BOE Approves Take Back Toledo Effort
FROM 13 ABC NEWS TOLEDO:
The effort to recall Toledo’s mayor gets the green light from the Lucas County Board of Elections. Board members decided Take Back Toledo collected enough valid signatures and followed the appropriate guidelines. They held public meetings and collected more than 45,000 signatures. Today the Board of Elections decided they did it the right way.
“The Take Back Toledo effort is very happy with the decision made today. It will be put on the November ballot and they certified all of the arguments we made,” says Take Back Toledo attorney Scott Ciolek.
Argument number one – centers around an election falsification statement. The Ohio revised code requires a statement to be put on all petitions, the Toledo City Charter doesn’t. The board decided in this case the charter supersedes the revised code.
Argument number two – whether or not the petition circulators themselves have to be registered voters in the county. The board said no.
Lucas County Board of Elections chairman Patrick Kriner says, “Those two things together basically put us in the position to deny the protest because the signatures in either case would not have overturned the petitions.”
But Carty’s attorneys say no.
The mayor’s attorney John Kulewicz says, “We are disappointed the board has not held Take Back Toledo to the same standard that applies to everybody else. We hope three wrongs ultimately won’t make a right.”
Finkbeiner’s attorneys say they’re considering appealing the ruling in court. The attorney for Take Back Toledo says if the mayor appeals the ruling in court, it’s possible the election results will be sealed until there is a court ruling.