Republican officials plan to meet on Columbiana Co. sheriff’s situation

The chairman said he may make an announcement next week.

By D.A. WILKINSON

VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU

LISBON — Columbiana County Sheriff David Smith may not go on trial before the March 4 primary, and that could create a problem with keeping a Republican in the office.

David Johnson, chairman of the county Republican Party, said Thursday he’s concerned about the situation.

Smith was charged in Guernsey County on Oct. 11, 2007, with operating a vehicle while under the influence while returning to Columbiana County in his unmarked cruiser. The Ohio State Highway Patrol said a urine test showed he had an alcohol content slightly more than twice the legal level of intoxication.

If convicted of the first-degree misdemeanor, Smith would be barred from running for office.

His trial had been scheduled for Feb. 21 in Cambridge Municipal Court. A hearing was set for Feb. 4 to consider a request from Smith’s attorney to suppress the urine test results. The state obtained a continuance for the motions until Feb. 29.

No new date has been set for Smith’s trial, and it can’t be set until after the hearing.

That’s why Johnson is concerned.

The county Republican Party wants to keep the sheriff’s office a Republican office, as it has been for 60 years.

Smith could win the primary but then be ruled ineligible to run.

To make sure the party has a candidate in the race, it endorsed three other candidates: Daniel “Skip” MacLean and Jerry Herbert, who both worked under Smith, and Raymond Stone, the chief of the Perry Township Police Department.

All three were rated “highly qualified.”

The plan was that if Smith is convicted, the party would have three viable candidates in the primary.

Johnson said he will spend this weekend talking to party officials in an effort to decide what to do. He said he may make an announcement early next week.

The court placed Smith under an administrative license suspension but granted him driving privileges for work-related activities.

XDan Davis of The Daily Jeffersonian in Cambridge, Ohio, contributed to this story.