AUSTINTOWN TRUSTEE RACE Court rejects suit in petition question

The elections board chairman wants to investigate the signature issue further.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The 7th District Court of Appeals has dismissed a lawsuit brought by a candidate for Austintown trustee who is seeking the disqualification of a fellow candidate.
Lisa Oles, who is running for trustee, filed the case without an attorney's help Sept. 17 against the Mahoning County Board of Elections, seeking the removal of Linda Marie Roca, another candidate, from the Nov. 4 ballot.
Oles contends that Roca's nominating petition was improperly certified by the elections board, which permitted the printed signature of Ashley Jenkins of Huntmere Avenue to be counted as valid. Without Jenkins' signature, Roca would have fallen short by one signature from having the 25 needed to stay on the ballot.
Not valid
The Ohio Secretary of State's Office and Mark Munroe, the county elections board's chairman, say that unless a person has first printed his or her signature on the voter registration card filed with the elections board, a printed signature is not valid on a nominating petition.
Jenkins signed her name on her voter registration card and also signed her name on a subpoena Sept. 9 to appear at an elections board hearing on her signature two days later. At that meeting, Jenkins testified that she prints her signature.
The three other elections board members besides Munroe permitted Jenkins' signature to be counted, and kept Roca on the ballot.
Munroe says Jenkins falsely testified at that hearing and wants the board to conduct a further investigation, subpoena additional documents from Jenkins, and perhaps refer the case to the county prosecutor.
Jurisdiction issue
The court of appeals Monday dismissed Oles' case -- even while acknowledging it "could potentially have merit."
Oles filed seeking a writ of mandamus, which is a court order forcing someone to take some type of action. In its decision, the court wrote that Oles was actually seeking a declaratory judgment and an injunction, so it had "no jurisdiction" over the case.
Oles said she believed she filed the correct complaint in the correct court.
"I didn't expect the outcome to be any different; this is Mahoning County," Oles said.
Munroe said he isn't surprised that the court dismissed the case.
"When I saw the lawsuit, it didn't look like it was well-formed," he said. "I thought it might be dismissed on a technicality because of how poorly it was written. They should have gotten an attorney. I'm disappointed the court didn't have the opportunity to consider the merit of the case."
skolnick@vindy.com