2 officials face dismissal
Putnam Co. election board members notified
7/23/2013OTTAWA, Ohio — Two Putnam County Board of Elections members were notified Monday by Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted's office that a process to potentially remove them as board members has begun.
Board members Ann Dillinger and Martin Kuhlman are accused of violating Ohio’s open-meetings law.
A letter sent to both Ms. Dillinger and Mr. Kuhlman by the office held them responsible for the violations.
“Each violation of the law occurred under your watch and during your service as members of the Putnam County Board of Elections,” the letter said.
Two other individuals who served on the board at the time of the violations, Lyle McKanna and Marie Heitmeyer, are no longer on the board and are not eligible for other appointments to the board, the letter states.
The letter said the board failed to provide proper notice of meetings to the public.
The board is accused of depriving the public of information "“that they were required to provide,” according to the letter.
Both have been asked to attend a hearing at the Secretary of State’s Office at 180 E. Broad St., in Columbus on Aug. 2 at 10:30 a.m.
At that time, Ms. Dillinger and Mr. Kuhlman will be given the opportunity to state why they should not be removed as Putnam County Board of Elections members.
Neither Ms. Dillinger nor Mr. Kuhlman returned calls for comment Monday.