By Cindi Andrews, Sharon Coolidge and Dan Horn
Enquirer staff writers

When Joe Deters left Friday for a weekend trip to New York with his family, he assumed he would remain state treasurer for two more years.

By Monday afternoon, movers were hauling furniture from the Deters' Liberty Township home to a rented house in Blue Ash so he could establish county residency and run as a write-in candidate for Hamilton County prosecutor.

MORE COVERAGE Joe Deters files as a write-in candidate. Enquirer photo/STEVEN M. HERPPICH

• Scandal-struck Allen makes way for Deters • Disgusted by Allen, voters cheer his decision to quit • Treasurer returns to the base of his power • Lt. Gov. Bradley called favorite to replace Deters • EDITORIAL: Allen's leaving good for county • Borgman editorial cartoon • Special section: Mike Allen coverage

THE SCANDAL AND ITS POLITICAL FALLOUT

Less than three weeks ago, Hamilton County Prosecutor Mike Allen revealed he had had a 3½-year sexual relationship with a lawyer in his office. Since then, calls for his resignation have increased. On Monday, Allen withdrew his name from the November election for the politically powerful office. A look back: Aug. 23 - Members of the media start asking questions about an alleged extramarital affair between Allen and a lawyer in his office, Rebecca Collins. Aug. 25 - Allen publicly announces he had an affair with Collins that started in December 1999 and ended in August 2003. He calls the relationship consensual and insists he will not resign his position. Aug. 26 - Collins files a federal sexual harassment lawsuit against Allen, claiming he used his position as prosecutor to coerce her into the relationship. Collins also names Hamilton County commissioners as co-defendants. She seeks unspecified damages, lost pay and benefits, and asks that she be granted promotions she claims she was denied. Aug. 26 - Allen steps downs as the Southwest Ohio regional chairman for the Bush-Cheney campaign. Aug. 27 - Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Robert Ruehlman, a fellow Republican, calls for Allen's resignation. Aug. 30 - Commissioners say they won't pay for Allen's defense. Aug. 31 - Allen's wife, Hamilton County Municipal Court Judge Lisa Allen, tells reporters how she found out about her husband's affair and details how the couple has tried to repair their marriage. Sept. 1 - Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro announces his office will investigate Allen and the conduct in the office under his leadership. Sept. 2 - Groesbeck resident Carrie Davis files a taxpayer lawsuit in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court to remove Allen from office. Sept. 3: - Cincinnati Mayor Charlie Luken, a politically powerful Democrat, says he is considering filing as a write-in candidate for Hamilton County prosecutor. Sept. 4 - Collins speaks to the Enquirer, says Allen's motto is to "lie and deny." She says that Allen often threatened her job during the affair and refused to leave her alone after she broke up with him in the summer of 2003. Sept. 6 - Luken says he will remain Cincinnati mayor. Sept. 7 - Lawyer James Rueger, a fellow Republican, enters prosecutor's race as write-in candidate. Rueger says he acted because no one else stepped forward to challenge Allen, who had been running unopposed for re-election in November. Sept. 8 - Republican county and legislative officeholders meet to discuss the Allen scandal and his future. They conclude they cannot force Allen from office. Hamilton County Clerk of Courts Gregory Hartmann says: "The reality is, Mike's on the ballot, and we're stuck with that." Sept. 11 - Civil rights lawyer Fanon Rucker, a Democrat and part-time prosecutor for Woodlawn and Lincoln Heights, says he will file as a write-in candidate. Sept. 13 - Allen takes his name off the Nov. 2 ballot for re-election. Ohio state treasurer and former Hamilton County prosecutor Joe Deters files for write-in candidacy for the office, as do Jody Luebbers and Melissa Powers, both former assistant county prosecutors.

WRITE-IN CANDIDATES

Joe Deters Age: 47 Residence: Blue Ash Experience: State treasurer; former Hamilton County prosecutor; former Hamilton County clerk of courts. Law school: University of Cincinnati Jody Luebbers Age: 41 Residence: Sycamore Township Experience: Attorney at Fox & Fox; former assistant county prosecutor. Law school: Salmon P. Chase College of Law, Northern Kentucky University Melissa A. Powers Age: 43 Residence: Delhi Township Experience: Criminal defense attorney; former assistant county prosecutor Law school: University of Cincinnati Fanon Rucker Age: 32 Residence: Roselawn Experience: Part-time prosecutor for Woodlawn and Lincoln Heights; employment and civil rights attorney at Santen & Hughes; former assistant prosecutor for Cincinnati; former attorney with Manley Burke. Law school: University of Cincinnati James Rueger Age: 55 Residence: Green Township Experience: Attorney at Dolle Rueger & Matthews Co., downtown Cincinnati; served in Navy. Law school: Salmon P. Chase College of Law, Northern Kentucky University

Deters' entry into the race for his old job came as incumbent prosecutor Mike Allen, a fellow Republican, announced that he would not seek re-election because of a sex scandal. Allen will finish his term.

