Matt Lundy fires first salvo at opponent Jeff Riddell in 2022 commissioners race

ELYRIA — Incumbent Lorain County Commissioner Matt Lundy fired the first shots of the 2022 race to retain his seat on Monday, accusing his Republican opponent Jeff Riddell of "buying and getting his way" in the past. The Democrat on Monday warned voters "not to trust" Riddell, a businessman from Henrietta Township, running as a Republican in the 2022 general election. "Mr. Riddell is widely known in political circles, but for all the wrong reasons. It's widely known that he is the king of backroom deals that put his personal and financial interests ahead of the common good," Lundy wrote in an email to local media. Riddell, he wrote, "has a long history of lining the pockets of those he believes will do his personal bidding and return favors. His dirty money always has strings attached." "Jeff is used to buying and getting his way, so he is very upset that I voted against the county hiring his son-in-law's business. I also voted to fire his son-in-law's business for poor performance of a health care plan audit," Lundy wrote. "If he is elected, taxpayers run the risk of him pushing his 'friends and family' plan at taxpayers' expense. Jeff can't be trusted." Riddell did not respond to multiple requests for comment, both about his candidacy or about Lundy's comments, made by The Chronicle-Telegram both last week and this week. The longtime Lorain County businessman, who owns Consumer Builders Supply Co. on North Ridge Road in Sheffield Township, filed petitions to run against Lundy back on Jan. 31. He is a former member of the Lorain County Community College Board of Trustees, and he recently approached the current Board of Commissioners to recommend appointments to the LCCC board. Last fall, Lundy and Commissioner Michelle Hung, a Republican, voted to cancel an agreement with Velocity Advisors of Avon, which the board hired earlier in the year to secure supplemental insurance benefits for county employees and perform a health care benefits audit. Commissioner David Moore, a Republican, voted against canceling the agreement. Velocity Advisors is the firm of Andrew McDonnell, Riddell's son-in-law. Commissioners voted to hire the firm in February 2021 and the benefits audit, to be done by a second firm McDonnell created called Velocity Benefits Audits Inc., was approved in March 2021. After voting to cut ties with Velocity, Lundy criticized how the planned audit was rolled out. The Riddells and McDonnells donated money to the campaigns of both Moore and Hung and raised money for Republican political candidates including U.S. Senate candidate Jane Timken. Moore is chairman of Timken's Lorain County campaign. Riddell gave $1,350 to Moore's 2020 election campaign, according to publicly available campaign finance reports, while McDonnell donated $500 to Moore's campaign. Jeff Riddell and his wife also gave $2,000 to Hung's campaign in 2020. Hung told The Chronicle last year that the Riddells are "very generous people." Lundy previously said the Riddell-McDonnell family relationship had "no bearing" on his vote to cut ties with McDonnell's firm. Former Lorain County 911 Director Harry Williamson also mentioned Riddell in a lawsuit he recently filed against the county, Lundy and Moore, former county administrators Tom Williams and Jim Cordes, the law firm Ulmer & Berne and attorney Amanda Martinsek, who did legal work for the county. Williamson alleged that in February 2020, Williams — Moore's former campaign manager — told him the proposed "seven districts" plan, which would change county government from a three-member board of commissioners to a seven-member council, was a priority of Riddell and other Republican campaign donors. Williams explained that Moore "had promised donors he would bring the proposal to the ballot, and that he needed Commissioner Hung's support to do so" — relying, according to the lawsuit, on the power and sway Williamson had over Hung as part of an ongoing extramarital affair the two were engaged in. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com. Follow him on Twitter @daveobrienCT.