Champion cop seeking removal of Ttrustee Jeff Hovanic

Staff report

WARREN

A Boardman attorney filed legal action Wednesday in the Warren-based Ohio 11th District Court of Appeals, seeking to have Champion Township Trustee Jeff Hovanic removed as a trustee and/or removed from the Nov. 5 ballot for re-election.

Atty. David Engler filed the action on behalf of Champion police officer Robert Koehler.

The action says Koehler has had trouble getting insurance claims paid by the township’s insurance carrier and believes Hovanic may have had an unlawful interest in a public contract as a result of his brother’s being the insurance broker for the township at one time.

“I’m not aware of anything I’ve done that is unlawful or unethical,” Hovanic said when asked about the legal action. “I’ve always worked hard to represent the citizens of Champion with their best interests in mind.”

Engler also represents a Howland man in a guardianship matter in Trumbull County Probate Court and recently questioned Hovanic’s appointment as overseer in the Howland man’s estate.