Treasurer Candidate Drops Out, Rips County GOP

Hamilton attorney criticizes removal of 12 members of the party's Central Committee.

from the journal-news

http://www.journalnews.com/hp/content/oh/story/news/local/2007/05/22/hjn052307gop.html

HAMILTON — Hours before he was set to be screened for the vacant Butler County treasurer post, Hamilton attorney Dave Davidson announced Tuesday that he dropped out the race.

Though screening interviews were planned Tuesday night, at 4 p.m. Davidson announced that he couldn't trust the Republican Party's appointment process because of "backroom deals and suspicious leadership decisions." He's now considering running in the March primary for the $66,000-a-year job.

"I have lost faith in the leadership through the whole process," the former Hamilton City Councilman said.

His concern, he said, centers on the February removal of 12 members from the GOP's Central Committee without his knowledge or consultation as the Central Committee parliamentarian at that time. He didn't learn of the action until Monday, he said.

Those members, a "few" of them Davidson's supporters, would and may still vote June 12 with more than 200 other members on a replacement for Treasurer Carole Mosketti. Mosketti is leaving her position May 31 after being convicted last week of a misdemeanor ethics violation for hiring her granddaughter.

"They've been removed, put back on and now in limbo," he said. "That's illegal. You can't do that. They've been elected to these positions."

County GOP Chairman Tom Ellis said the members were removed because they are not Republicans under the leadership's interpretation of its bylaws. All are registered independents who didn't vote in the last primary in which they were elected and some had not voted as far back as 1992, Ellis said.

"As chairman of the party, that goes directly to the very integrity and structure of the political party," Ellis said.

The ousted members were not told about the action and still receive party event notices, he said.

The issue has emerged with three remaining candidates seeking the treasurer appointment and three others trying to fill the Butler County Commission seat Michael Fox left empty May 14, Ellis said. To be fair and determine if the removed members can vote on the appointments, Ellis said he is "aggressively" seeking an opinion from the Ohio secretary of state for a second time.

In February, the state's opinion was that it was a party issue, not an elections issue, Ellis said.
Central Committee Chairwoman Judy Shelton said the party also expects several legal opinions on the matter by Friday.

Three others — GOP Executive Secretary Donna Defazio; U.S. Bank executive and former Middletown Vice Mayor Nancy Nix; and Don Spurlock, owner of Spurlock Insurance in West Chester Twp. — are vying to fill Mosketti's role.

Another three — former West Chester Twp. Trustee José Alvarez, developer and former County Commissioner Don Dixon of Fairfield Twp. and state Rep. Shawn Webster of Hanover Twp. — are seeking the county commission seat.

The county Republican Central Committee votes June 5 for a commissioner, who will fill Fox's unexpired term until January 2009. A new treasurer could be selected June 12 to hold office until September 2009.