But if the court agrees to reconsider its decision, it should again deny the council’s request to remove Issue 23 candidates for constitutional reasons, Thompson-Hashman argues in her response. Issue 23, which would abolish the city’s charter government, was put on the ballot last November through the initiative process under the Nelsonville charter. “There is no reasonable doubt that as an initiative … Issue #23 is the exercise of a constitutional right,” according to the response. The council then asked the Supreme Court to order that candidates running under Issue 23 be removed from the November ballot. The city argues that unless the court orders the Issue 23 candidates removed, the consequences will be dire.