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Court shuts out Guest

Heaven Guest

LISBON — Heaven Guest has lost her appeal to run for Columbiana County Common Pleas Court judge in the Nov. 6 election.

The Ohio Supreme Court, in a 5-0 decision announced Wednesday, ruled Guest failed to demonstrate that Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted “abused his discretion by refusing to place her name on the ballot …”

Guest, a Democrat seeking to run as an independent, said she “does not intend to take any further action on this matter.” This would leave only Republican candidate Megan Bickerton, who won the GOP nomination by defeating longtime Judge C. Ashley Pike in the May primary election.

Someone could still opt to run against Bickerton as a write-in candidate, and the filing deadline to do so is 4 p.m. Aug. 27.

The dispute ended up in the Husted’s hands after the county elections board on May 29 voted 2-2 along party lines to reject Guest’s candidacy petitions, with the board’s two Republican representatives citing her close affiliation with the Democratic Party. Husted, a Republican, broke the tie, saying he was “persuaded” by the evidence that Guest remained affiliated with the Democratic Party.

Guest filed a motion with the Supreme Court asking they order she be allowed on the ballot, with her attorney arguing that Husted based his decision “on evidence disallowed by law.”

A key issue appeared to be Guest’s appointment to the county Democratic Party’s central committee on Feb. 27, with the paperwork of her appointment filed with the elections board on March 30. She was still listed as a central committee member when the board met on May 29.

About 90 minutes after the meeting, Guest came to the elections board and submitted a copy of a hand-written note dated April 14. The note was addressed to county Democratic Party Chairman Nick Barborak and stated she was resigning from the central committee because her “political views are independent.” Six days later Guest began circulating petitions to run for judge as an independent.

The court said Husted was not out line legally for “viewing Guest’s (April 14) letter with suspicion” and questioning its authenticity, especially after the Republican board members scheduled a second meeting to discuss the April 14 letter but their Democratic colleagues failed to attend.

The court noted Guest could have done a better job in her April 14 letter explaining why she had decided to step down from her central committee appointment.

“Resigning from her position … was one of the few affirmative steps Guest could take to validate her disaffiliation. If that was her goal, she did not do it well,” they wrote. “The letter contains neither the formality nor the clarity one would expect from someone looking to disaffiliate from a political party.”

Husted cited other evidence: Democrats, including Barborak, helped gather 78 percent of the signatures on Guest’s candidacy petitions, and her husband and four Democrats made up her nominating committee. Then there was a newspaper story about how just days after Guest filed to run as an independent she was being escorted around the courthouse and at a public event by Barborak.

The court noted that although there is no rule forbidding Democrats from circulating Guest’s candidacy petitions or serving on her nominating committee, “the fact that they did is relevant because it shows significant support for her candidacy by local Democrats, including the Democratic Party leadership. The same can be said of Barborak’s support of Guest’s candidacy, as reported in the above-mentioned news article.”

Guest had also made a cash donation to a Democratic candidate just five days prior to her April 14 letter quitting the central committee.

Voting to uphold Husted’s decision were Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor, and justices Judith French, Patrick Fischer, Patrick DeWine and Terrence O’Donnell, the latter who concurred in judgment only.

Justices Sharon Kennedy and Mary DeGenaro recused themselves from the case.

tgiambroni@mojonews.com

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