After Kitchen ruling, state elections panel may weigh Sammarone's actions

COLUMBUS

With the Ohio Elections Commission finding DeMaine Kitchen, a former Youngstown mayoral candidate, committed a violation by filing a late financial disclosure statement, the panel may turn its attention to former Mayor Charles Sammarone.

“Whatever the people in charge say needs to be done I will follow,” Sammarone said.

The commission decided Thursday not to penalize Kitchen for taking an improper cash contribution.

Kitchen, a former chief of staff to Sammarone, unsuccessfully ran as an independent candidate for mayor in the general election a year ago. During his campaign, he received a $4,000 cash contribution from Sammarone, a Democrat who now serves as city council president.

The state limit on such contributions is $100. Kitchen also reported the contributions several months late.

County elections officials filed a complaint with the elections commission in April, outlining the improper contribution and delayed disclosure.

Kitchen’s campaign has since repaid $3,900 of the funds, via checks to Sammarone in April and May, according to updated campaign finance disclosures. Those same documents disclosed checks of $2,500 and $1,400 contributed to Kitchen’s campaign around the same time from Sammarone.

Commission member Lynn Grimshaw asked whether Kitchen was the correct person to face a violation for the contribution. The wording in statute, he said, focuses on the contributor.

Read more about the matter in Friday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.