Bid to sit on board of elections rejected by Secretary of State By Alicia Benroth-Langhals
Staff Writer
PUTNAM COUNTY - Though he was sworn in on Feb. 26, Tom Jerwers (R) is not likely to be the newest member of the Putnam County Board of Elections.
In a letter dated March 1 addressed to Chairperson of the Putnam County Executive Committee, Lyle McKanna, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner said, "Regrettably, I have reason to believe that, if appointed, Thomas Jerwers will not be a competent member of the Putnam County Board of Elections. I therefore shall not appoint him to that board ...".
However, Jerwers, who serves as the treasurer of the county Republican Party, believes this is a set up and shows the nitpickiness of the Secretary of State's office.
"It's not a question of my competency, it's a question of my knowledge," he said. "What we have here is an attempt by Brunner's brigade to attack my good name and the good name of the Putnam County Republican Party."
After a background check, reasons for not appointing Jerwers, Brunner said are:
Jerwers, in his capacity as treasurer for the Putnam County Republican Central Committee, has been referred to the Ohio Elections Commission twice within the last couple of months for failing to file required campaign finance reports and these two violations have not been resolved nor fines paid.
He blatantly refutes these facts and says he did very little wrong.
"We did not attempt to deceive or mislead. We filed all our papers in good faith," said Jerwers. "To my knowledge this is factual and balanced to the point."
A central committee member, who has audited thousands of reports, said Jerwers' financial documentation has been above standard and one of the best.
In light of Brunner's letter, The Putnam County Republican Executive Committee conducted an audit and review of the 2008 and 2009 campaign finance reports submitted by Jerwers.
Chairperson McKanna said further inspection showed all reports were in order by date with their accompanying dated receipts of filing issued by the Putnam County Board of Elections.
If the Secretary of State's office needs to know more, Jerwers asked them to let him know.
On a financial report, Jerwers admitted omitting the Hancock County Young Republicans' address. He said an address wasn't available and noted that on the report. Another small error includes transposing a number in a total that had been transferred from one page to another, resulting in a $2.54 error in addition.
The corrections have been made, McKanna said. He went on to say, "The matter has been taken care of, no fines were ever levied and the situation is closed."
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