HUDSON — Three of the five people looking to run for city council’s Ward 1 seat have had their candidacies challenged and the county’s board of elections is scheduled to address these formal protests during a hearing on Thursday.



Protests have been filed with the Summit County Board of Elections contending that Ward 1 candidates George W. Roth, Katherine Schlademan and S. David Worhatch do not meet certain city charter requirements for being an elected representative in Hudson.



Jessica Obert, who lives in Ward 1, and Worhatch have each filed documents protesting Roth’s candidacy, claiming he is ineligible to run for council because his company has been contracted to do work on the new city hall building. Obert also filed protests with the board of elections claiming that Schlademan and Worhatch do not meet the city charter’s residency requirements to serve on council.



Obert said she was "pleased" the board of elections was moving forward with the hearing "so quickly."



"I look forward to presenting all the evidence at the hearing," said Obert.



In the spring, Obert served as the chair of Hudson’s Voice LLC, a group that was opposed to the city’s proposed Downtown Phase II project. Another member of that organization — Rebecca Benson Leiter — is one of the other Ward 1 candidates. The fifth candidate is Ron Panaggio.



The Ward 1 incumbent, Dennis Hanink, announced earlier in the year that he would not seek re-election.



Roth’s candidacy challenged on ‘financial interest’ grounds



Worhatch’s Aug. 9 filing states that Augere Construction Co.’s web site states Roth is the company’s president and one of two owners "of the equity interests in the company." In May, Roth, on behalf of Augere, signed two contracts with the city totaling $2.69 million for his company to perform renovation work on the new city hall building at 1140 Terex Road, according to Worhatch’s filing.



Worhatch and Obert both noted that Section 7.04 of Article VII of the city charter states: "Each elective officer of the municipality shall be a qualified elector of the municipality and shall…not have any financial interest in any contract to which the municipality is a party …"



Worhatch wrote that "… Roth has a ‘financial interest’ in the contract documents …and the city is a party to those documents…[The charter] plainly disqualifies him by virtue of the contract documents he signed with the city on behalf of the company on or about May 3, 2019."



When reached by the Hub-Times, Roth stated in an email: "we will see what happens at the hearing."



Worhatch also wrote that Roth was on council when the charter was amended by voters in 2010 to prohibit an elected official from having a financial interest in a contract to which the city is a party. Worhatch wrote that Roth was aware of this prohibition, but "incorrectly declared ‘under penalty of election falsification’ that he is a ‘qualified elector.’" As a result, Worhatch argued that the board of elections should determine "that Roth’s nominating petition is invalid because he engaged in an act of ‘election falsification.’"



"It is deeply concerning that Mr. Roth believes he can serve on city council despite holding a multi-million dollar contract with the city," said Obert to the Hub-Times.



Two other candidates’ residency qualifications challenged



Obert noted that Section 7.04 of Article VII in the city charter states: "Each elective officer of the municipality … shall have resided in the municipality or in territory annexed thereto for a period of at least two continuous years immediately preceding the date of election…"



In her filing with the board on Aug. 9, Obert wrote that board of elections’ voter registration data showed that "Katherine Schlademan did not register to vote in Hudson until April of 2018, and prior to that, was a resident of the city of Stow."



When contacted by the Hub, Schlademan said she’s "been a resident [of Hudson] since 2013 and I have documentation to show it." While noting she appreciates Obert’s "due diligence" in checking on candidates’ eligibility, "I do have the correct documentation [showing that I meet the residency requirement]. I’m not anticipating having any problems at the hearing."



In her filing with the board on Aug. 19, Obert wrote that "I am informed and do believe that during the aforesaid two-year period, S. David Worhatch resided at 4920 Darrow Road, Stow, Ohio 44224."



4920 Darrow Road in Stow is the address of Worhatch’s law firm.



Obert asked the board of elections to obtain Worhatch’s state and municipal tax returns for the last two years which she wrote "will indicate his place of residence during said periods."



Worhatch told the Hub that Obert’s claim is "baseless and wholly frivolous." He noted while there was "a hiatus" when he did live at the Darrow Road site in Stow, he said he has resided on Plantation Drive in Hudson "since at least the end of 2010."



The board of elections will host a hearing for each candidate on Thursday, Aug. 29, at 9 a.m. in its office at 470 Grant St., Akron.



List of candidates for other city offices



Hudson Mayor Dave Basil is running for re-election against challenger Craig A. Shubert.



Challenger Chris Foster and incumbent Lisa Radigan are vying for the Ward 2 council seat.



In Ward 3, two newcomers — Brett Shriver and Skylar Sutton — will compete for the post currently held by Alex Kelemen, who decided against seeking re-election. Kelemen said in a news release that it had been "an honor" to serve as the Ward 3 council member for the last eight years, and while he felt "much" was accomplished, he added more still needed to be done.



"Recently the tenor and approach of council and staff has changed to the point that I don’t feel I would be the most effective voice for my neighbors," stated Kelemen in his news release. "I believe Skylar Sutton will better represent the interests of Ward 3 and urge residents to get to know him as I have before voting this fall."



Incumbent Beth Bigham and challenger Nicole R. Davis are running in the Ward 4 race.



Reporter Phil Keren can be reached at 330-541-9421, pkeren@recordpub.com, or on Twitter at @keren_phil.

