MANSFIELD — Richland County commissioners approved a request Thursday from the prosecutor’s office to seek outside counsel for the board of elections regarding a voting residency challenge against Mansfield Law Director John Spon.
The challenge was filed Tuesday with the elections board by Cynthia Bias, 1387 Wilging Drive, claiming Spon lives in a house in Lexington, but is registered to vote from an apartment in Mansfield. Spon denied the allegation.
Commissioners voted unanimously to approve the request after a 40-minute executive session with the prosecutor’s office.
Prosecutor Gary Bishop, citing a professional conflict with the law director’s office, asked commissioners to petition Richland County Common Pleas Court judges for outside counsel that specializes in election law.
“Mr. Spon is the director of law for the City of Mansfield and has numerous dealings with the law enforcement community, including the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney,” Bishop wrote. “To avoid any appearance of impropriety or conflict of interest, the Prosecuting Attorney believes the Board of Elections should receive any representation that may be necessary in this matter from outside counsel.”
In her challenge, initially filed with the Ohio Elections Commission July 28, Bias said Spon’s voting records state he lives at 1568 Lexington Ave., Apt. 4-A, in Mansfield and has voted in Ward 1-A for over eight years.
She claims Spon actually resides at 480 Cedarwood Drive in Lexington with his wife, Dusty Ann Spon, who votes in Lexington Precinct C.
Spon told Richland Source the allegation is not new and was investigated in 2015 by local attorney Eric Miller, when the law director was seeking a second term in office.
“He concluded in writing that any allegation I do not live at 1568 Lexington Avenue is spurious,” Spon said. “I am well within my residency requirements. I have been a resident at 1568 Lexington Avenue since 2010, almost two years before I was elected as city law director.
“A few years later, I married a woman who lives in Lexington who has owned her own home since 2002. I remained a resident at 1568 Lexington Avenue because I was well aware of the residency requirements.”
“Maybe whoever filed that challenge should have spoken to the apartment manager where I live,” Spon said.
In her challenge, Bias wrote, “It is my belief and has been for some time, that an elected official in Mansfield, OH. John Randolph Spon, Law Director for city of Mansfield, lives outside the city limits of Mansfield and is in violation of (election law).”
She cited a directive issued in 2019 by Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose that said, “The place where the family of a married man or woman resides shall be considered to be their place of residence; except that when the husband and wife have separated and live apart, the place where they resides the length of time required to entitle a person to vote shall be considered to be their place of residence.”
In her challenge, Bias included a property record from the county auditor’s office showing Spon owns the property at 480 Cedarwood Drive, as well as voting records for he and his wife.
Assistant Prosecutor Andrew Keller said they would meet with the county judges “directly” and hope to have a decision on outside counsel “very soon.”
Bishop said the outside counsel would not be considered a special prosecutor since “this is not a criminal action, it’s a challenge to his voter status.”
He said it could “conceivably become” a criminal issue.
According to Ohio Revised Code 3599.11, “No person shall knowingly register or make application or attempt to register in a precinct in which the person is not a qualified voter.”
A violation of the statute could be a fifth-degree felony.
