Elections board certifies all but Oberlin Library levy, sets North Ridgeville recount, hires Lisette Gracia as new director

SHEFFIELD TWP. — The Lorain County Board of Elections voted Tuesday not to certify the general election results for Issue 10, the Oberlin Public Library renewal levy, after an internal error caused it to not appear on the ballots of all the voters in its district. The library district includes the city of Oberlin, where the issue appeared on ballots, but also portions of Amherst, Carlisle, New Russia and Pittsfield townships in the Oberlin School District, where it did not. Acting Elections Director James Kramer said the library issue was incorrectly grouped with two other Oberlin municipal tax issues. He and former director Paul Adams didn't catch the error before ballots were printed, Kramer said. The library may choose to put another tax on the ballot next year, Director David Fausnaugh said. The board certified all other results from the Nov. 4 election, while also scheduling an automatic recount in the North Ridgeville City Council at-large race for Nov. 25. All vote totals and results are according to complete and official results from the board of elections and can be found on the board's website, www.voteloraincountyohio.gov. Finally, the board named Lisette Gracia, a Democrat, as its new director. She replaces Paul Adams, who left Lorain County to become director of the Dallas County, Texas, Elections Commission starting Oct. 1. Elections boards in Ohio are divided equally between Republican and Democratic staff. Kramer, a Republican, said he would likely stay on as deputy director after Gracia starts. Currently chief deputy clerk at the Lorain Municipal Court, Gracia will start Jan. 5. She said applied for the job with the encouragement of other Democratic women and her current boss, Ted Kalo. Her new job continues a family tradition: Lisette Gracia's mother Iris Gracia was director, then deputy director of the Board of Elections from the late 1980s to the early 2000s when she retired and moved to Florida. Following in her mother's footsteps "wasn't intended" Lisette Gracia said with a laugh. Also a longtime administrative assistant to former Common Pleas Judge Mark Betleski, Lisette Gracia said she's excited to start her new job and eager to learn from "a great staff" and Kramer, whom she's known since she was a teen. "I will do my due diligence and follow the rules of the Secretary of State and the laws of Ohio," Lisette Gracia said. Her salary will be $111,987, according to the Board of Elections. Issue 10, Oberlin Public Library The Oberlin library levy was a 3.25-mill renewal that would raise an estimated $723,000 annually for library operations for a continuing amount of time. Its voting district overlaps the Oberlin City Schools voting district. The levy was passing with nearly 85 percent of the vote in favor of it before officials learned the issue didn't make it onto all the required ballots. Kramer said the issue got connected to the municipal voting district — the city of Oberlin, which came in with three issues backed by three resolutions for the ballot — but elections officials put it on the issues list without indicating library district. "It was a mistake on our part," Kramer said. "It's the directors' responsibility to approve (the ballot) and we missed it." Kramer said his staff has taken steps to ensure the error won't happen again. No employees will face disciplinary action. The elections board will consult with legal counsel about covering the cost of its error so the Oberlin Library doesn't have to. "It's our fault," Board President Marilyn Jacobcik, a Republican, said. "We certainly take responsibility." Fausnaugh said his board would discuss its next steps. "Thankfully we went on the ballot early so we have time to run another renewal, which if it were to pass next year there wouldn't be a lapse in funding," he said. "I think it's unfortunate but we're going to move forward and hopefully we see the same support we saw in this election but with our entire voting service district." North Ridgeville City Council recount North Ridgeville voters were asked to choose three at-large council members from six candidates. Holly Swenk, a Republican, received 4,212 votes or 18.5 percent of the vote to come in first place. Paul Wolanski, a Democrat, received 4,170 votes or 18.31 percent of the vote for second place. The recount is between Democratic candidates Cali Zingale and Susan Olsen, who came in third and fourth place respectively. Zingale received 3,783 votes, or 16.61 percent of the vote, and Olsen received 3,755 votes, or 16.49 percent. A difference between them of less than 0.5 percent of all votes cast in the race triggers an automatic recount. That will take place at 9 a.m. Nov. 25, with the board to meet at 3 p.m. that same day to certify the results. Lorain County had 213,672 registered voters as of Nov. 4. A total of 60,593 ballots were cast, making voter turnout 28.36 percent. This story has been updated with the elections director's salary. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com