Court cases shadow former Pemberville councilmen

11/4/2005

Donaldson

PEMBERVILLE, Ohio - Two members of Pemberville Village Council have resigned for different reasons within the last two months, but both recently were charged with the same criminal offense while still in office.

Brandon Donaldson and Gary Brann were charged in Bowling Green Municipal Court with domestic violence for incidents involving their wives.

Mr. Donaldson is accused of causing physical harm to his wife, Kristi Donaldson, and breaking a cordless phone and a cellular phone to interrupt 911 emergency calls Oct. 8, according to Municipal Court records.

He is to appear in Municipal Court at 10 a.m. Monday for a pretrial hearing on the domestic violence charge and a preliminary hearing on the disrupting public service charge.

According to court records, Mr. Donaldson was arrested and held in the Wood County jail from Oct. 8 until Oct. 10, when Judge Mark Reddin issued a temporary protection order for Mrs. Donaldson. Judge Reddin released Mr. Donaldson on his own recognizance on the condition that he comply with the protection order.

Mr. Donaldson resigned from council Oct. 18 for what he said were personal reasons. He could not be reached for comment last night.

Mr. Brann's charge stems from an Aug. 13 incident in which he was accused of grabbing his wife, Tammie Brann, forcefully by the wrist, pinning her against a wall, and yelling at her, according to a Pemberville police report.

His case is set for a Feb. 7 jury trial in Municipal Court.

Mr. Brann resigned from council Sept. 19 after stating that while his permanent address is in Pemberville, he temporarily located out of the village for personal reasons. Residency requirements stipulate that the mayor and council members must live within the village.

Their unexpected resignations - coupled with Councilman Robert Brandt's plans to be out of town for a month - caused a headache for the remaining councilmen, who had to cancel their last two meetings because they did not have the required four people for a quorum to conduct business, council President Patricia Vandersall said.

"It left us in a terrible lurch," she said, adding that the village has incurred late fees because council can't vote to pay bills without a quorum. "We can do absolutely nothing because we only have three people, and it's not fair to village residents."

Council plans to immediately appoint those elected to council in next week's election so the council can resume conducting village business.

Mr. Donaldson's name remains on next week's village council ballot. He was appointed to council in January.

Blade staff writer Jennifer Feehan contributed to this report.

Contact Erika Ray at:

eray@theblade.com

or 419-724-6088.