FRANKLIN COUNTY, OHIO Elections board seeks probe into official's ties

The official had asked the Ohio Ethics Commission for an opinion last year.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- The Franklin County Board of Elections wants the Ohio Ethics Commission to look into a former elections official's links to companies that did business with the board.
Questions arose this week regarding former deputy elections director Michael Hackett Jr.'s connection to SST Systems and two other companies.
Franklin County spent $785,000 on voting machine storage carts from SST Systems, a company whose founders include Hackett's wife.
Hackett had asked the Ethics Commission for an opinion on his ties to the company, but the elections board approved the purchase in November without waiting for an answer. County commissioners gave final approval in December, but Commissioner Paula Brooks has said they were never told ethics questions had been raised.
Earlier this week, Brooks asked for proof that the storage carts were required and information on whether other counties also bought such carts.
Elections Director Matthew Damschroder said the storage carts weren't required for the 900 new voting machines but needed to help keep the 40-pound machines from being stolen.
Hackett retired from his elections post in November. In January, he formed SST Systems NFC with two of the founders of SST Systems, which his wife had left months earlier.
Other issues
The Ethics Commission also was asked by the elections board to explore Hackett's involvement with a printing company and a nonprofit agency the county used to train poll workers.
Hackett's attorney, Sam Shamansky, would only say that Hackett welcomes the commission's review and had asked for its opinion before.
"We are going to cooperate fully with the investigation," Shamansky said. "The Ethics Commission has traditionally ... been very fair and objective and we're eager to have them look into matters that seem worthy of review."
David Freel, executive director of the Ethics Commission, said he would present the elections board's investigation request to the commission at its meeting next Thursday.