Pickerington Area Taxpayers Alliance

THIS BILL IS WORKING ITS WAY THROUGH THE GENREAL ASSEMBLY AND IT IS A REPRESENTATIVE FROM OUR COUNTY.


House passes Schaffer-sponsored anti-corruption bill
By JIM SIEGEL
Eagle-Gazette Columbus Bureau

COLUMBUS -- Elected officials under criminal indictment could be removed from office by the governor under a bill that passed the House on Wednesday.
The measure, sponsored by Rep. Tim Schaffer, R-Lancaster, would allow the governor, on the recommendation of a three-member panel, to remove from office any local elected officials except judges who are charged with crimes related to abusing their offices.
The goal is to ensure that officials who are indicted cannot continue their corruption, or hamper investigations, by staying in office.
The bill was sparked by the case of former Fairfield County Sheriff Gary DeMastry, who was convicted in 2001 of using more than $10,000 in taxpayer money for personal dinners and vacations. He continued his work -- and theft -- in office after his indictment, even as prosecutors built their case against him.
When officials are suspended under the bill, they still will get paid. But if the official is convicted, the government entity can collect the wages earned since the suspension.
If acquitted, the accused would be reinstated immediately.
Schaffer said the bill is a valuable tool for governments to deal with corruption. The measure passed the House 89-7 and now goes to the Senate.
House Minority Leader Chris Redfern, D-Cawtaba Island, was among those opposed to the bill.
''A prosecutor can indict a baloney sandwich if he wants to,'' Redfern said. ''I don't want the governor of Ohio to determine if a county commissioner is a crook.''
Once a local elected official is indicted, it takes several steps before the person can be suspended. The person can take 14 days to appeal to a panel that includes the attorney general and two retired judges, who then have 14 days to render a decision.
The official can then appeal directly to the Supreme Court.
Schaffer said he didn't think the time needed to appeal the suspension would weaken the intent of the bill, adding that ''we can't short-change due process.''
''If an officeholder has done something wrong, they know it,'' he said. ''If they fail in an appeal, it looks even worse.''
Recently, Fairfield County Municipal Court Judge Don McAuliffe was accused of conspiring to burn down his Millersport home after increasing its insurance coverage. The county and city of Lancaster were forced to pay their portion of McAuliffe's $102,600 salary, while also paying $404 a day for acting judges to hear his cases.
Originally published Thursday, January 22, 2004


http://www.lancastereaglegazette.com/news/stories/20040122/localnews/274084.html



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The other side

Republican coup splits party
By CARL BURNETT JR.
The Eagle-Gazette Staff; cburnett@nncogannett.com

CURE supporters
Countywide elected officials lending their support to CURE include Commissioners Jon Myers and Judy Shupe, Clerk of Courts Ron Balser, Prosecutor David Landefeld, Auditor Barbara Curtiss, Sheriff David Phalen, State Rep. Tim Schaffer, Treasurer Jon Slater, Recorder Gene Wood.
Local officials supporting CURE include Lancaster City Council president Steve Davis, Pickerington City Council members Ted Hackworth and Heidi Riggs, Lancaster Mayor David Smith, Baltimore Mayor Robert Kalish and Pickerington Mayor David Shaver.
Lancaster -- A group of Fairfield County Republicans is directly challenging the control of the county GOP party, saying that the leadership has acted unethically.
The group, called Citizens United for Republican Ethics, includes many prominent Republicans in the county and has been recruiting candidates for most of the Central Committee positions.
''(The group) seeks to find a way to restore integrity to the leadership in this party organization and to regain the trust of the people of Fairfield County,'' said former Republican vice chairman Gerald Stebelton.
Stebelton spoke during a press conference Monday at the Best Western in Lancaster announcing the formation of the challenge to Republican leader Brian Fox's control of the local party.
''These people will do or say anything to get in power,'' Fox said Monday. ''These are the same cronies that almost bankrupt the party when they were in power. It's unfortunate they would run the party down at this time.''
Steven Elsea, a Republican with the Northwest Fairfield County Republican Club, said the local party was able to recruit qualified candidates for office since the 1980s under former Republican chairmen Jay Dupler and Tim Schaffer.
''Their efforts were very successful, and for the last 10 years Republicans have been elected to every single countywide office,'' Elsea said. ''It was no coincidence or happenstance. During that period, the party leadership inspired and encouraged promising candidates to engage in public service by seeking political office.''
Elsea said shortly after the new leadership, under Fox, took over in June 2002, things began to change.
Elsea said the new leadership tried to intimidate Patrick Harris from becoming a candidate for municipal court judge held by former judge Don McAuliffe. McAuliffe is sitting in a Franklin County jail awaiting a federal trial relating to arson involving his home.
''Despite Judge McAuliffe's outrageous, unprofessional and costly misconduct while in office, an investigation by the Ohio Supreme Court, an adulterous relationship with a court employee resulting in a costly settlement ... from the sexual harassment charges filed against him ... they supported McAuliffe for re-election and stated that the only reason they would not support him was if he had been convicted of a crime. It was only after they were left with no alternative did they endorse Patrick Harris.''
Harris was elected to the bench as a municipal court judge last November.
Fox said this was not how he remembered it.
''It's all a lie,'' Fox said. ''We didn't know of the federal arson investigation until after the endorsement process. McAuliffe was endorsed unanimously by the Executive Committee. He was the incumbent Republican candidate. No one argued against his endorsement until after the federal indictments came down.
Elsea also said Fox's leadership team had recruited an independent candidate to run against incumbent Fairfield County Sheriff David Phalen.
No one has filed for the position, however, independents have until March 1 to file.
Fox denied recruiting anyone for sheriff other than Phalen.

