Ohio House 16th: Brady (D) To Fight Blackwell to Stay on Ballot
Jennifer Brady (D-Westlake) vows to fight "all the way to the Ohio Supreme Court if need be" to keep her name on the 16th Ohio House District ballot, in order to protect district residents' right to vote.Brady was chosen in late June as a replacement candidate for successful write-in primary candidate Michael O'Shea (D-Rocky River), who had withdrawn. The Board of Elections was notified of this decision in writing, but the written document was not properly sworn and notarized as required by statute. Two protests were filed in early September. At a Board of Elections meeting on September 15, Brady's lawyer argued that the unsworn notification consituted "substantial compliance" with the statute, but the Board split 2-2 along party lines on whether Brady should remain on the ballot.
Secretary of State Ken Blackwell (R-Cincinnati), acting through Assistant Secretary of State Monty Lobb, has now broken the tie against Brady, ruling that the unsworn document does not constitute "substantial compliance" with the technical requirements of the statute.
This decision is appealable to court, where Brady's lawyers will argue that this decision thwarts the underlying policy of the election laws of allowing voters to have a choice of candidates in elections, and elevates technicality over substance. In a story in today's Cleveland Plain Dealer, Brady's opponent Ed Herman (R-Rocky River) said Brady's disqualification is "somewhat regrettable, really. I'm confident I would've won." On the phone just now Brady said to me, "Ken Blackwell is a scary person. These are people who are trying to rob us of our right to vote."
posted by Jeff @ 8:26 AM
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7 Comments:
It's hardly as if Blackwell is robbing us of our right to vote for a Democrat. I just wish that we would have had a candidate for the position who didn't drop out! There was a woman from Westlake (I can't remember her name!) who ran, then O'Shea and now Brady. All of this in 6 months!
Isn't there anyone in the district who wanted to run from the begining and who could do it without screwing up the basic procedures to run?
Very frustrating. But legal. If you screw up your job application, not only are you not going to get hired, you won't even be in the running. Same situation.
"It's hardly as if Blackwell is robbung us of our right to vote for a Democrat"
Wrong. Blackwell is the tiebreaker in this decision. He has voted to effectively remove the Democrat from the ballot, thus taking away voter choice.
Also, this hardly equates to a job application. Job applications are usually solely benefit the applicant and the employer...two private entitites. In this case we're talking about the government of the state of Ohio, a public good. While I can sympathize with your reasoning (the person messed up, shame on them), I find it inapplicable in cases in which the public good hangs on the line. Blackwell's decision doesn't just hurt Brady, it hurts us all.
-Jerid
Bottom Line...Jimmy Dimora and the D's in Cuyahoga TOTALLY screwed this thing up. Do you have any idea how easy this process is supposed to be? Heck, the SOS even provides a form. Nevertheless, Jimmy "Dumbora" and company just couldn't get it right. The rules are there for a reason. I suggest that everyone knows the law before spouting off. It makes us look ignorant.
Agreed! The process wasn't even remotely followed. It's not complicated -- you just have to follow it and deliver sworn statements proving that the party leaders have.
I can't believe that Dimora screwed something up to this level. Shame on him! But it's not Blackwell, Herman or Brady's fault. That makes it sting even more!
First of all, the process used to select Brady was a sham and that is why her application wasn't submitted under oath or notarized. Second, the geniuses that ran the process were attorneys! In fact, one of them is the number two guy in the Prosecutor's office! All these great legal minds and they couldn't figure out a simple process like an application! Dimora is not at fault, but his lack of interest in this process and other statewide races didn't help. Two people are to blame Michael O'Shea who ran as a write-in candidate and quits and Steve Dever who was in charge of the process to choose Brady. Lastly, it didn't help matters that Brady decided to tell the Board of Elections two months after she was chosen.
...it's actually BETTER for us if she if off the ballot--we can use valuable resources elsewhere (think Lorain) instead of wasting them on Brady. (did you hear hear on Ch. 19? Wow!)
I totally agree! This woman is a mess and probably would not have beaten an extremely vulnerable Republican candidate.
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