Government - http://maxpages.com/minnickward4/SCHMITT_ELECTION

Complainant: Gail F. Minnick, Ward 4 Council Representative

Respondent: Bob Schmitt, CEO - Bob Schmitt Homes, Inc.

I, Gail Minnick, Ward 4 City Council Representative for the City of North Ridgeville and candidate for re-election for a third term of that office in the May, 2001 Primary, being first duly sworn, upon my own personal knowledge, information and belief, depose and state the following complaint and that the following facts and exhibits contained herein are true and accurate as I truly believe; that Bob Schmitt, a large builder/developer in N. Ridgeville, has violated Ohio Election Laws, which are under the Statutory Jurisdiction of the Ohio Elections Commissions: 1) In violation of R.C. 3599.03 (A), Schmitt used his corporate name, property and funds to endorse a candidate and influence the Primary election. 2) In violation of R.C. 3517.21, B-9, Schmitt made false statements about my voting record. 3) In violation of R.C. 3517.21, B-10 Schmitt published false and reckless statements about me which were designed to promote the election of my opponent, Bob Olesen, and defeat me at the polls.
Since these violations involved the May, 2001 Primary, which has already been held and conducted, no expedited hearing should be needed or required. The complaint should be processed under standard procedures.
I. VIOLATION OF R.C. 3599.03 (A), CORPORATION FUNDS SHALL NOT BE USED TO AID POLITICAL ORGANIZATION; FUNDS USED TO PROMOTE OR OPPOSE BALLOT ISSUE; EXEMPTIONS

In pertinent part R.C. 3599.03 (A) provides as follows: no corporation, no nonprofit corporation, directly or indirectly, shall pay or use, or offer, advise, consent, or agree to pay or use, the corporation's money or property for or in aid of or opposition to a political party, a candidate for election or nomination to public office, a political action committee, a legislative campaign fund, or any organization that supports or opposes any such candidate, or for any partisan political purpose, shall violate any law requiring the filing of an affidavit or statement respecting such use of those funds, or shall pay or use the corporation's or labor organization's money for the expenses of a social fund-raising event for its political action committee if an employee's right to attend such an event is predicated on the employee's contribution to the corporation's political action committee.

Bob Schmitt, a large developer in N. Ridgeville, sent a letter to registered Republican voters in the Mills Creek development in Ward 4 on May 2, 2001 (Exhibit A), signed it Bob Schmitt, CEO, Bob Schmitt Homes, Inc. and used his corporate envelopes, 8501 Woodbridge Ct. (Exhibit B). Schmitt's letter endorsed and was in support of Bob Olesen, 6053 Field Stone Circle, N. Ridgeville, OH 44039, my opponent in the May 7, 2001, Primary Election. Schmitt used his name to influence voters. (Schmitt built the Mills Creek development of over 800 homes in Ward 4 and enjoys a good reputation as a builder.)
I lost heavily in the Mills Creek Precincts C, D, and E. (Exhibit C) I won in Precinct A where the majority of homes are not Mills Creek and where the letter was not sent to every Republican household. I lost by four votes in Precinct B where the Mills Creek influence is less but still exists. Schmitt used his corporate name, property and funds to defeat and endorse a candidate in violation of R.C. 3599.03 (A).

II. VIOLATION OF R.C. 3517.21 (B)(9) UNFAIR POLITICAL CAMPAIGN ACTIVITIES

In pertinent part R.C. 3517.21 (B) provides: No person, during the course of any campaign for nomination or election to public office or office of a political party, by means of campaign materials, including sample ballots, an advertisement on radio or television or in a newspaper or periodical, a public speech, press release, or otherwise, shall knowingly and with intent to affect the outcome of such campaign do any of the following: (9) Make a false statement concerning the voting record of a candidate or public official;

In his letter endorsing Olesen, Schmitt made false statements about my voting record with reckless disregard for the facts by stating the following: "The fact is she has opposed virtually every commercial proposal brought to council..." I have been on City Council since January 1, 1998. Before making that statement Schmitt could have checked the Public Records with the Clerk of Council's and Clerk of Planning Commission's offices. The Clerk maintains a log of Council members' voting records at her fingertips. Exhibit D, E, and F contain commercial proposals which I voted on. Of the 16 proposed commercial projects, I voted "yes" to approve 13--81-1/4 percent of them--not against virtually all as Schmitt claims. Some projects did not require legislation, only council's verbal approval of Planning Commission's recommendations. Four commercial projects for which I voted "yes" were handled in this manner and are shown on Exhibits E and F).

III. VIOLATIONS OF R.C. 3517.21 (B)(10), UNFAIR POLITICAL CAMPAIGN ACTIVITIES

In pertinent part (B) provides as follows: No person, during the course of any campaign for nomination or election to public office or office of a political party, by means of campaign materials, including sample ballots, an advertisement on radio or television or in a newspaper or periodical public speech, press release, or otherwise, shall knowingly and with intent to affect the outcome of such campaign do any of the following: (10) Post, publish, circulate, distribute, or otherwise disseminate a false statement concerning a candidate, either knowing the same to be false or with reckless disregard of whether it was false or not, if the statement is designed to promote the election, nomination, or defeat of the candidate.

