Dems vote to uphold support for sheriff

By more than a 2-1 margin, the sheriff retained the club's endorsement.
By PETER H. MILLIKEN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
POLAND -- Despite questions surrounding the indictment of his second in command, Mahoning County Sheriff Randall Wellington will keep his endorsement from a local Democratic organization as he runs for re-election.
And the incumbent sheriff said he will not resign.
In a symbolic victory for Wellington, the Democrats of the 17th and 6th Districts voted 16-7 Tuesday to uphold their earlier endorsement of Wellington, a Democrat running unopposed in the Nov. 2 general election.
Mark Meszaros of Weathersfield Township made the unsuccessful motion to strip Wellington of the group's endorsement, and Mary Mason of New Springfield seconded it.
With controversy continuing after last week's indictment of Mike Budd, Wellington appeared at the meeting and answered questions from members of the group and the press with about 75 people attending.
A federal grand jury indicted Budd, 43, on a charge of violating the civil rights of inmates by using excessive force. He has been demoted to deputy and placed on paid leave. Budd is alleged to have ordered the beating of a Mahoning County jail inmate.
What sheriff said
"I am honored to be endorsed by this club, and I'll cherish it," Wellington told the audience after being informed that the club upheld his endorsement.
"I have all the faith in the world in Michael Budd, and I'm not privileged to the exact particulars in the indictment, but I have confidence in him, and I do not think that Michael Budd did what he is charged with," Wellington told the crowd.
He added that Budd has been charged but hasn't been convicted of any crime. Budd has pleaded innocent.
"Mike Budd was an exceptionally fine officer. He was a man of integrity. He was a hard worker. He put a lot of time in. He was very knowledgeable," the sheriff said, explaining why he placed his trust in him.
Budd and the other deputies charged in the case are on paid leave. The sheriff said the paid-leave provision was put into the union contract before his administration, and he will seek to remove it when negotiations resume next month. "It's frustrating, and it ties my hands, and I don't like it," he said.
What's in dispute
However, Pat Dougherty, Fraternal Order of Police/Ohio Labor Council senior staff representative, has said that there is no provision in the current contract with the sheriff for paid leave when deputies are indicted.
Dougherty noted last July when the sheriff put three current and three former deputies indicted in the inmate-abuse case on paid leave that the 2003-05 contract language states that employees under indictment can take unpaid leave or be assigned to a position that does not require them to possess a gun or make an arrest.
When The Vindicator asked the sheriff about the contract language in July and again after Budd's indictment, Wellington said because the charges are crimes of violence, he can't have the deputies work at the jail.
Asked Tuesday night if he would resign over the indictment of current or former deputies in the case, Wellington replied "absolutely not." In all, the case involves four current and four former deputies.
If the deputies are convicted in the civil rights case, "We stand to lose a lot of money in civil lawsuits," said Tracey Ardinger of Boardman, referring to the prospect of inmates' suing the county over civil rights violations.
Wellington said jail monitoring was improved two months ago through installation of $300,000 worth of security cameras throughout the jail using drug forfeiture money. "There's not an area of my jail that is not videotaped now," he said.
Mahoning County commissioners said they're keeping out of the fray involving the sheriff and won't criticize him for the way he's handled the indictments of Budd and other deputies.
"It's his department, so it's his call," said Commissioner Ed Reese. "He's elected by the people to run that department. We just set the budgets."
Reese added, "I believe a person is innocent until proven guilty."
XCONTRIBUTOR: Bob Jackson, Vindicator courthouse reporter.