Group resubmits sewer petitions
Source: By Carl Chancellor, Beacon Journal (OH), Friday, Jul 18, 2008
With the ball back in their court, Citizens to Save Our Sewers and Water on Thursday resubmitted their petitions seeking a November vote on a proposal to lease Akron's sewers and other public utilities. ''We now have 157 petitions and 5,615 signatures. That's more than we had last time,'' said Willie Smith, president of Save Our Sewers (SOS), a coalition of union members and concerned citizens seeking to amend the city's charter to require that any action to sell, lease or transfer a public utility be approved by voters.
........ Jack Sombati, a member of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and of SOS, said he is offended by the mayor's attempts to ''Swift boat'' -- a reference to attack ads aired during the 2004 presidential campaign -- the organization and its backers.