Tuesday, February 08, 2000
Sheriff candidate appeals
High court asked to put him on ballot
BY HOWARD WILKINSON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
SPRINGFIELD TWP. — Democrat Brian Watson has asked the Ohio Supreme Court to overturn the Hamilton County Board of Elections' decision last week that he is not qualified to run for sheriff.
Last week, board members, both Democrats and Republicans, ruled that Mr. Watson, a sheriff's patrol officer for nine years before resigning in December, did not meet requirements of an Ohio law requiring sheriff's candidates to have two years' supervisory experience at the rank of corporal or above, or two years of college education.
Mr. Watson, who never reached the rank of corporal and did not have the college training, argued that he performed supervisory duties as a patrol officer that should qualify him. Friday, Mr. Watson's lawyer, Tim Mara, filed an appeal of the board's decision with the Ohio Supreme Court.
If the board's decision is upheld, it will mean that the Republican incumbent, Simon L. Leis Jr., will be re-elected without opposition this fall.
Mr. Mara argued that the portion of the 1997 Ohio law requiring experience at the rank of corporal or higher is unconstitutional. “There's no uniform definition in the law about what a corporal is, and there are a lot of police agencies around the state who don't have that rank at all,” Mr. Mara said.
Lawyers for the board of elections are expected to file their brief with the high court in Columbus by the end of the week.
It is likely that a decision will come from the court in two weeks as to whether Mr. Watson's name should be on the March 7 primary ballot as the Democratic candidate for sheriff.
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