Treasurer: "Frivolous" O'Brien (R) Lawsuit Against County Commissioners Dismissed

State Treasurer candidate Sandra O'Brien (R-Ashtabula County) has suffered a stinging defeat in her ongoing (and wasteful) court battles with the Ashtabula County Commissioners. According to this report in the Ashtabula Star Beacon, brought to my attention by a reader, Court of Appeals magistrate Matthew Lamb has issued a 25-page decision that dismisses O'Brien's lawsuit against the commissioners for underfunding her department in 2005, and orders O'Brien to establish accounts for the Geneva State Park Lodge and the county's economic development funds. Both parties have 14 days to file any objections they have to the decision before it is reviewd by the Court of Appeals.

Ashtabula County Prosecutor Thomas Sartini, representing the county commissioners, said:

This vindicates the commissioners. Mrs. O'Brien had a clear legal duty as county auditor to do what the commissioners had asked her to do. The excuses she gave had no basis in law and no reason for her not to do it, other than her political motives. She didn't do her job because she did not want the lodge period. I have tried over the years to consult with Mrs. O'Brien and offer her my 27 years of legal experience and my office's services. She's refused and refused my help and gone off to hire her own lawyers in frivolous lawsuits costing this county thousands of dollars.

O'Brien had no comment, referring the reporter to her private attorney.

This is the person who wants to be responsible for the state treasury.