Lakewood Issue 64 Election Results: For 64 Carries the Vote

LAKEWOOD, OH - One of the most divisive issues on the Nov. 8 ballot has been settled. Issue 64 has gone to the "For" side by a count of 11,489 to 10,804. In percentages, that means the For 64 side got about 52 percent of the vote to the Against 64's 48.

Voters were asked to affirm or reject an ordinance from city council that authorized the signing of new contracts involving the demolition and construction of the former hospital property. If voters rejected the ordinance, it would not have re-opened the hospital but made null the ordinance. It is currently unclear if the vote would impact the contracts themselves.

Mayor Mike Summers, city council, State Representative Nickie Antonio, the local firefighters union, and other officials and unions endorsed the "For 64" vote. Opponents of the council's decision have formed a group called Strong Lakewood and lobbied for residents to vote against Issue 64, rejecting the council's decision. Their cause had been picked up by State Senator Mike Skindell and a local nurses' union.

While there is much disagreement on both sides of the issue, one thing appeared clear: Rejecting Issue 64 would not have re-opened the hospital. The ordinance that council passed had to do with construction contracts, not the decision on Lakewood Hospital. It's not clear if rejecting 64 would even have impacted the council's vote on the contracts.

To take a deeper dive into Issue 64, click here.

You can follow tonight's election results below.

Photo from Patch and Rick Uldricks, Patch