Akron Voters Reject Privatization of Public Utility

Creative Commons license, by Redvers, non commercial, from "Flickr":http://www.flickr.com/photos/redvers/

Lost among the good news coming out of election day this year was a victory in Ohio for people working toward a commons-based society.

Alternet.org reports that voters in Akron rejected a proposal to privatize their sewer system by a lopsided 62-38 margin. The plan supported by the mayor would have leased the city’s publicly owned waste water facilities to a private firm for 99 years.

Akron voters approved another measure by a 2-1 margin that privatization of any public utility must be approved in a referendum.