BY RICHELLE THOMPSON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
LEBANON -- Barring a surprise resignation by Councilwoman Mary Ann Cole, voters will decide by early June whether she should be recalled.
The Warren County Board of Elections Friday certified a petition to oust Mrs. Cole, one of four council members who have discussed dumping City Manager Richard Hayward and his plan for a city-owned telecommunications system.
Friday's decision means Lebanon voters likely will undertake the first recall vote in the city's 196-year history.
It also means the kickoff of an intense campaigning blitz by both sides -- the pro-Cole camp and the keep-Hayward faction.
Both Mrs. Cole and Cathy Mick, organizer of the recall petition, said they already have received campaign donations.
Mrs. Cole plans to spend most of May going door-to-door, trying to convince voters a recall election is wrong.
"I think a recall is an essential part of any city's charter. However, I think it should based on misfeasance and wrongdoing," she said. "You should have to do something really bad to upset a legal election."
Mrs. Mick said her group, People for a Brighter Future, could spend as much as $10,000 campaigning for the recall.
"We're committed to whatever it takes," she said. "I think there are a lot of supporters because they want good government." People for a Brighter Future was organized to remove Mrs. Cole from council, effectively breaking up a four-person voting bloc that has become a majority on the seven-member council.
Mr. Hayward, city manager for 10 years and the architect of the cable - telecommunications plan, is in the middle of the controversy -- whether he likes it or not.
"My hope is that it doesn't have a lot to do with me," he said, before admitting, "I'm an issue. I hope I'm not the only issue." At its April 14 meeting, council tabled a motion on whether to fire Mr. Hayward until June 9 -- after the recall vote is decided. By that time, there could be a new council member.
If a majority votes to recall Mrs. Cole, then businessman John D. McComb hopes he will replace her. The former councilman who served in the mid-1980s has decided to run for the seat if it becomes vacant because of a recall.
Mr. McComb, 42, said he will not accept campaign donations. He intends to run his campaign with personal money, spending no more than $2,000.
"I think we can get all the information to the people for that amount of money," he said.
He hopes to attract the vote of "people who want a change. People who want the town to plan for the future instead of fighting."
Regardless of how much money candidates spend, the city already has to foot the bill for the special election, estimated at $6,000. And if Mrs. Cole wins the recall, the city also must pay her campaign costs.
A special election could be avoided if Mrs. Cole resigns by Wednesday. Council then would appoint a member. But Mrs. Cole has said she will fight for the seat and not resign.
Council is to set the date for the special election at its Tuesday meeting.
Ohio law says the special election must be held no sooner than 30 days and no later than 40 days from the day of certification. That would put the election date between May 24 and June 3.
Voters would be asked two questions: whether they want to recall Mrs. Cole, and if yes, then who should replace her.
Candidates for the seat must have 220 certified signatures -- 10 percent of the top vote-getters' share in last November's municipal election.
