Blackwell's assistant handling his duties
Hillary Rodham Clinton accused Blackwell of having a conflict of interest.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, Ohio's top elections officer, has delegated some of his duties to an aide as he campaigns to become the state's next governor, a newspaper reported.
Blackwell has allowed assistant secretary of state Monty Lobb to sign all of the directives and advisories to county elections boards since March. Lobb also has broken six tie votes among county elections boards, The Columbus Dispatch reported for a story published Sunday.
Carlo LoParo, a spokesman for the Republican nominee for governor, said Blackwell decided to hand off those duties during the campaign under an Ohio law that states, "The general duties of the assistant secretary shall be such as the secretary of state assigns him."
Blackwell, as the head of the GOP's statewide ticket, also wanted "a level of insulation" for the decisions of the office, LoParo said. Blackwell continues to be responsible for the office and is in close contact with the staff, he said.
Democrats, including Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, recently have questioned whether Blackwell can fairly run an election in which he's a candidate. Blackwell's opponent is U.S. Rep. Ted Strickland.
Clinton told a crowd of activists in Columbus earlier this month to watch the election closely and accused Blackwell -- although she didn't mention him by name -- of having a conflict of interest.
Criticism
But now that Blackwell has delegated some authority to his deputy, he's getting other criticism.
Christopher McNeil, an adjunct professor at Capital University Law School and an expert on administrative law, said the public has a right to expect that the elected secretary of state is making the important decisions unless the power has been given to someone else in writing.
"I don't believe our constitution or the statute anticipates allowing the secretary of state to dodge his responsibilities," he said.
State law requires the secretary of state to break tie votes from county elections boards.
Many elections officials have expressed concern that Blackwell is not breaking those ties and making other decisions, said Steve Harsman, president of the Ohio Association of Election Officials and director of the Montgomery County elections board.
Harsman said the decisions have larger ramifications because they set precedents for similar disputes, and officials need guidance because of changes this year to state election law.