BREAKING NEWS! BERNABEI HIRES CLEVELAND ATTORNEY ON STARK & OHIO DEMS PROTEST OF HIS "INDEPENDENT" CANDIDACY FOR MAYOR OF CANTON

ORIGINALLY POSTED 06/29/2015 AT 2:07 PM

REPUBLISHED & UPDATED 06/30/2015

It appears that Stark County Commissioner Thomas Bernabei, through his newly selected legal counsel Raymond V. Vasvari, Jr. (a Clevelander, see background below), has played his ultimate "trump" card "right out of the chute" in his endeavor to become Canton's first ever (at least in the modern era) non-partisan mayor.

Yesterday, Vasvari filed a Motion for Recusal (see pleading below) of Stark County Board of Elections members (BOE, Board) Sam Ferruccio, Jr. and William V. Sherer, II from hearing the question of whether or not the BOE should certify lifelong Democrat Bernabei as an independent candidate for mayor of Canton in a Board hearing scheduled for July 6, 2015 at 9:00 a.m.

In a preview of "what is likely to come" in his forthcoming direct responsive pleading to Stark/Ohio Dems' attorney Lee Plakas' May 29th filed protest of the Bernabei candidacy, Cleveland attorney Raymond V. Vasvari, Jr. invoked First Amendment U.S. Constitutional issues inherent in the case.

The SCPR sees the First Amendment approach as Bernabei's best chance to ultimately win the legal argument on the certification question.

And, the First Amendment Right of Association may even play in the political side of the question.

The Report envisions the BOE/Ohio Secretary of State/Ohio Supreme Court scenario perhaps playing out his way:

• Republican BOE members Curt Braden and William Cline to support certifying Bernabei.
• Democrat BOE members Ferruccio and Sherer voting not to certify (of course, having refused to recuse themselves),
• Result:  a two to two tie,
• Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted breaks the tie in siding with Braden and Cline reasoning that:
• Members Ferruccio and Sherer had a conflict in interest in that they were in effect protesters under the umbrella entity the Stark County Democratic Party and therefore were disqualified from exercising their Ohio statutory role of being adjudicators of their own interests,
• Though not a judge, Husted articulates that he is impressed with the First Amendment argument and that therefore the voters of Canton should decide whether or not Tom Bernabei should become mayor of Canton,  (see Husted, In re: Maier, "let the people decide" LINK 1, Ohio Supreme Court; LINK 2 Ohio Supreme Court; LINK 3, Ohio Secretary of State)
• The case is appealed to the Ohio Supreme Court which in the main employs an "abuse of discretion" standard on Husted's reasoning and consequently affirms the secretary's tie breaking vote in favor of certification.
• Undoubtedly, Vasvari's First Amendment approach will play big in the Ohio Supreme Court,

LINKS to prior SCPR blogs on the Bernabei quest to run as an independent:

• May 4, 2015,
• May 5, 2015,
• May 6, 2015,
• May 10, 2015
• 30+ minute video interview of Bernabei,
• May 11, 2015,
• May 12, 2015,
• May 21, 2015,
• June 3, 2015,
• June 5, 2015,
• June 10, 2015
• Video of June 9th Stark BOE meeting on certification of independent candidates to set Bernabei protest hearing date,
• June 12, 2015,
• Conley recusal action on Ferruccio/Sherer,
• June 17, 2015,
• Video of June 17th Stark BOE meeting on certification of independent candidates,
• June 18, 2015
• Ohio Dems force McTigue out as Bernabei legal counsel on protest of his independent candidate quest,
• June 22, 2015
• SCPR interview of Lee Plakas as legal counsel for Stark/Ohio Dems on protest of Bernabei independent candidacy for Canton mayor,

THE MOTION TO RECUSE



BACKGROUND MATERIAL ON VASVARI

Here is a LINK to a blog written by Vasvari with the latest entry being July 23, 2012.

Also, a LINK from Linkedin.

And what does Vasvari have to say about himself?