WOOSTER — A Ninth District Court of Appeals judge will not expedite a case involving whether an independent candidate running for state representative should be on the November general ballot.
Judge Carla Moore filed a document Monday informing the Wayne County Board of Elections and candidate Stephen Spoonamore of her decision to keep the case in its original order based on the filing.
The case reached the appeals court when Spoonamore was found not to be an unaffiliated candidate by the Board of Elections in April. The board voted 2-2 along party lines on Spoonamore’s validity as a candidate. Secretary of State Jon Husted broke the tie, concluding voting in the Democratic Party primary moments after filing as an unaffiliated candidate affected his independent status. (By virtue of voting in the Democratic primary, Spoonamore is now listed as a Democrat in the Secretary of State’s database of registered voters in Ohio.) …show more content…
After a number of hiccups, Spoonamore’s writ of mandamus made its way through Judge Mark K. Wiest’s court, and Wiest ultimately ordered the board to certify the petitions.
Husted appealed the decision, and Prosecutor Dan Lutz recommended the board join the appeal. He explained to the board, for Wiest to decide the way he did, the judge had to find the board and secretary of state abused their discretion, did something unauthorized by law or committed fraud or corruption, Lutz said. If the board wanted to refute that binding decision, then it needed to appeal.
Democratic Chairwoman Jean Mohr and Republicans Sue Donohoe and Charlie Hardman voted in favor of joining the appeal. Betsy Sheets, chairwoman of the Wayne County Democratic Party, didn’t vote. Sheets had a problem with it, and at a later meeting wanted to rescind the board’s participation in the appeal. Mohr joined her, but it failed