GOP Chair Takes New Role Amid Controversy
Nancy McArthur, chair of the Geauga County Republican Party, was sworn in as the newest member of the Geauga County Board of Elections at a ceremony Jan. 25.
Nancy McArthur, chair of the Geauga County Republican Party, was sworn in as the newest member of the Geauga County Board of Elections at a ceremony Jan. 25.
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose made the appointment, which was needed to fill the expired term of longtime board of elections member Ed Ryder, who stepped down in December. It followed a recommendation from the GOP Executive Committee, which met Jan. 7 at the Bessie Benner Metzenbaum Center on Cedar Road in Chester Township.
“I want to thank Frank (LaRose) as well for having the faith and belief in me that I can carry out these duties,” McArthur told about a dozen supporters at the ceremony. “It’s a big responsibility. I feel up to the challenge and I just want to thank you all for your belief in me and for coming here today.”
The committee also recommended McArthur fill the subsequent four-year term, which begins March 1.
There are four members of the Geauga BOE, a bipartisan board made up of two Democrats — BOE Chair Dennis Pavella and Geauga County Democratic Party Chair Janet Carson — and two Republicans.
McArthur, who was the former mayor of Chardon and previously worked in the elections office, will join fellow Republican Joan Windnagel on the board.
McArthur is familiar with the processes of the elections board, where she worked for two years beginning in early 2019. However, during employee reviews at its 2021 organizational meeting, the board opted not to continue her employment, according to a source familiar with her termination.
Employment records obtained through a public records request show McArthur received a verbal reprimand in December 2019 for speaking to the media as a representative of the board.
Weeks later, on Jan. 2, 2020, McArthur — who had been serving as GOP chair since 2014 — was issued a written reprimand for circulating candidate petitions, including for state Sen. Jerry Cirino, allegedly in violation of Ohio Secretary of State ethics policy. McArthur refused to sign the reprimand.
Other complaints came from staff who felt McArthur’s demeanor was inappropriate, especially during poll worker training. The board also received written complaints accusing McArthur of actively campaigning against Windnagel’s 2021 appointment to the elections board.
‘Discord and Division’
The Jan. 7 executive committee meeting did not occur without some drama as outside agitators, including Portage County resident Brian Ames, attempted to enter the meeting room, but were rebuffed at the door.
Ames, who has filed previous lawsuits against the Geauga GOP for limiting access to committee meetings, engaged in a brief scuffle with McArthur while attempting to enter the building.
“By choosing to hold their meeting at the Metzenbaum Center, the (executive) committee waived any right to privacy,” Ames said in an email. “It was McArthur, without any right to do so, that denied people access.”
Two videos of the struggle between McArthur and Ames have been shared on social media and are available to view at www.geaugamapelelaf.com. The videos both show Ames approaching the door and McArthur blocking the entrance, arms held wide apart until Ames attempts to move past her.
While McArthur said in a phone interview with the Geauga County Maple Leaf she intended to pursue charges against Ames, he, in turn, sees McArthur as the aggressor.
“The video makes it clear that McArthur was the aggressor. As I tried to avoid her, she pushed me against the door frame and pulled on the hood of my jacket,” Ames said.
Officers from the Chester Township Police Department responded to the scene. Records of the complaint are not yet available, a representative from the police department said, as the case is still open.
City of Chardon Assistant Police Prosecutor Steve Patton confirmed Feb. 7 the case is still under review and declined further comment.
Although not a resident, Ames has joined a group of those in Geauga who oppose McArthur’s role at the head of the party and have clashed repeatedly with her over what they say is a lack of access for the public and favoritism among committee appointees.
At their meeting Jan. 7, the executive committee was asked to choose between McArthur and Mike Petruziello, a former trustee of Chester Township and current treasurer of the Geauga County Board of Mental Health and Recovery Services. The meeting, which McArthur said lasted around 45 minutes, ended with her receiving 41 votes to Petruziello’s 32.
Last June, McArthur was once again elected chair months after a contentious Republican primary. In the leadup to the Jan. 7 meeting, posts on social media accounts — ranging from the Northeast Ohio Conservative Club to Accountable Geauga to the Ohio MAGA Facebook page — asked “patriots” to show up in support of Petruziello to prevent her from being seated on the board of elections.
In his letter confirming her appointment to the board, LaRose said while no concerns were raised during McArthur’s background check, some anecdotal feedback from Geauga County residents raised concerns about her past professional conduct and temperament as a local political and public official.
“I have concluded that, while some of the information I received is concerning, none of the information provided to me for review violates the legal precedent for competence as a board member,” LaRose said. “However, I ask that you consider the discord and division this appointment has generated within the county and strive to mitigate these challenges as you begin your new duties.”
Ohio’s network of 88 county boards of election serves as the frontline of the state’s democratic process, he said, adding its success requires bipartisan civility and cooperation, along with personal integrity and professional accountability.
“Every elected official who wins an election must immediately confront the reality that not everyone supported that outcome, yet the new officeholder has an obligation to seek unity and build trust,” LaRose said. “The same can be said for a public appointment of this nature. I am confident in your ability to turn this challenge into an opportunity for good.”
Commitment
McArthur’s oath of office was administered in a second-floor courtroom of the historic courthouse on Chardon Square by 11th District Court of Appeals Judge John Eklund, who, in December, was chosen to serve as that court’s presiding and administrative judge through 2023.
Public service is not easy to do at any level, he said.
“It takes a great deal of commitment to what makes Geauga County and the United States a great place to live and work, and raise a family — and a commitment that not everybody is up to,” said Eklund.
In a speech after being sworn in, McArthur thanked LaRose for having faith in her and for believing she can carry out her duties.
“(The board is) public officials and their boss — our boss — is the secretary of state, but yet the (Geauga County) Commissioners are the ones who provide a facility and a lot of the funding, quite frankly, that goes into the board of elections,” she said.
The BOE has been engaged in a lawsuit against the commissioners since last May, centering on issues related to their eventual occupation of the new county administrative building in Claridon Township.
McArthur said she expects to serve out the remainder of her four-year term working with her peers at the elections board.
“Wherever that may be, here in Chardon or down in Claridon Township, (it) doesn’t really matter,” she said, later extending thanks to commissioners for investing in improvements to the historic Chardon Courthouse.
The ceremony was attended by a little over a dozen supporters, including Russell Township Trustee Matt Rambo, Geauga County Commissioner Jim Dvorak, Flaiz and Common Pleas Court Judge Carolyn Paschke.
