Phillips dismisses election lawsuit against Hung after bicycle accident

ELYRIA — After getting into a serious bicycle accident on July 26, Gerald Phillips has dropped a lawsuit alleging he unfairly lost the April 28 Republican primary election for county commissioner. Phillips, who lost to North Ridgeville City Councilwoman Michelle Hung, dropped the suit July 27, according to emails and court records. In an email shared with the Chronicle-Telegram, Phillips said he suffered "a severe bicycle accident" that required medical attention. "After medical consultation and consideration of the extent of the injuries I will be forced to curtail my case load," he wrote. Phillips wrote that the election case had "extreme demands" within the following week to 10 days after the accident and "I have no choice to and will be forced to dismiss the election contest case; I am unable in light of the bicycle accident to meet such a demanding schedule." A message seeking further comment was left for Phillips on Tuesday. Phillips sued Hung and the Lorain County Board of Elections in June, calling the results of the election unconstitutional and claiming that more than 3,000 Republican voters were illegally disenfranchised of their votes after Gov. Mike DeWine and the Ohio Department of Health canceled the March 17 primary and instead held on April 28 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Hung defeated Phillips by a complete and official count of 8,471 votes for her to 6,440 votes for him. Hung will now face incumbent Democratic Commissioner Lori Kokoski in the November election. Phillips paid $1,700 for the Board of Elections to hold a recount, which ended with the same result save for Hung gaining one additional vote. In his suit, he accused Board of Elections staff of misconduct, said disabled voters were denied their rights and that there were improper delays in sending out absentee ballot requests by mail. He also demanded DeWine be impeached and that former ODH Director Dr. Amy Acton be fired — though her eventual resignation made that a moot point. The Board of Elections had asked the case be dismissed and a response to that motion were due to the court by Monday. The case was to be heard before Judge Mark Betleski, with the next hearing scheduled to proceed at 10 a.m. Tuesday. In a statement, Hung said her campaign is "working hard to bring representation to the residents of Lorain County." She said she will continue to talk to residents about ongoing issues in Lorain County, with safety and security for the families and community a "top concern," promising to fix issues "permanently, not an election year Band-Aid fix." Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com. Follow him at @daveobrienCT on Twitter.