Saturday, May 20, 2000
Petition dispute a lesson in civics
Students photographed while helping
By Walt Schaefer
The Cincinnati Enquirer
GREEN TOWNSHIP — A zoning squabble has resulted in a government lesson for a Mother of Mercy High School senior who could be subpoenaed to testify in court.
Nicole Babinec, 17, was among classmates in a government class who helped circulate referendum petitions opposing rezoning of a 7-acre parcel along Harrison Avenue between Valley Ridge and Belclare roads from single-family residential to retail.
As Nicole was asking people to sign the petition outside the Kroger store on Harrison Avenue last weekend, she saw a man taking her picture, said Jim Doerflein, a resident of the Chateau Lakes subdivision, behind the rezoned plot. Mr. Doerflein, an opponent of the rezoning, said he had asked the girls to help gather signatures.
Most residents of about 60 homes in the community oppose the rezoning, citing adverse effects to property values, Mr. Doerflein said.
The man snapping pictures of the girls was Charles “Chuck” Mitchell, attorney for the Geiler Co., which owns the tract and asked for it be rezoned. The zoning has been approved by the township and county commissioners. The referendum petitions are a last-ditch effort to stop it.
Mr. Mitchell said Friday he took the pictures after receiving a call from his client, who thought the girls appeared to be too young to be registered voters. He said he wanted the photographs as evidence to present while questioning the validity of the petitions.
“I got scared,” Nicole said. “I was wondering, "Who is this guy taking my picture?'”
Nicole said a classmate she was with wrote down the attorney's license plate as he drove away.
Nicole said she talked with Mr. Mitchell in front of the store, that he declined to sign the petition, and did not identify himself but suggested that the method of collecting signatures “may be inappropriate.” Mr. Mitchell left and returned, then started taking pictures, she said.
“I kind of think the attorney's way of doing things was inappropriate,” Nicole said. “He had an abrupt attitude. He wasn't mean, but he didn't tell us why he was taking pictures.”
Mr. Mitchell called Nicole's father Friday to explain his actions and apologize for causing parental concerns. Bobbi Babinec, Nicole's mother, called the Hamilton County sheriff's office asking that they investigate.
Mr. Mitchell said Friday he did not identify himself to the girls because the longer he took pictures, the more evidence of possible invalid petitions he would have.
Officials at the Hamilton County Board Elections said election law stipulates that only registered voters may circulate petitions. Board officials and the girl's teacher, Susan Staub, confirmed that the girls registered to vote earlier this year and are eligible to cast ballots in November.
Mr. Doerflein said opponents need about 3,000 signatures by June 3 to place the issue before voters.
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