Firefighter's wife lauds election decision

SALEM -- Stephanie Ritchie said she is happy and relieved with the 6-1 decision by the Election Commission of Ohio that election signs urging voters to vote against two petitions on Tuesday's ballot are misleading.
Ritchie is the wife of Lance Ritchie, a Salem city firefighter. The signs urge voters to vote "no" on initiative petitions that state the Salem City Fire Department cannot be dissolved or a joint fire district with Perry Township formed without a later public vote, and that a "no" vote will save the city $600,000.
Ritchie said the signs are misleading because no one can predict the future, and the actual cost savings of dissolving the city fire department and forming a joint fire district aren't known.
She said one commission member raised the question of how the city will pay the firefighters' unemployment compensation if there isn't money to pay their salaries. Ritchie said the commission has the authority to decide only right and wrong, and so could not rule that the signs have to be removed.