Court turns down primary request

The candidate's attorney said the election workers made numerous mistakes.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The 7th District Court of Appeals rejected a request from a write-in Campbell council president candidate to run in today's city primary.
The judges heard an appeal Monday from F. Anthony Fontes to overturn the decision of Thomas McCabe, deputy director of the Mahoning County Board of Elections, to not hold a primary in the race.
After consulting with the county prosecutor, the Ohio Secretary of State's Office and the Campbell law director, McCabe decided Thursday that there shouldn't be a primary for council president.
He made that decision because only one candidate's name will appear on the ballot running for council president. The city charter requires more than two candidates to be on the ballot during the city primary before a write-in can run, McCabe said.
The court held a hearing Monday that lasted almost two hours. About two hours after the hearing's conclusion, the judges issued a brief decision saying Fontes' claim had no merit and that he had to wait until the November general election to run as a write-in candidate.
The judges wrote that an opinion that would explain their decision is forthcoming.
Mistakes
During the hearing, John Shultz, Fontes' attorney, said election board employees made numerous mistakes regarding his client's eligibility as a write-in council president candidate.
Shultz said no one objected to Fontes' candidacy or his eligibility, the election board distributed absentee ballots with a line for a write-in candidate for council president, the decision to not hold a council president primary wasn't made by the elections board and McCabe disqualified Fontes after the deadline to do so.
During testimony, McCabe admitted an election board employee had made a mistake in accepting Fontes' write-in form and his $45 filing fee.
"But the board discovered they made a mistake and rectified it," said Gina Bricker, the Mahoning County assistant prosecutor who represented the election board at Monday's hearing.
After being told of the court's decision, Shultz said, "It has a chilling effect when one employee of the Mahoning County Board of Elections can decide whether or not a declared write-in candidate can have the chance to run."
As for running as a write-in candidate in the November election, Fontes and any city resident can seek the seat under the Campbell charter.
The charter requires lines for each seat available in the city election to appear on ballots so residents "may write in the name of any person for whom he may wish to cast a vote."
skolnick@vindy.com