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Secretary of state settles Geauga spat
(by Joseph Koziol Jr. - May 03, 2012)
Secretary of state settles Geauga spat
By JOSEPH KOZIOL JR.
Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted has named Chardon Councilwoman Deborah Reiter as deputy director of the Geauga County Board of Elections.
The two-year appointment settled a deadlock in the March meeting of the Geauga County Board of Elections.
With the appointment, Mrs. Reiter is permitted by law to fulfill her unexpired term on City Council member, but she cannot seek re-election or run for any other office while serving as deputy director. She began her current four-year council term in January.
Geauga County Board of Elections member Janet Carson had sought to name Mrs. Reiter as director of the board, but that failed on a 2-2 vote. The board subsequently selected Roberta Halford as director.
Mrs. Carson, who also is chairwoman of the Geauga County Democratic Party, said Monday that the secretary of state's office had no option under Ohio law but to select the Democrats' choice for the deputy director's position. According to the law, the director and deputy director must be of opposing parties, and the Republicans on the elections board got their choice for director.
"In the vast majority of cases, it's a compromise," Mrs. Carson. "Neither party gets their choice for both."
The board's action in March essentially served as a dismissal of Arch Kimbrew, who had served as director since 2003.
Mrs. Carson said she was disappointed with Mr. Kimbrew's handling of the office, citing instances when office workers openly criticized Democrat candidates without corrective action.
Mrs. Carson also said, following the action in March, board of elections office workers, on county time, campaigned for the appointment of Mr. Kimbrew to the deputy director position. "I'm appalled the staff was encouraged and allowed to write political statements from the board office on board time," she said.
The orchestrated effort was done by emails to the Ohio Secretary of State's Office, Mrs. Carson said, and they contained disparaging remarks about Mrs. Reiter.
Mrs. Halford said board workers did nothing wrong, using their coffee breaks to promote the candidacy of Mr. Kimbrew.
She said she and board workers believe Mr. Kimbrew served the county admirably. "Arch has been an excellent director and I was disappointed when he was not reappointed," she said.
Mrs. Halford said the only comments in the emails that could be construed as disparaging were that Mrs. Reiter has no experience in running elections.
Mrs. Carson said a change in the office was necessary, not only because of a lack of discipline but also a failure to keep tight controls on the budget. In a little over six years, Mr. Kimbrew's salary rose from $57,960 to $68,842, she said, and workers received salary increases of more than 6 percent in 2010.
"The reasons for not appointing Mr. Kimbrew were sufficient, and that was borne out by the secretary of state," Mrs. Carson said.
She added that Mr. Kimbrew essentially abandoned his duties after the board's March action. He has been absent from the office for 29 days since the last election, about half the time he would have normally worked, she said.
Mrs. Halford said Mr. Kimbrew took vacation time owed him and that he still made himself available during that time.
Mrs. Carson said she believes Mrs. Reiter will serve the county well, offering suggestions to make things easier for voters and trying to save them money.
She said Mrs. Reiter brings to the position a cooperative nature and a fresh set of eyes to review procedures and that she plans no drastic changes.
Mrs. Halford said she and her staff plan to work with Mrs. Reiter to ensure that it remains one of the state's best boards of elections.
Mr. Kimbrew, who has been serving as interim deputy director, could not be reach for comment.
He read from a prepared statement at the March meeting, claiming Mrs. Carson's actions were political in nature.
"The climate at the board of elections has changed," he said. "Over the past two years, a cloud has appeared over the elections office. the addition of Janet Carson as an election board member seems to have precipitated this change. The existing bipartisan approach to administering Geauga County's election system is threatened by Mrs. Carson's actions and attitude."
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