Editor’s note: Because of an editing error, a previous version of this story contained incorrect information. Secretary of State Jon Husted appointed Mark Wagoner, Sr., father of Mark Wagoner, Jr., to the Lucas County Board of Elections.
The Ohio secretary of state suspended Bruce Saferin as chairman of Lucas County’s elections board, citing a litany of recent election problems including his “conferring” with former Lucas County Republican Party chairman Jon Stainbrook on election night, 2018.
But both Dr. Saferin, and Mr. Stainbrook characterized the move by Secretary of State Jon Husted as politically motivated and intended to benefit one of his supporters: current Lucas County GOP party chair Mark Wagoner, Jr.
Mr. Stainbrook called the suspension “a political hatchet job” performed “in the eleventh hour” — Mr. Husted, also a Republican, is set to leave his current post and be sworn in as Ohio’s lieutenant governor Jan. 14
“It has nothing to do with me. It has to do with making an appointment for Wagoner, period,” he said. “It’s a political payback.”
Mr. Husted in a letter sent to Dr. Saferin and dated Thursday listed several reasons for Dr. Saferin’s suspension.
“Specifically, the staff struggled to process and mail absentee ballots promptly prior to the November 6, 2018, general election, found itself with potential ballot shortages resulting from an inaccurate projection of necessary ballot quantities in a federal and statewide election, and lagged significantly in reporting its election results on election night,” the letter states. “Struggles like these appear to be a result [of] staffing recommendations you made as a board member in 2017.”
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Mr. Husted also wrote that a “return to the board’s dysfunctional past would not be tolerated.”
“However, your recent behavior on election night, conferring with Jon Stainbrook and [Meghan] Gallagher directly outside the entrance to the tabulation room at the board’s early vote center, indicates a troublesome return to the relationships and problems of the past that had long plagued the board,” the letter states.
Mr. Stainbrook and Mr. Husted have a history of feuding. In 2014, Mr. Husted removed Mr. Stainbrook and two other elections board members from their positions, citing what he at the time called a “culture of dysfunction” that “must come to an end once and for all.”
Ms. Gallagher, a longtime friend of Mr. Stainbrook, was also ousted from her post as director of the elections office following a recommendation for her removal by Mr. Husted.
A legal battle ensued when Mr. Stainbrook and others involved in the dispute claimed they were defamed by Mr. Husted. The state Court of Claims rejected those defamation suits.
After Mr. Stainbrook was removed from the elections board, Mark Wagoner, Sr., Mr. Wagoner’s father, was one of two Republicans appointed to the body by Mr. Husted.
Mark Wagoner, Jr., supported Mr. Husted for the Republican nomination for governor in 2018, while Mr. Stainbrook supported Attorney General Mike DeWine for the nomination. Eventually Mr. Husted dropped his governor bid and joined Mr. DeWine’s ticket.
Should Dr. Saferin be permanently removed from the elections board, it falls to the county Republican party and Mr. Wagoner to appoint a replacement, which is then subject to approval from the secretary of state.
Mr. Stainbrook on Thursday said Mr. Husted was paving the way for Mr. Wagoner to make an appointment to the elections board.
Mr. Wagoner on Thursday evening said:
“I don’t want to speak for the secretary of state, but his office has been trying to fix the problems with the Board of Elections for years, and the secretary believes the problems have not been fixed. I’m sure the secretary is focused on good government as he has been for the last eight years.”
A secretary of state spokesman could not be reached for comment.
Whether Mr. Wagoner gets to make an appointment to the board could be decided on Friday, when the secretary of state holds a due-process hearing for Dr. Saferin at 2 p.m. in Columbus.
Dr. Saferin, who receives an annual salary of $19,246, said he had no knowledge of Mr. Husted’s letter when contacted by a reporter Thursday afternoon but said Mr. Husted’s office had called him Wednesday afternoon to ask for his resignation, which he declined to offer. He has two years left in his term.
He called it a “ridiculous thing for someone in his position” to be provided such short notice about the Friday hearing.
“I have a real job, and I have patients, and I'm certainly going to have to contact an attorney and put this together. I think really and truly this is politically motivated,” Dr. Saferin said.
He requested the secretary of state’s office reschedule the hearing, but they declined, emails show. He will be permitted to submit his response to the office in writing or send legal counsel to Columbus on his behalf.
He added the county elections board’s work during the most recent election was without problems. He did not recall a ballot shortage, said he believed election board meetings have been well-run, and said he has worked well with staff.
He did acknowledge Lucas County was one of the last places in the state to submit results on election night, but he attributed the delay to absentee ballots that came in late.
“If I’m to be removed, then they should remove everyone because everyone equally shares in running the board of elections,” he said. “All I do as chairman is run the meetings.”
David Karmol, another Republican board member, said Dr. Saferin has done a good job as chairman. Mr. Karmol said he is aware that Mr. Husted’s office hasn’t been happy with how slow Lucas County has been to report election results, but he said it’s something the office is working on.
Board member Josh Hughes, a Democrat, said he was surprised to learn of the letter Thursday. He, too, spoke favorably of Dr. Saferin.
“The board itself, the four of us, I do not feel that there is any dysfunction whatsoever,” he said. “We are all professional, and we work, I believe, very well together.”
But both Mr. Karmol and Mr. Hughes did, however, take issue with Mr. Stainbrook and Ms. Gallagher’s presence on election night, calling it “disruptive” and “troubling,” respectively.
Mr. Stainbrook and Ms. Gallagher both said they did not act inappropriately while they were at the early vote center watching the results come in. It’s a public space, and they were allowed to be present, they said.
“If we were disruptive, why has it taken two months for anyone to say anything?” Ms. Gallagher said.
Dr. Saferin said he greeted Mr. Stainbrook and Ms. Gallagher, among many others, on election night. They were permitted to be on site, and he said he did not confer with them.
Mr. Stainbrook contended any election problems in Lucas County fall to county elections director LaVera Scott.
Ms. Scott said there were no ballot shortages, and officials still had ballots left after Election Day. She declined to comment on the state's letter.
Ms. Scott added staff performed as well as they could with resources available.
First Published January 3, 2019, 7:48 p.m.