Originally published Tuesday, January 20, 2004


http://www.lancastereaglegazette.com/news/stories/20040120/localnews/260205.html

By Paper reader

The Other side pt 2

''I support Dave Phalen 100 percent,'' Fox said.
Elsea said pressure put on the County Commissioners to hire Lancaster City cCouncilmen Wayne Roller as the county administrator. County Administrator Patrick Harris stepped down to accept the judgeship.
''When the commissioners refused to bow to this demand, two Republican candidates immediately filed for those seats in the March primary,'' Elsea said.
One of those two candidates is Roller. Roller is running against Judy Shupe in the Republican March Primary Election.
''It's another lie,'' Fox said. ''I didn't approach the county commissioners about hiring Roller and no one that supports me did either that I'm aware of. It has absolutely no basis in fact. I haven't had one conversation about the position with the county commissioners about the position. It's ridiculous.''
In the effort to take control of the party, CURE has 93 Republican Party Central Committee candidates out of 117 precincts they are endorsing in the March Primary Election.
Stebelton said CURE would be holding candidate training sessions and would be trying to gauge the candidate's support for new leadership in the county Republican Party.
''At this time we don't have any candidate in mind for party chairman,'' Stebelton said. ''We want to talk to the people and find out what they want.''
Fox said this was clearly an open assault on his leadership of the party and that he had no plans to step down and planned to run for re-election to the Party chairmanship after the Primary Election.
After the March Primary Election, the local Republican party central committee will meet to vote on rules and the executive committee leadership.
''These people are the same people who lost the last election and have spent the last 15 months complaining and whining,'' Fox said. ''It's shame and not helpful to the party.''
Stebelton said the Republicans opposed to the Fox's leadership were going to defeat him at the polls.
''This started because we were mad at the direction the party has been going,'' Stebelton said. ''We are going to follow the democratic process and restore ethics to the party.''
Originally published Tuesday, January 20, 2004


http://www.lancastereaglegazette.com/news/stories/20040120/localnews/260205.html

By Paper Reader

We report you decide!

Republican Central Committee races on March 2nd, 2003 and area precincts.

CURE/ GRAY+FOX

1. Cols- A /Mark Stevens

2. Cols-B Julie Stevens/

3. Cols-C Matthew Mehan

4. Cols-D /Nancy Benedum

5. Cols-E Katelyn Sattler /Patrice Bader

6. Pick-A Heidi Riggs /Jack Bowman

7. Pick-B Mitch O?’Brien /Debra Murillo

8. Pick-C David Shaver /Lee Gray

9. Pick-D /Marilee Snider

10. Pick-E David Drees /Mike Kasson

11. Pick-F Craig Burre /Shirley Husted
& Nick Murillo

12. Pick-G John Hammond /Jo Ann O?’Brien

13. Pick-H Rita Ricketts /Gavin Blair

14. Pick-I Ted Hackworth /Brian Fox

15. Pick-J No candidates running

16. Violet-A Joe Glandon (write-in)

17. Violet-B Steve Elsea /Jason Price

18. Violet-C Gail Oakes /James Hughes

19. Violet-D Eric Schmidt /Steve Palsgrove

20. Violet-E Kerry Hogan /Gene Romine

21. Violet-F Brain Sauer/

22. Violet-G Larry Johnson /Gary Peterman

23. Violet-I Stephanie Brobst/

24. Violet-J /Anthony Wahoff

25. Violet-K /C W Higdon

26. Violet-L John Dolske/
27. Violet-M Gregory Butcher /Helmut Welker

28. Violet-N Don Rector /Linda Hoffman

29. Violet-O Gary Watts /Rita Spiers

30. Violet-P Lindsey Reynolds /Charles Scott

31. Violet-Q Gene K. Baumgardner/

32. Violet-R Dodd Latimer /Lori Sanders



By Paper Reader