SHELBY — Shelby City Council voted unanimously Monday to move a proposed candidate filing deadline extension to its final reading July 1.
Ordinance 13-2024 involves an amendment to Section 53 of the city’s charter — which would extend the filing deadline for Shelby candidates to 90 days from the current 75 days prior to an election.
The change would bring Shelby’s dates in line with other governmental entities in Richland County.
However, several councilmembers remain hesitant to send the legislation — proposed by the Richland County Board of Elections — to the November ballot.
If passed July 1, the proposed charter amendment will appear on the upcoming November ballot for Shelby voters to decide for themselves.
Matt Finfgeld, director of the Richland County BOE, and Jane Zimmermann, Richland County BOE deputy director, attended Monday’s meeting to address concerns.
The duo, along with Bill Freytag, Richland County BOE board chairman, previously spoke to councilmembers May 20 to voice their reasoning for the change.
‘We’re behind 87 counties in this state,’ Finfgeld says
On Monday, Finfgeld and Zimmermann began by asking those opposed to the proposition to explain their concerns.
“What’s the reason, for the people that would like to keep the 75-day filing deadline, as opposed to the 90?” Finfgeld asked.
Nathan Martin, 4th Ward councilman, said he feels extending the filing deadline would create a “natural barrier to people running for office.”
Martin previously expressed concerns during council’s regular session June 3, along with 2nd Ward Councilman Derrin Roberts and Charlie Roub, 1st Ward councilman.
Roub, who dissented the legislation during a vote June 3, was unable to attend Monday evening’s meeting.
At-Large Councilman Steven McLaughlin, who’s previously worked as a volunteer for the Board of Elections, urged fellow councilmembers to consider the proposal.
“They (BOE) are very, very busy and it would help them if we would be in sync with the rest of the county,” he said.
When asked why the Board of Elections wants to see Shelby’s filing deadline extended, Finfgeld said he’d like to have consistency countywide.
“We would just like it (candidate filing deadline) to follow the Ohio Revised Code and be like the other 87 counties in Ohio,” he said.
“Currently, on the odd-year elections in a primary, we’re behind. We’re behind 87 counties in this state, so we have 15 less days to prepare everything and get it ready for the election.”
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Concerns with elector’s ability to protest candidacies
Finfgeld expressed concerns with Shelby’s 75-day filing deadline in regards to a qualified elector’s right to protest a candidacy.
Ohio Revised Code Section 3513.05 gives qualified electors the ability to file a protest against “the candidacy of any person filing a declaration of candidacy for party nomination or for election to an office or position.”
The elector filing a protest must be “a member of the same political party as the candidate and who is eligible to vote at the primary election for the candidate whose declaration of candidacy the elector objects to, or by the controlling committee of that political party.”
Section 3513.05 also states the protest “shall be filed not later than four p.m. of the seventy-fourth day before the day of the primary election.”
“Your (Shelby) residents have one day to protest someone,” he said, “from the filing deadline until that 74th day, that’s when you have to file if you want to protest someone’s candidacy.”
Final round of discussion July 1
Martin, who said he remains unpersuaded, stated Shelby is authorized by the ORC to have a 75-day deadline.
“We are not running counter to the Ohio Revised Code (and) we’re not out of bounds (of) the Ohio Revised Code,” he said. “We are perfectly legal in having this deadline.”
Zimmermann said the city “can’t be in direct conflict” with the ORC, citing Article XVIII, Section 3 of the Ohio Constitution.
In 2014, ORC Section 3513.05 was changed — requiring candidates for office to file their petition 90 days prior to an election instead of 75.
However, Section 53 of Shelby’s adopted charter still requires a 75-day filing deadline.
Ultimately, councilmembers voted to send the proposed charter amendment to its final reading July 1 — allowing one more chance for discussion.
Additional legislation voted on by Shelby City Council included a resolution — passed unanimously — thanking Mary Ann Hawk for her service as a member of the Shade Tree Commission.