Ohio Supreme Court throws Whitehall city council candidate off November ballot
Holly Stein filed a petition in January to run as a candidate for Ward 4 in the November 2025 election, according to court records. The following month, Lori Elmore, a current member of the council, filed an objection and challenged whether Stein had lived in the ward for the two years before the election.
Whitehall's city charter requires a council member for any ward to have lived in that ward for "at least two years next preceding their election" and at-large candidates to have lived in the city for two years.
Related Whitehall article: Whitehall, council member file Ohio Supreme Court case to remove candidate from ballot
Elmore's challenge, court records say, included voting records that showed Stein lived in Licking County through 2023.
According to court records, Stein admitted to living in Licking County during 2023 but said that she had resided in Ward 4 between 2019 and 2022, returning in 2024. She argued that living in the ward for two years before the election, even though it was not the immediately preceding two years, qualified her for the ballot.
The Franklin County Board of Elections sided with Stein in a 3-1 vote and allowed her to proceed as a candidate.
Elmore and the city of Whitehall then asked the Ohio Supreme Court to issue an order barring Stein from appearing on the November 2025 ballot based on the failure to meet the residency requirements.
The high court issued a ruling on July 23, siding with the city and removing Stein's name from contention for council. All seven of the court's judges sided with Whitehall and Elmore.
Incumbent Devin Brown, who was appointed to the Ward 4 council seat in 2024, remains the only candidate on the November ballot for the seat.
Reporter Bethany Bruner can be reached at bbruner@gannett.com or on Bluesky at @bethanybruner.dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Supreme Court remove Whitehall council candidate from November election
Solve the daily Crossword
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
an hour ago
- CBS News
ICE protests planned in NYC as Trump administration challenges sanctuary laws
Protests against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in New York City are being planned following the release of video showing conditions inside the facility at Manhattan's federal immigration building. Organizers said they plan to protest twice on Monday, first at noon outside ICE detention centers, immigration courts and federal buildings, like Federal Plaza, before another round of protests in the evening. Last week, the New York Immigration Coalition provided video showing what looks like the inside of an ICE processing center at 26 Federal Plaza. Members of Congress have been trying to access the area for weeks after hearing complaints alleging detained immigrants have been held there for days in deplorable conditions. ICE has maintained that the facility is not a detention center and is only used for temporary processing. Organizers of the protests, which are planned in New York and other major U.S. cities, stressed they do not want any violence during the demonstrations. Monday's rallies are also being planned as Mayor Eric Adams seeks changes to the city's sanctuary laws amid a Justice Department lawsuit filed last week aiming to strike them down. Adams said he supports the sanctuary laws protecting undocumented immigrants, but he believes modifications are needed to go after people who commit crimes. The mayor is facing stiff resistance from the City Council though, as members seek to stop him from expanding the role of federal immigration agents in the city. Federal officials have been particularly upset that the City Council went to court to stop an executive order issued by Adams to allow ICE agents work on Rikers Island, where they could identify undocumented immigrants who may be in the country illegally and have have committed crimes.
Fox News
an hour ago
- Fox News
'60 Minutes' staff ready to move forward from Paramount-Trump settlement, but concerns carry on
One of the most storied institutions in all of American journalism has had the most turbulent period in its 57-year history. "60 Minutes" is one of the few brands in legacy media that has proved its staying power despite the ever-evolving habits of news consumers. The Sunday magazine show continues to be one of the biggest draws for viewers on broadcast television. Which is why President Donald Trump's $20 billion lawsuit against CBS News and its parent company Paramount Global had such high stakes. Last fall, Trump took Paramount to court with allegations of election interference involving CBS News' handling of its "60 Minutes" interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris in the run-up to Election Day. He accused the company of aiding her campaign by deceitfully editing an exchange Harris had with "60 Minutes" correspondent Bill Whitaker who pressed her on why Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wasn't listening to the Biden administration. Critics noticed that two different responses to the same question aired on the network; one in a preview clip that aired on "Face the Nation" in which Harris was widely panned for her "word salad," the second airing during the primetime election special that had Harris giving a more succinct answer. Raw transcripts and footage from the interview ordered and released earlier this year by the FCC revealed the first half of her answer aired on "Face the Nation" while the second half aired on "60 Minutes," contradicting Trump's repeated claims that CBS had sliced and diced an answer to a completely different question. However, that didn't stop the lawsuit from moving forward in Trump-friendly Texas. And despite the company's own motion declaring the lawsuit "without basis in law and fact, and an affront to the First Amendment," Paramount settled with Trump in hopes of smoothing over its $8 billion merger with Skydance Media, which was just approved by Trump's FCC last week. A "60 Minutes" producer told Fox News Digital that colleagues had been "psychologically and mentally worn down" by the months-long drama that unfolded leading up to the settlement, which many learned about the following morning. An emergency Zoom meeting was organized by its then-interim executive producer Tanya Simon to wrangle most of the staff together during their summer vacation. "The prevailing sentiment was like, this is what we were expecting. But it is a travesty," the producer said. "A quote that has kind of been circulating