Article published January 28, 2008
GOP requests state probe of elections office
By TOM TROY
BLADE POLITICS WRITER
Republican Party insurgent Jon Stainbrook said yesterday he is asking the Ohio secretary of state's office to investigate the Lucas County Board of Elections' handling of petitions for local precinct committee seats.
Mr. Stainbrook, a longtime party activist who contends the party needs a housecleaning because of the Tom Noe scandal, released a letter he sent to Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner claiming the elections office is taking sides in the hotly contested GOP central committee battle.
Mr. Stainbrook's charge drew a strong denial from Jill Kelly, the executive director of the elections board.
In a letter to Ms. Brunner, Mr. Stainbrook's associate, Kelly Bensman, charged that Ms. Kelly allowed the county GOP to amend its candidate petitions after the 4 p.m. filing deadline Jan. 4.
Ms. Bensman said she saw the party's executive director, Joanne Wack, working with the petitions that already had been stamped as turned in.
"Jill Kelly is directly collaborating with the Noe Republicans and is giving an unfair advantage to them in Lucas County Republican Party central committee races," Mr. Stainbrook said.
Ms. Kelly yesterday denied the board of elections was taking sides or conducting or allowing misconduct. She said she had not seen the letter and was not familiar with the events Mr. Stainbrook described. She said she would cooperate if Ms. Brunner chooses to conduct an investigation.
"I don't do illegal things. I follow the law and my staff follows the law," Ms. Kelly said.
At issue is control of the party's central committee, which Mr. Stainbrook is seeking to gain. The central committee elects the party chairman, currently Bob Reichert. The central committee members, sometimes called precinct captains, will be elected March 4.
Mr. Stainbrook has recruited 159 people for the election and the party has recruited 126. Of those, 39 are in the same precincts and are in head-to-head races.
Ms. Bensman's letter also claims she was denied records and was intimidated by board employees.
Ms. Kelly had asked the Lucas County Sheriff's Office to investigate an allegation that Mr. Stainbrook made against a board employee.
Mr. Stainbrook said a part-time board employee was encouraged to fill out a petition to run as a Republican committee person while on county time by a board of elections employee.
Mr. Stainbrook contends that former Noe loyalists still run the party and influence the board of elections because Ms. Kelly was hired when Bernadette Noe, the wife of Tom Noe, was chairman of the board of elections.
Ms. Kelly acknowledged that she was recruited by Mrs. Noe and hired by the two-Republican, two-Democrat board, but said there was no connection between her and the Noes. She characterized Mr. Stainbrook's allegations as "babbling," and said he was interfering with the running of the office.
"I don't have time to delve into party politics. And I greatly resent the character assassination that this suggests," Ms. Kelly said.
Mr. Reichert said that because the allegation could be the subject of an investigation, he would not comment.
Contact Tom Troy at:
tomtroy@theblade.com
or 419-724-6058.
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