issues remained.
The city claims that it had power to take the action of repealing the initiative ordinance, both under Chapter X of its charter but also under its Home Rule powers, as formerly decided by the Ohio Supreme Court.
We already have discussed Charter provision X above along with the Fourth District Court of Appeals decision that made the initiative process an ordinance.
Nelsonville for the first time, however, cites as supporting authority the Ohio Supreme Court’s 1935 decision in State ex rel. Singer v. Cartledge.
The city claims that decision supports Nelsonville’s argument that it had the power under its charter and Home Rule to repeal Issue 23.
Nelsonville’s brief states: “In Singer, this Court thoughtfully and thoroughly reviewed whether a city council could repeal a previously enacted voter-initiated law or ordinance. See generally Singer. In answering that a city council could enact legislation to repeal such voter-initiatives, this Court found that voter enacted legislation ‘has no greater sanctity than legislation adopted by a city council.’”
In short, if the initiative is an ordinance, the council can repeal it, says Nelsonville.
The Ohio Supreme Court in the Singer case gave citizens two alternatives: They could change the charter to prohibit repealing citizen-initiated actions and they could vote out council members who went against the will of the people. But the repeal action itself was lawful.
In its brief, the City of Nelsonville asks the court to mandate the Athens County Board of Elections remove the people running for “non-existent” statutory offices from the ballot and to instead have charter-based positions on the ballot for November.
The city provided the court with a chart of everyone who has filed for various positions.
| Statutory Form of Government | Government Under the Charter |
| Mayor • Mr. Jonathan Flowers • Mr. Fred Holmes • Ms. Nancy Sonick | N/A |
| City Auditor • Ms. Andrea Thompson Hashman • Mr. Nicholas Smith | City Auditor • Not up for election, current term expires in 2027 |
| City Treasurer • Mr. Brian Elkins | City Treasurer • Up for election |
| City Law Director • No Candidates | N/A |
| Council President • Mr. Daniel Sherman | N/A |
| 7 City Council Seats • Ms. Lynn Bishop • Mr. Wesley Henderson • Ms. Jessica Hollenbaugh • Mr. McCray Powell • Ms. Nic Joseph Saul • Mr. Glenn Smith • Ms. Carol Sue Powell | 7 City Council Seats • Four seats, for four-year terms are up for election • Three seats, for two-year terms are up for election • Mr. Cameron Peck (December Term) • Mr. Cory Taylor (December Term) • Ms. Nic Joseph Saul (Full Term) • Mr. McCray Powell (Full Term) |
What’s next
The respondents, the Athens County Board of Election and Andrea Nicole Thompson Hashman, have until Sept. 5 to file their evidence and counter briefs (written legal arguments) with the Ohio Supreme Court.
The City of Nelsonville will have an additional three days after respondents’ briefs to file a reply brief to counteract any arguments raised by the respondents.
The City of Nelsonville could also ask the court for the opportunity to file additional rebuttal evidence, if it desires.
After that, the Ohio Supreme Court will decide the case, and everyone involved will be anxiously awaiting that moment.
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