Board of elections hires director, deputy

Board of Elections member Jon Stainbrook, left, congratulates Ben Roberts after Mr. Roberts was sworn in as director of the elections board. THE BLADE/LORI KING Enlarge | Photo Reprints

The Lucas County Board of Elections appointed a director and deputy director Monday, replacing the previous bipartisan team that was dismissed in March over the improper counting of provisional ballots.

The board hired Republican Ben Roberts, 43, of Maumee as director and Democrat Daniel DeAngelis, 48, of Toledo as deputy director.

The appointment, and the seating Monday of Anthony DeGidio, the board's newest Republican member, signaled a new era of political leadership of the agency that oversees elections in Lucas County.

After three years of intraparty fighting between GOP Lucas County Chairman Jon Stainbrook and the board of elections, Mr. Stainbook and his allies are now in control of the Republican side of the board's leadership. Mr. Stainbrook and Mr. DeGidio replace two board members whose resignations Mr. Stainbrook had been seeking -- Ben Marsh and Patrick Kriner.

Plans for other changes involving the 21 employees of the elections board were not announced.

"We know that there are changes that are needed at the board of elections and we're just getting to work," Mr. Stainbrook said. "Nothing's going to happen overnight."

The elections board members also voted during Monday's special meeting to make Democrat Ron Rothenbuhler the board chairman. Under law, the chairman of the four-person board and the director of the board staff must be of opposite parties. Rita Clark is the other Democrat board member.

Mr. Roberts' former job was as director of campus consolidation for the Westside Montessori Center.

He said he has never run for political office before but has worked in politics behind the scenes for 20 years. In addition, he is parliamentarian for the Lucas County Republican Party.

From 2008 to 2010 he was a business analyst for Dana Holding Corp. Prior jobs included chief information officer for a sports-marketing company in Ann Arbor and corporate account executive for a cell-phone company.

Mr. Roberts' education includes a bachelor's degree from the University of Toledo and a master's degree in business administration from the University of Michigan.

Mr. DeAngelis is a deputy clerk supervisor for Toledo Municipal Court, helping manage a staff of 50 deputy clerks since 2004.

He has a law degree from the University of Toledo and bachelor's degrees in education and business administration from Bowling Green State University.

Mr. Roberts will be paid $85,594 a year and Mr. DeAngelis will be paid $83,874.

Mr. Roberts, whose appointment was supported by Mr. Stainbrook, said his goal is to ensure that elections have the public's trust.

"It's important for the voters of Lucas County to ensure that every vote counts. So we're here to look at putting integrity and accountability back into the board of elections. I hope it's been there. It's going to get there now. It's going to continue to be there," Mr. Roberts said. He described himself as a "process guy" who analyzes systems to make them more reliable and efficient.

In March, the Ohio secretary of state ordered the dismissal of Director Linda Howe, a Democrat, and Deputy Director Jeremy Demagall, a Republican, because they recommended the counting of 114 provisional ballots that were cast in the wrong precincts in the November, 2010, election.

Mr. Rothenbuhler said it's been difficult for the board to operate without a director or deputy director. In that time, the board staff has received support from the Secretary of State's Office.

"I'm hoping that the new director and deputy director will work together to help guide and direct our board of elections to successfully bring in a good election this year and get everyone in gear to work together," Mr. Rothenbuhler said.

After Mr. Roberts and Mr. DeAngelis were appointed by the board, by 4-0 votes, the board went into an executive session that lasted about 50 minutes, but took no action after coming out other than to administer oaths of office.

Contract Tom Troy at: tomtroy@theblade.com or 419-724-6058.