All legislative powers of the City, except the powers of the initiative and referendum reserved to the electors of this City, shall be vested in a Council which shall consist of seven (7) electors of the City, five (5) of whom shall be elected, one (1) from each of the five (5) wards hereinafter provided, and the other two (2) of whom shall be elected from the City at large, elections to take place at the general November election of odd-numbered years. Members of Council shall be qualified electors of the City, and shall have resided in the area from which they are elected at least one (1) full year next preceding their election. At the first municipal election after the adoption of this Charter the candidates winning At-large A and Wards 2 and 4 shall be elected to four (4) year terms of office and the candidates winning At-large B and Wards 1, 3, and 5 shall be elected to two (2) year terms of office. Thereafter all members of Council shall be elected for a four (4) year term of office.
All elections for Council shall be non-partisan. Nominations for Council shall be made by individual petition signed by not less than twenty-five (25) qualified electors of the city. Nominating petitions and statements of candidacy shall be filed with the Board of Elections in the form prescribed in accordance with state law for individual non-partisan candidates. The general laws of the State of Ohio not inconsistent with the provisions of this Article shall apply to and govern the nomination of all elective offices of the City. Councilmember regular terms shall commence on the first day of December next after their election, and shall end on the thirtieth day of November next after the election of their successors or as soon thereafter as their successors are qualified. Membership on governmental boards or commissions, or holding office or employment in governmental units other than the City of Blue Ash, shall not be a bar to membership on Council.
The wards from which five (5) of the members of Council shall be elected are defined as follows:
Ward 1 - All of the City lying (i) south of Cooper Road and east of Kenwood Road and (ii) between Blue Ash Road and Kenwood Road south of Alpine Avenue.
Ward 2 - All of the City lying between Cooper Road and Creek Road east of Kenwood Road.
Ward 3 - All of the City lying (i) north of Creek Road and (ii) between Creek Road and the extension of Aldine Drive west to Plainfield Road west of Kenwood Road.
Ward 4 - All of the City lying (i) between Kenwood Road and Blue Ash Road and between Cooper Road and Alpine Avenue, (ii) between Blue Ash Road and the westerly boundary of the City south of Hunt Road and (iii) between Blue Ash Road and Conklin Avenue and between Cooper Road and Hunt Road.
Ward 5 - All of the City lying (i) between the extension of Aldine Drive west to Plainfield Road and Cooper Road and between Kenwood Road and Plainfield Road, (ii) between Cooper Road and Hunt Road west of Conklin Avenue and (iii) west of Plainfield Road and north of Cooper Road.
The boundaries of these five (5) wards may be changed from time to time by ordinance, but no such change shall be effective at the succeeding municipal election unless it has become effective as an ordinance on or before January 1st in the year of such election.