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THE YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO, COMMUNITY BILL OF RIGHTS COMMITTEE SEEKS YOUNGSTOWN VOTER SIGNATURES TO PUT A QUESTION ON THE NOVEMBER 2013 BALLOT TO UPHOLD LOCAL CONTROL AND FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS TO CLEAN AIR AND WATER    

Youngstown, Ohio – They’re back and more determined than ever to win on election day in November 2013. The Youngstown, Ohio, Community Bill of Rights Committee is coordinating a new door-to-door campaign to get the required number of registered Youngstown voter signatures to put a question on the November ballot. 

The group says that a Yes vote on that ballot question would uphold Youngstown citizens’ fundamental rights to protect their family’s safe drinking water, clean air, and land, and to local self-governance.

“We came so close to winning last time that we fully expect to win the vote in November. In this past May’s election, we only needed 8 percent more to pass the Community Bill of Rights charter amendment.  We had almost 3,000 Youngstown voters who did the right thing by voting Yes, and that is very impressive and very good news. We thank them,” said Youngstown resident Lynn Anderson.

The group believes that the increasing number of high-profile scientific findings, government reports, news reports and claims by people living near fracking-related operations is awakening more and more people to the need for a Community Bill of Rights to help Youngstown prevent dangers, civil rights violations, and risks associated with fracking and related processes, infrastructure, and millions of gallons of fracking waste.   

“Nationwide and locally there are unconventional fracking wells and heavy industrial infrastructure that are way too close to homes, schools, parks, cemeteries, farms, and forests. Millions of gallons of our precious drinking water are being made permanently unusable due to the massive amounts of water used to frack each well.  Each well pad can have numerous legs that can also be fracked. How can these heavy industrialized operations be permitted so close to homes, farms, or residential areas? This is not right.  We need local control to protect our community’s public health and safety and to enforce how we want our communities to be. When the Community Bill of Rights passes in November, 2013, fracking and related activities will be banned in Youngstown as violations of the community’s fundamental rights,” said Susie Beiersdorfer.