Elections board rejects appeal

Staff report

WARREN

The Trumbull County Board of Elections has rejected an appeal filed by 4th Ward Newton Falls Councilman Jim Luonuansuu regarding the recall petitions that were filed against him.

The recall election will proceed Feb. 8 as planned.

At a meeting last week, the elections board rejected Luonuansuu’s claim that he could not be recalled from council because he had not yet served one year.

Jim Saker, an assistant Trumbull County prosecutor, said Luonuansuu will have served one year on council by Feb. 8, the recall-election date.

Luonuansuu also said he thought the petitions that were circulated and turned in to the elections board should be invalid because they spelled his name wrong: Lounuansuu instead of Luonuansuu.

Saker said the misspelling is not a big enough flaw to have confused petition signers.

The elections board also certified the petitions of Philip Beer, who filed to run for Luonuansuu’s seat on council if voters recall him.

Beer was the only person to turn in petitions to run for the position.

Beer, who circulated the petitions seeking Luonuansuu’s recall, lost to Luonuansuu in the November 2009 election 180 votes to 89.