Two of the defendants in the House Bill 6 case managed the election campaigns of three of the justices.

Two Ohio Supreme Court justices recused themselves Friday from hearing a lawsuit seeking to stop a referendum attempt to cast aside the House Bill 6 bailout of two nuclear power plants.

A third justice plans to disqualify himself from the case in a filing Monday.

The common thread: Two of the defendants in the House Bill 6 case managed the three Republicans' successful election campaigns.

Justice Patrick Fischer removed himself from the case Friday morning, with Justice Judith French following Friday afternoon. Justice Patrick DeWine told The Dispatch he would recuse himself Monday.

Fischer and French did not state the reason for disqualifying themselves from hearing the case in which FirstEnergy Solutions is suing Ohioans Against Corporate Bailouts in a bid to negate the group's petition effort to place a House Bill 6 repeal referendum on the November 2020 ballot.

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However, Trevor Vessels, who is being sued as a member of the committee behind the ballot effort, managed Republican Fischer's election campaign in 2016. Vessels did not respond to a request for comment. He also managed the 2014 election campaign of French, who is up for re-election next year.

And D.J. Eckert, also a member of the anti-House Bill 6 committee, managed the 2016 campaign of DeWine, the son of Gov. Mike DeWine, who supported and signed House Bill 6. Eckert declined comment, but DeWine cited Eckert's role in his campaign as the reason for his pending recusal.

Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor, a Republican, will appoint judges to take the place of the justices who recuse themselves.

The Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct requires judges to disqualify themselves "in any proceeding in which the judge’s impartiality might reasonably be questioned."

FirstEnergy Solutions, the bankrupt owner of two Lake Erie nuclear power plants, is asking the justices to declare the referendum effort illegal, saying the 85-cent monthly charge to be imposed on most electricity ratepayers in Ohio constitutes a tax that is not subject to referendum.

Meanwhile, Ohioans for Energy Security, the pro-House Bill 6 group bankrolling millions in TV commercials, began airing a new 30-second spot Friday. The ominous spot targets petition circulators as "outsiders brought into our state to roam our neighborhoods" in an attempt to persuade Ohioans to not sign the petition seeking to overturn the bailout bill.

Ohioans Against Corporate Bailouts is scheduled to air its first TV commercial Saturday, with the spot accusing Ohio lawmakers of "picking Wall Street over Main Street" and saying corporate "fat cats don't want you to vote."

rludlow@dispatch.com

@RandyLudlow