around is, 'You can love your company, but your company won't love you back,'" they chuckled. Paramount agreed to pay Trump $16 million for his presidential library. Fox News Digital was first to report that another eight-figure sum would be allocated for advertisements and public service announcements for conservative causes set to be funded by the new ownership. While the "60 Minutes" staff were upset by the settlement, the producer said no one is expected to resign in protest, something that could have happened if CBS News issued an apology, which Trump's legal team fought for but the network resisted tooth and nail. "I think there would have been a more dramatic response to the settlement if there had been an apology. I think that would have forced some resignations," they said. "That was a bright line for a lot of people." Staff were left scratching their heads about the editorial change that was reached in the settlement with CBS News pledging to release raw transcripts of interviews with presidential candidates going forward. "Nothing has come down to us to say, like, this is the decision, this is why it was made and this is how you will move forward," the producer said. "It's not very comforting when you feel like nobody really knows what's going on and no one from Paramount or CBS is communicating directly with- I mean, they are communicating, obviously, with the news division, but not in a way that trickles down to us." "60 Minutes" staff will return to the office in August. The producer predicted colleagues will be "energized" and "ready to work." There was a morale boost last week when CBS News officially announced that Simon would serve as the "60 Minutes" executive producer after she filled the role on an interim basis following the protest resignation of her predecessor, Bill Owens. Simon had broad support among the rank and file. "This is a positive signal in terms of the future of '60 Minutes' being able to stay true to its founding principles," the producer said about Simon's appointment. But the biggest concern for the journalists of "60 Minutes" is whether there will be attempts at corporate influence over its editorial decisions, especially as CBS will have new ownership after August 7, when the Paramount-Skydance deal closes. Owens left "60 Minutes" in April, claiming he could no longer maintain editorial independence after Shari Redstone, Paramount's then-controlling shareholder, wanted to keep tabs on stories pertaining to the Trump administration. While Redstone recused herself from negotiations, she vocalized her support for a settlement in order to prevent potential retribution from Trump's FCC, which could've blocked the Skydance merger. Skydance reportedly committed to FCC Chair Brendan Carr that it would install an ombudsman to oversee CBS News content after the merger. "I think there'll be a high, high degree of vigilance in terms of is there a different type of oversight or meddling in our story choice or how we report on our stories," the producer said. CBS News, Paramount nor Skydance did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Pueblo GOP Chair announces 2026 run for fellow Republican's seat
Pueblo County Republican Party Chair Michelle Gray is the first candidate to file for a 2026 run in Colorado House District 60. The district, currently occupied by fellow Republican Stephanie Luck, includes territory in Pueblo West extending out to Chaffee, Custer, Fremont and Teller counties. Colorado House District 60 residents tend to favor Republican candidates, as evidenced by Luck's three consecutive victories. In 2024, Luck was reelected with nearly 70% of the vote. With a background in teaching math, Gray was a candidate for Pueblo County treasurer in 2022 and has chaired the local Republican Party since 2023. A July 24 campaign news release shared with the Chieftain states that Gray intends to "challenge the status quo" if elected and will help Republicans win additional seats in the majority Democratic state house. "The reason I am running, I have prayed about it, I've talked to my family about it," Gray told the Chieftain. "We were in agreement, and I want to bring the change that we have done in Pueblo to the state. That's why I'm running." Gray said that she is prioritizing solutions to protect agriculture and water rights and ensure access to health care for rural Coloradans — issues that she acknowledged in the press release she has disagreed with Luck on at times. "(Luck) does have a very strong liberty score, but just voting no isn't enough in this seat... We need to protect our agriculture, and we need to protect our water, and we need to make sure that our rural precincts actually have access to health care." The "liberty score" is a Colorado Liberty Republicans measure of a legislature's support of "individual rights, free markets, and limited government." Luck has recorded a 2025 liberty score of 98 — tied with Rep. Ken Degraaf for the highest of any state legislator. In addition to strengthening local agriculture, water rights and access to rural healthcare, Gray said she hopes to work with other Republicans in the Colorado House to amend or rescind "soft-on-crime bills" like those that remove or restrict immunity for police officers. As of July 25, Luck had not filed to run for reelection, according to Colorado Transparency in Contribution Expenditure Reporting (TRACER). Gray's campaign news release noted that Luck had not filed by the release's publishing and stated that Luck may have a future as a state senator — something that Gray says has been speculated — or a Fremont County commissioner. "Regardless, I thank Stephanie for her service. We just have very different approaches to what we see as impact and representation," Gray said in the release. "I'm certain she will do well at whatever she decides to do outside of her current role, but if a Primary election exists, I have to honor those trusted voices from the 5 counties that have come to me to seek my participation in this process... Healthy primaries can and do exist. Let's keep it classy.' The Chieftain reached out to Luck to inquire whether she plans to run for reelection, but she did not respond by the newspaper's deadline. Pueblo City Politics: Pueblo mayor pitches sales tax increase, changes to half-cent criteria for 2025 ballot Pueblo Chieftain reporter James Bartolo can be reached at JBartolo@ Support local news, subscribe to the Pueblo Chieftain at This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Why Pueblo GOP Chair Michelle Gray is running for Colorado HD60 Solve the daily Crossword