A. False statements regarding Butternut Crossings are: "The fact is that she has opposed virtually every commercial proposal brought to council, including the Butternut Crossings plan to bring new restaurants, a movie theater and other businesses to the interchange area on Lorain Road. Her fierce opposition to Butternut Crossings included contacting the Army Corps of Engineers on wetlands issues. While these issues were resolved, prospective tenants cited costly construction delays and took their business elsewhere.
Schmitt falsely and deviously directly infers that I was the reason the project did not materialize. This is the result of two blatantly false statements.
The first false statement that was made is that I opposed the Butternut Crossings plan. The fact is, I voted in favor of the preliminary site plan for Cypress Equities (aka Butternut Crossings) on June 15, 1998 (Exhibits D and F). I did not vote in favor of rezoning the Cypress property because B-3 zoning requires major thoroughfare access, which the Cypress property did not have. I voted in favor of rezoning Qpanel's property on October 18, 1999, from I-2 to B-3 (Exhibits D, F). The Butternut Crossings plan, aka Cypress, aka Staubach, was a combination of Staubach and Qpanel properties. (Cypress needed Qpanel's property for access to a major thoroughfare and was settled through a lawsuit more than a year after Cypress' first zoning change.)
The second false statement that was made is that prospective tenants cited costly construction delays and took their business elsewhere. The businesses claimed in Butternut Crossings' plan (new restaurants and a movie theater) were never identified or committed. "AutoNation was the only company to officially sign on with the project." Chronicle Telegram October 13, 1999 (Exhibit G).
Butternut Crossings, aka Cypress, aka Staubach, needed Q-panel's 22 acres for access to a major thoroughfare. The City teamed up with Cypress to take Qpanel's land by eminent domain because a purchase agreement could not be reached. (Exhibit H-1, 2, 3) A lengthy court battle ensued. A lawsuit was filed in the Court of Common Pleas, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, on November 30, 1998, Case No. 370838, by Qpanel Lab Products Corp., against Staubach Company, the Mayor and five of seven council members. (Exhibit I - 1, 2, 3, 4)
During the lengthy court proceedings, AutoNation, the only anchor store committed to Butternut Crossings, was having financial problems nationwide and scaled back expanding their operations. (Automotive News and Autos reported the problem with Republic [aka AutoNation] in their March 30, 1998 issue as did Knight Ridder on December 14, 1999, and Wall Street Journal on March 31, 1998. (Exhibit J-1, 2) A January 30, 1999, article from the Sun Sentinel, South Florida newspaper, stated that Republic [AutoNation] cut back on store openings (Exhibit K). The article also stated the "chain reported sales dropped 9% and the chain lost money for the quarter."
On October 18, 1999, the lawsuit was settled and Qpanel petitioned the city to have their land rezoned from I-2 to B-3. (Exhibit L, I voted "yes") City Council approved the rezoning, the process was finally complete, and construction could begin. But because of AutoNation's scaled back operations, they decided not to build their facility, and lost their $400,000 grant to widen Lear Nagle. In the June, 2000, Grapevine newsletter (Exhibit M) for Bob Schmitt's Mills Creek Development (where Bob Olesen resides), I wrote an article explaining the problems that resulted from Cypress' land being improperly rezoned.
The fact is, I voted in favor of the Cypress' preliminary plan and one of two rezoning issues for the project. Schmitt's direct inference based upon two blatantly false statements that I caused the project's demise is flat out wrong. The problem was a combination of thoroughfare access, court proceedings, and corporate cutbacks.
B. False statement regarding the Westerly Sewer program: "He has been in favor of the WesterlySewer Program to help spur cleanup and economic development of our city's western borders while protecting the health and safety of our residents. Minnick has opposed these issues." I have stated time and again at public meetings and letters to the editor that I am in favor of sewering the west side--it was the agreement I was opposed to. (Exhibit N, Feb. 20, 2001, council minutes. Schmitt was present, spoke, and was fully aware of my statements, Exhibit O). The City issued bonds to pay for the sewers and the developers are supposed to reimburse the City over a period of years . The sewers run through developer land, benefitting developers and places the city at great financial risk. Presently there are no plans to run laterals past existing homes where sewers are needed.
The Westerly Sewer agreement was combined with a Planned Community Development (PCD) ordinance allowing sewers to be constructed through 1400 acres of developers' land and benefitting only 11 existing homes. Residents referendumed three PCD ordinances, the city refused to place them on the ballot and lawsuits were filed. At the time the sewers were approved, two lawsuits were still pending. The City's Master Plan, which was adopted by resolution on December 7, 1998, recommended an entirely different plan to construct the Westerly Sewers. The City was not following that plan nor was the Master Plan revised. Although I favored the WesterlySewer Program, I voted against the Westerly Sewer Agreement because of the pending litigation over the referendums of the PCD ordinances and its conflict with the City's Master Plan. Schmitt willfully, maliciously and falsely stated that I opposed the Westerly Sewer Program when, in fact, I supported such program. He falsely stated my vote against the Westerly Sewer Agreement as my being against the Westerly Sewer Program.
CONCLUSION
As a direct result of the following violations 1) of R.C. 3599.03 (A), Schmitt used his corporate name, property and funds to endorse a candidate and influence the Primary election; 2) of R.C. 3517.21, B-9, Schmitt made false statements about my voting record; 3) R.C. 3517.21, B-10 Schmitt published false and reckless statements about me which were designed to promote the election of my opponent, Bob Olesen, and defeat me at the polls, the voters were unfairly influenced and the outcome of the election was affected. I lost my re-election bid for the Ward 4 council seat and Bob Olesen is a candidate in the November, 2001 election.

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Page Updated Fri Oct 1, 2004 11:28pm EDT