Court upholds candidate’s disqualification

YOUNGSTOWN — A three-judge panel of the 7th District Court of Appeals has unanimously upheld the Mahoning County Board of Elections’ decision to disqualify Howard Faison Jr. as an independent candidate for sheriff.

Faison, who retired on disability May 1, 2003, as a captain in the county sheriff’s department, sought to challenge incumbent Democratic Sheriff Randall A. Wellington, who is seeking re-election Nov. 4.

In its decision rendered Thursday, the appeals panel said Faison, of Youngstown, did not meet the ballot requirement of having performed full-time law enforcement duties within the last four years.

In his failed request for a writ of mandamus reinstating him to the ballot, Faison argued unsuccessfully that his disability retirement constituted a leave of absence that kept him eligible to run.

The decision was rendered by Judges Joseph J. Vukovich, Cheryl L. Waite and Mary DeGenaro.