The Stark County Board of Elections (BOE) is scheduled on this holiday (an unusual event in and of itself) to meet to certify candidates for the primary election of May 6, 2014 as being qualified or not qualified in terms of having sufficient registered voter signatures on their petitions filed as of 4:00 PM on February 5, 2014.
Among those petitions are ones filed by Republican Larry Dordea and Democrat George T. Maier (both unopposed in their respective parties) for the office of sheriff of Stark County.It may be that other than ruling on whether or not their petitions are in line, the BOE members (Democrats Ferruccio and St. John; Republicans Braden and Cline) might set a date for the official hearing on Democratic precinct woman Cynthia Balas-Bratton's (2A - Massillon, a precinct within Republican Nancy Halter's Ward 2 seat on Massillon City Council) "protest" on Maier's candidacy on the grounds that he is not qualified "all" the criteria set forth in Ohio Revised Code Section 311.01.
Maier was found to be so-disqualified by the Ohio Supreme Court on November 6, 2013 (Swanson v. Maier, quo warranto, filed 02/12/2013).
However, the Stark County Democratic Party Central Committee reappointed him on December 11th.
Hence, the Balas-Bratton's challenge.
It could be that Balas-Bratton attorney Craig T. Conley will be at today's session to confront St. John on his refusal to recuse himself from being one of four decision makers on the issue of whether or not Maier is ORC 311.01 qualified. Conley contends that St. John has already decided the question in his own mind and therefore as a quasi-judicial official committed to not-predetermining should step aside.
Conley tells the SCPR that should St. John persist in partaking in proceedings he anticipates filing a Writ of Prohibition with the Canton-based Fifth District Court of Appeals tomorrow.
See all the proceeding later today on Stark County Political Report video.
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