With Allen, 48, out of the race, Hamilton County voters have the unprecedented task of electing a prosecutor from among only write-in candidates Nov. 2. Four others filed as candidates.

The arrangement was engineered by Republican Party leaders and criticized by the Democratic Party and Cincinnati's third party, the Charter Committee.

"It has the unpleasant stink of one-party rule,'' said Michael Goldman, president of the Charter Committee. "If Mike Allen is unfit to run, he's unfit to serve, even to serve out the last three months of his term."

Allen's decision followed 21/2 weeks of revelations about his relationship with an assistant prosecutor. Rebecca Collins, also a former Enquirer employee, has sued Allen for sexual harassment, accusing him of coercing her into a 31/2-year relationship.

"A few weeks ago, I stood here and made a confession about a painful personal matter that has changed my life and the lives of my family members," Allen said. "Today, I have requested that the Hamilton County Board of Elections remove my name from the ballot for the November 2004 general election."

Allen had been unopposed for re-election, a testament to the strength of Republican officeholders in countywide elections. He refused to take questions after he read a brief statement at the prosecutor's office.

At the same time, Deters, 47, was steps away at the Hamilton County Board of Elections moving his voter registration to the county and filing to run for prosecutor.

Deters was one of five write-in candidates to file on the last possible day.

Also filing were Republicans Melissa Powers and James Rueger and Democrats Fanon Rucker and Jody Luebbers.

None of the others has ever held elective office. Deters, elected to two terms as state treasurer, was elected county prosecutor twice and clerk of courts once.

Deters said the biggest factor in his decision was his love of the prosecutor's job.

"You're dealing with people who are in the most awful circumstances of their lives - they've lost a child or another loved one - and it's the one job where you can deliver some form of justice to them," he said.

Running for prosecutor doesn't preclude a run by Deters for attorney general in 2006. Ohio GOP Chairman Bob Bennett said another two years as county prosecutor puts Deters in a better position to be the state's chief law enforcement officer than another two years as treasurer.

"Joe is still going to consider his options in 2006," Bennett said.

In fact, a return to his power base might help him recover from the political battering he has taken over his aides' fund-raising tactics.

After a yearlong investigation by a grand jury in Cuyahoga County, Deters' former chief of staff, Matthew Borges, and former fund-raiser Eric Sagun pleaded guilty in July to misdemeanor charges.

Court documents said Borges gave preferential treatment to certain brokers who contributed to Deters' re-election campaign.

Documents said Sagun solicited a $50,000 donation from Cleveland broker Frank Gruttadauria in December 2001 for the Hamilton County Republican Party when the two intended the money to benefit Deters' re-election campaign.

Deters testified before the grand jury but was cleared of any wrongdoing.

"It certainly isn't bringing in the white knight to clean up the prosecutor's office, not the way he has tarnished the state treasurer's office," Hamilton County Democratic Chairman Tim Burke said.

Deters said he first began to think of running for prosecutor about a week ago, at the request of county GOP Chairman Michael Barrett. He told Barrett he'd think about it.

"As a write-in, it's very difficult," Deters said. "I told them if Mike Allen was running, I was not going to get into the race."

He also didn't think Allen would quit. "That's a very difficult job to walk away from," Deters said.

When he left Friday to catch the Bengals' opening game Sunday in East Rutherford, N.J., Deters was convinced that he'd be staying as treasurer. But all that changed when Barrett called late Sunday after the game. He told Deters to be ready to move - literally - because Allen was close to stepping down.

One other deciding factor: Deters was sensitive to concerns by national party officials that the Allen affair could cost President Bush crucial votes Nov. 2.

The Bush campaign is banking on a heavy Republican turnout in Hamilton County to offset Democratic votes in northeast Ohio.

Publicly, Allen insisted he would not resign. But according to Bennett, Allen told party leaders more than a week ago that he was going to leave the prosecutor's office.

"Mike made an announcement 10 days ago that he was going to resign as prosecutor, but he just didn't know when," Bennett said. "So the issue is: Do you have an election for a four-year term for someone, or do you have Mike resign afterward and have an election in two years for the unexpired term?"

Allowing Allen to run for - and probably win - re-election only to resign immediately after being sworn in would have appeared un-democratic, Bennett said. Instead, Allen will serve until his successor takes office Jan. 3.

Deters said he will resign as state treasurer if elected. Gov. Bob Taft would appoint a successor to the balance of his term, which ends in 2006.

Burke questioned Monday if Republicans cut a deal with Allen to get him to step aside. He earns $110,000-a-year as prosecutor.

Said Barrett: "We'll do what we can to help, but there were no promises. Mike's got a lot of friends."

Allen's withdrawal might help settlement talks in the Collins lawsuit, lawyers for both sides said.

Reporters Gregory Korte and Jennifer Edwards contributed.

E-mail candrews@enquirer.com, scoolidge@enquirer.com or dhorn@enquirer.com