The Athens Democratic Party is scared of Ed Baum, the Ohio University professor emeritus and former councilman and republican and now mayoral hopeful. They seem to be losing faith in Paul Wiehl and fear losing the office as well as their firm hold on power in this town. So, instead of trying to out-spend, fox or debate, the democrats are doing one better: they're trying to get Ed Baum disqualified.
Rob Dorans, president of the College Democrats, has urged the board of elections to reconsider the eligibility of Baums' independent candidacy. Using a recent court decision that seemingly blurred the guidelines used to test the legitimacy of independent candidacy, coupled with some circumstantial evidence of recent republican activities, Dorans alleges that Baum is still a republican in all but name.
Up until this mayoral campaign, Baum was clearly a republican. He served on city council as such, voted in primaries and sought positions on the board of elections and the party's central committee. He recently donated $100 to republican presidential hopeful John McCain. But this evidence to allege Baum's conversion as disingenuous is not enough to kick him off the ballot.
But Dorans has a point, because the rubric to define the legitimacy of an independent candidacy is unclear after the ruling in the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Morrison v. Cooley.
Charles Morrison sought election to the Madison County Republican Party Central Committee and to the Ohio Republican Party State Central Committee in May 2006. One day before the primary, Morrison filed as an independent candidate for the house race in the 15th district. The next day Morrison cast a vote in the republican primary. The candidacy was challenged, the Franklin County Board of Elections split and an assistant to the secretary of state ruled to have Morrison removed from the ballot. Morrison sued, alleging that an Ohio law that requires an independent candidate to actually be unaffiliated or disaffiliated from a party and that the claim be made in good faith is unconstitutional.
The court upheld the law, but did not set a clear standard to test independence. Instead they wrote that each case must be examined individually. So while the court upset existing Ohio campaign law, they provided no new guidelines. Brilliant.
In an effort to clarify the ruling, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner issued an advisory earlier this year to guide boards of elections as to how the decision changed the process of determining independence. Essentially Brunner wrote that if an independent candidate votes in a primary after declaring independence or if the candidate serves on the party's executive or central committee, the independent candidacy is not valid.
Furthermore, Brunner wrote that a litany of other non-conclusive evidence is open for consideration, such as political advertisements, prior work with a party and voting history. But these factors, as Brunner points out, are not individually sufficient to throw out a candidate.
All of Doran's evidence is of the latter category and is probably insufficient to disqualify him from the race. Yes, he campaigned to be on the board of elections and the republican central committee mere months before his candidacy, but that's not enough to suggest legally that he is not now an independent. Furthermore, donating to an individual candidate in a national election, far removed from the goings-on of local politics, should not disqualify a person from being an independent. If he had donated to a party, however, that might be stronger evidence to support Dorans' claim.
If Baum is disqualified, a dangerous precedent would be set that might further discourage independent candidates from seeking office. Allowing the board of elections to have such sweeping power is detrimental to a fair process.
Predictably, however, the Athens County Board of Elections ' which is chaired by powerful county Democratic Party boss Susan Gwinn ' will probably split along party lines and subsequently force Brunner to make a decision that will clarify Ohio's interpretation of the circuit court ruling.
Doran's seemingly politically motivated action is indicative of the democratic party's waning faith in Wiehl. Though the exercise might prove fruitless for the Democrats, it's probable that Doran's maneuver will compel the state to provide clearer guidelines to an unclear court ruling. And if that is the case, then this political scheme ' orchestrated by more people than just Dorans ' is just what this state needs.
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Athens County Democrats' attempt to oust Baum highlights unclear court decision
