Complaint against Norwood Democratic Party

Jim Stith
1816 Weyer Ave.
Norwood, OH 45212
(513) 531-3747

September 27th, 2009
Ohio Elections Commission
21 West Broad St., Suite 600
Columbus, OH 43215

Complaint and Request for Emergency Hearing Against Members of the Norwood Democratic Party for Unfair Political Campaign Activities

Person Filing Complaint:
James P Stith II
Ward Chair, Norwood Republican Party
1816 Weyer Ave. Norwood, OH 45212
(513) 885-3747

Complaint Made Against:

Joseph C. Geers
Treasurer, The Democratic Party
1901 Tilden Ave. Norwood, OH 45212
(513) 531-1666

Pete Tepe
Candidate for Council at Large
4217 Allison St. Norwood, OH 45212
(513) 631-7655

GordonWilliams
Candidate for Council Ward 2
4004 S. Jefferson Ave. Norwood, OH 45212
Number Unlisted

Joseph Sanker
Council at Large
2510 Indian Mound Ave. Norwood, OH 45212
(513) 396-7677

Cheryl Cole
Candidate for President of Council
3826 Forest Ave. Norwood, OH 45212
(513) 531-1368

David Keszei
Candidate for Council at Large
2251 Glenside Ave. Norwood, OH 45212
(513) 924-0288

Joseph S. Geers
Candidate for Auditor
2353 Kenilworth Ave. Norwood, OH 45212
(513) 531-7456


The above mentioned members of the Norwood Democratic Party were involved in the production of or benefited from false and misleading campaign material in the form of newspaper post its, newspaper ads, and internet web page postings in violation of Ohio Revised Code section 3517.21 (B) (1) &(9).

1) Joseph C. Geers, Treasurer of the Democratic Party posted false and misleading information on campaign stickers attached to the Cincinnati Enquirer, a newspaper of general circulation. This ad claimed “…Still Keeping Norwood Moving in the Right Direction”. The names Geers, Tepe, and Keszei were included in the ad. None of these individuals are current elected officials and cannot be credited with this claim. These first appeared on July 21, 2009 and continues to appear regularly. (Copy attached, Exhibit A)

2) Joseph Sanker was responsible for running a campaign ad containing false and misleading information for the Norwood Democratic Party in the Norwood Star, a newspaper of general circulation. Statements made “This team brought Norwood from the brink of disaster to surplus. Look at Cincinnati or Hamilton County or the Federal Government, and ask whether they’re doing a better job than Sanker, Mumper, Geers, Williams, Barlow, Molony, and Moore did.” Geers and Williams are not current elected officials but are credited along with elected officials and given credit for the actions claimed. Boxes surrounding the statements contain “Elect Geers Auditor” and “Elect Williams Ward 2”. This ad appeared on September 22, 2009 (Copy attached, Exhibit B)

3) Joseph C. Geers, Treasurer of the Norwood Democratic Party posted false and misleading information on the website www.NorwoodDems.com/issues1.html. Statements made “This team brought Norwood from the brink of disaster to surplus. Look at Cincinnati or Hamilton County or the Federal Government, and ask whether they’re doing a better job than Sanker, Mumper, Geers, Williams, Barlow, Molony, and Moore did.” Geers and Williams are not current elected officials but are credited along with elected officials. The ad goes on to make many claims of the success of the current administration then makes the statement “On November 3rd, Vote for the Team Responsible for Keeping Norwood on the Right Track.” This statement is followed by a list of all candidates. Cole, Geers, Keszei, Tepe, and Williams are not current elected officials and are not responsible for any of the actions claimed. This was first noted on September 23, 2009. (Printed copy from web page attached, Exhibit C)**

These campaign ads show an escalating pattern of misrepresentation of the facts and are unfair to the incumbent candidates. I request an emergency hearing to resolve these issues and stop further misleading campaign material from being published.

Signed and Sworn
James P Stith II

**The Democratic website was changed after the Democratic Party members received copies of the complaint.

Note from CBN: We are unable to publish the exhibits described above on.