Akron: Plusquellic blasts Issue 8 opponents after election defeat

AKRON -- Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic didn't mince words Tuesday night after voters soundly rejected a proposal that would have leased the city's sewer system in exchange for millions of dollars in money for scholarships.  

"There will be a special place in hell reserved for those people who went out and misled the voters of Akron," Plusquellic told about 50 supporters at a downtown restaurant.  His remarks lasted about 10 minutes and he did not take any additional questions.

With 90 percent of the votes counted, Issue 8 is all bust defeated:

AGAINST:   46,670 (62%)

FOR:          28,546 (31%)

Opponents challenged that the sewer system was too valuable to risk leasing to an outside an agency and felt there were too many unanswered questions as to how the money would be used.

Plusquellic first mentioned the idea during his State-Of-The-City Address and created two groups to study the idea and develop the program.

He defended the idea as being a creative way to tackle a great many of the challenge facing Akron families and felt that placing it on the ballot was the right decision at the right time, he said.

Issue 8 seemed gain broader support last month when organizers announced that Akron students attending five neighboring districts would qualify for the scholarships as well as Akron students attending local parochial schools.

Opponents felt that requiring students who used the scholarship to pay the city's income tax for as long as 30 years after graduating was too stiff.