Commission accepts clerk's finding that West Dayton hospital petition lacked required signatures; petitioners press case

The Dayton City Commission on Wednesday voted to adopt the clerk's report that found the citizens' initiative petition to create a publicly funded hospital in West Dayton was invalid because it did not include the required 1,250 valid signatures from Dayton voters.

The clerk's report, filed for the record at the meeting, followed a review by the Montgomery County Board of Elections. Board officials told the commission they had examined the submitted petition and returned a statement attesting to the number of valid signatures; the Board reported 869 valid signatures, short of the 1,250 threshold the city charter requires.

The finding drew a large public hearing. Representatives of the Clergy Community Coalition (CCC), which sponsored the petition, said the group had collected thousands of signatures in two rounds and that their efforts reflect ongoing health-care access problems in West Dayton. Bishop Clarence Cox and other coalition members disputed a fiscal life-cycle cost…