by Marty Trese, KnoxPages.com Editor
MOUNT VERNON – A unanimous decision this morning to deny the complaint regarding the residency requirement of the Republican Party’s Central Committee choice to fill the office of city law director means Rob Broeren is a step closer to that office. Mount Vernon resident and attorney Scott Pullins filed the complaint last month alleging that Broeren is actually a resident of Gambier. At today’s hearing, Broeren testified that he signed a lease for an apartment on Johnson Avenue in Mount Vernon. Landlord Jay Maners testified that Broeren signed the lease on July 11th. Maners, a former Mount Vernon city council representative, referred to Pullins’ complaint as “shenanigans” and felt it was “offensive.”
Broeren testified that he has provided his change of address with the Supreme Court of Ohio and the Board of Elections, although he has not yet changed the address on his driver’s license.
Pullins said that under the law, Broeren is not eligible to be city law director because he hasn’t lived in the city for 30 days. After about a half hour of deliberations, the BOE panel made up of Carol Sue Owens, Reba Borchers, and Adam Gilson voted unanimously to deny Pullins’ complaint.
The city precinct representatives of the Knox County Republican Central Committee will soon vote on whether to nominate Broeren for the law director’s position, which became vacant when Chip McConville was appointed county prosecutor a few weeks ago. Prosecutor John Thatcher was appointed by Governor John Kasich to judge of the Mount Vernon municipal court earlier this summer.
