2002 OFCC PAC Endorsee Bryan Williams resigns House seat

Democrats drop opposition to him as Summit elections board director

March 6, 2004
Akron Beacon-Journal

State Rep. Bryan Williams is giving up his seat in the legislature to work full time as the director of the Summit County Board of Elections.

Williams' resignation announcement -- made Friday during the elections board's biennial reorganization meeting -- headed off an anticipated fight with Democrats over his reappointment to the director's job.

The Akron Republican's initial plan to hold down both jobs riled the board's Democratic leaders, who thought the elections board would get short shrift in a presidential election year when, they said, it can ill afford to be without a leader.

There also was the unresolved question of whether Williams legally could hold both positions -- a question that state Attorney General Jim Petro's office is researching, said Bob Beasley, a spokesman for Petro.

Democrat Wayne Jones, who was elected unanimously Friday as the board's new chairman, said Williams' announcement made it easy to confirm his appointment and bring some stability to the office.

"I honestly believe (the Republicans) have the right to put anybody they want there, assuming he has some level of competency,'' Jones said. "But I think it was a real questionable legal situation -- I don't believe the two offices were compatible. I think he did the right thing.''

Williams' resignation clears the way for the Summit County Republican Party to appoint Marilyn Slaby to replace him in House District 41, thereby boosting her campaign to win a full term by allowing her to run in the general election as an incumbent. The timing of Williams' resignation -- just days after Tuesday's primary -- wasn't coincidental, he said afterward.

Slaby, who ran unopposed, collected 6,716 votes. She will face Democrat Brian Williams, the former Akron schools superintendent, in November. The district covers parts of Akron and most of northern Summit.

"The path is clear for her to be appointed, and now I can get on with my duties here at the board,'' the new elections board director said.

Bryan Williams said his resignation is effective immediately, although formal acceptance at the Statehouse won't take place until the next House session, on Tuesday.

Williams' salary as director was set at $94,089. Democratic Deputy Director John Schmidt, whose reappointment also was confirmed unanimously by the four-member board, will be paid $93,089.

In an office where all jobs are political appointments, there also were other changes that highlight who is in favor with the area's political leaders and who is out of favor.

The Democratic roster had only one change -- labor leader Kenneth Holland returned to his $8,322-a-year post as a district poll worker. Holland had moved up from that job to a seat on the elections board in March 2003 when Jones temporarily was exiled for his involvement in questionable campaign-finance activity.

On the Republican side, the turnover was more dramatic.

Of the 17 office employees -- not including the director and deputy director -- seven were replaced or shuffled positions. Those departing Friday included Teressa Hamilton, Lynn J. Hamilton, Edward J. Hamilton and David Suru. A fifth, Kerry-Ann Kalavity, left last week.

Teressa Hamilton is the sister of former Summit County Engineer Gene Esser, who publicly feuded with Summit GOP Chairman Alex Arshinkoff, who is also an elections board member.

Ed Hamilton is her husband, and Lynn Hamilton, who has handled campaign-finance reports for the Republicans since 1991, is her mother-in-law.

"Nobody is appointed for life,'' Arshinkoff said afterward. "These are political appointments. If you can get more qualified people and those more deserving of an appointment, you have to weigh those decisions every two years.

"Ray Bliss used to say that nobody has 20 years' experience on the board of elections. they have two years' experience 10 times.''

Jones declined to discuss the personnel changes, other than to say that the departing employees did a good job.

"That's their call,'' Jones said of the Republican moves. "It'll definitely have an impact because there's a learning curve.

"But we have experienced Democrats over there that I feel very confident can handle any shortcomings of the new employees until they get properly trained.''