Law Day and the completion of Warren County Common Pleas Courthouse renovations will be celebrated with an open house May 1.

        So says an invite from James Flannery, presiding judge of Common Pleas Court, and Rupert Ruppert, president of the Warren County Bar Association.

        Does it strike anyone else as more than coincidental that this open house will take place a week before a primary in which Judge Flannery is running for Common Pleas judge? Judge James Heath also is running for the coveted judgeship left vacant by J. Daniel Fedders' retirement. The winner of the GOP primary will have no Democratic opposition.

        Mr. Ruppert, a Franklin lawyer, says the race has nothing to do with the event, even though the county bar hasn't typically thrown parties to mark Law Day and the courthouse renovations were completed last year.

        In other news, the bar association is picking up the tab for “light refreshments,” so if you've ever wanted to make a dent in your lawyer's pocket, here's your chance. The do will run 10 a.m.-noon at the Common Pleas Court building, 500 Justice Drive, Lebanon.

        What's politics got to do with it? Did politics muck up the Liberty Township referendum to keep two businesses from building at Ohio 747 and Princeton Road? Big time, says nearly everyone involved.

        In February, the Butler County Board of Elections approved holding a May 7 referendum, on a 2-1 vote, even though the petitioners had not submitted a map of the affected area when they filed the petitions late last year, as required by law.

        The two board members who voted for the referendum were Dan Gattermeyer and John Holcomb, both Democrats. Mary Swain, a Republican, voted against it and Carlos Todd — also a Republican and one of the developers whose strip center neighbors were trying to block — recused himself. But after Mr. Todd and the other developer protested the referendum being approved, the elections board reconsidered in March.

        By then, Mr. Todd's term on the board had expired and he was replaced with Joe Schwarz, chairman of the Butler County Republican Party. This time, the vote on the referendum split down party lines, and the issue went to the Ohio Secretary of State's Office for final say.

        Last Friday, Secretary of State Ken Blackwell — also a Republican — decided the board improperly certified the petitions to the ballot because the petitioners violated the law. Ballots will still include the referendum because they're already printed, but Mr. Blackwell said the votes are not to be counted. Mr. Todd noted that the residents' attorney, Patrick Connelly, also is a Democrat and close friends with Mr. Gattermeyer and Mr. Holcomb.

        “They were doing him a big favor, in my opinion,” Mr. Todd said. “Those two gentlemen being attorneys, they should know the law.”

        Mr. Gattermeyer said he voted for the referendum despite the violation because residents substantially complied with election laws and previous Ohio Supreme Court cases have erred on the side of residents' right to vote. “To me that's not political at all,” Mr. Gattermeyer said.

— Jennifer Edwards

        Tips and comments on suburban politics may be relayed to reporter Cindi Andrews via phone, 755-4157.

Alton Coleman finally faces justice
Builder target of inquiry
Transplant ends need for insulin
Catholics cheer pope's statement on sex abuse
Church blames racial climate for concert delay
Cop called sometimes overeager
Dayton grand jury seeks priest records
Lemmie prepares to shuffle top posts
'Lesson' author speaks to crowd on novel's origins
Park-tax fight all about green
Police recount Vine St. incident
Tristate A.M. Report
BRONSON: No excuses
HOWARD: Some Good News
AMOS: Survivors' march
City to buy flood-prone home
Conspiracy case goes to grand jury
Drive-by shooting damages house, car
Ex-athlete gets 5 years on probation
From interim to top o' heap
Lakota rejects mediation idea
Since when is Law Day a big deal?
Teacher's case in court
Warren County receives grant for its children
Ohio bicentennial won't be quiet one
Traficant seeks new trial, says judge violated rights
Boone taking plunge on pools
Death penalty joins budget debate
Keeping the boss on track
Kentucky News Briefs
Learning Center raises fears
Suit may delay runway plan
Trial begins in death of airline pilot