Board of Elections certifies Lorain city charter issue

LORAIN -- More than 30 Lorain residents are seeking a seat on the city's Charter Commission. The Lorain County Board of Elections certified petitions from 35 people Monday. All names will appear on the Nov. 3 ballot, but it is unclear if elected if all of them are able to serve on the 15-member commission. Four of the candidates are members of Lorain City Council: Council President Joel Arredondo; Tony Dimacchia, D-at large; Mitch Fallis, D-at large; and Josh Thornsberry, D-8th Ward. Others, like Mayor Jack Bradley, Auditor Karen Shawver, Treasurer Terri Soto and Clerk of Courts Ted Kalo, are elected officials; and Safety/Service Director Sanford Washington and Chief of Staff Rick Soto are appointed positions. There also are local community and political leaders seeking spots on the panel. A 1971 Ohio Attorney General's opinion states "a member of a city council … may not serve as a member of a municipal charter commission." Lorain County Board of Elections Director Paul Adams said the issue is out of the Board of Election's scope. The Attorney General's opinion is not a reason to invalidate Council members' petitions, but if those candidates win, it would be up to legal council of the Charter Commission to decide what happens next. At a City Council meeting Sept. 8, Lorain Law Director Pat Riley noted the AG's opinion is 50 years old, and it may need to be re-examined, but he had little legal advice to give Council members interested in a seat. Lorain County Assistant Prosecutor Gerald Innes said Monday he believes City Council members can run for the commission, but if the issue passes and they are elected, they would have to resign from one or the other. Lorain's city charter issue will appear as two questions: shall a charter commission be formed; and the second offering a selection of no more than 15 from the list of 35 seeking appointments. The first question must pass for candidates to be elected to the commission. Right now it is unclear what would happen if a Council member is elected to the commission and they refuse to resign from one or the other. Innes said the state's 1971 opinion seems to apply, but another opinion from 1964 states charter commission members are not municipal officers -- further muddying the waters. As far as he has been able to find, there is no existing case law on the issue. If Lorain's Charter Commission issue triggers a lawsuit with the Ohio Supreme Court, it could set the precedent for other statutory cities. "There are still some questions in my mind," he said. "And I don't know if our office, or the Law Director's office in Lorain or the AG is going to be the one that's eventually going to have to answer all this." A full list of candidates for the commission can be found on the Lorain County Board of Elections website. Contact Carissa Woytach at 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.