Recently, Stark County prosecutor John Ferrero, pretty much at the last moment, as required under Ohio law filed the required paperwork that enables him to run for re-election (unopposed in the Democratic primary election on March 15th), and the general election in November, and, if elected, retire after the election and then take up office again on January 1, 2017 as Stark's newly elected prosecutor.
Though not uncommon, there is precedent in Stark County government for officials not doing so even though legally entitled to do so.
A source identifies John Haas (Court of Common Pleas, a Democrat), V. Lee Sinclair (Court of Common Pleas, a Republican), Charles Brown, Jr (Court of Common Pleas), Sheila Farmer (5th District Court of Appeals, a Republican as examples of Stark County officials who did not try to guild the lily in terms of getting their retirement benefits courtesy of the taxpayers of Stark County and then re-qualifying through election to continue on in their respective elected positions making the decision after they have safely been re-elected.
Though Haas, Sinclair, Brown, Jr., and Farmer did what the SCPR and many others think is the morally right thing to do, there are prominent examples of Stark County officials who opted the other way.
One such person was Judge John Wise of the Fifth District Court of Appeals, to wit:
Another, former Stark County sheriff Tim Swanson.
In 2004, Jakmides ran against Ferrero with this result:
As the SCPR sees it, this election could turn out to be a referendum for Stark Countians to weigh-in on whether or not they like the Wise, Swanson and perhaps Ferrero way of doing things.
Indications are that Jakmides intends on making make the Ferrero income enhancement plan at taxpayer expense (also, thereby denying another person the opportunity) a major campaign issue.
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