SHEFFIELD TWP. — Former Lorain police officer Mike Nunez can’t run for county commissioner as a Democrat because it was unclear from his petitions which of the two incumbents he wanted to challenge, the county Board of Elections ruled Thursday.

An angry Nunez accused the board’s Democrats — Anthony Giardini and Tom Smith — of trying to keep him from running against Commissioner Ted Kalo, whom he believes they want to win another term.

“They didn’t want me to run,” Nunez said after the meeting. “They want their boy to get in.”

Giardini and Smith both denied they were part of a conspiracy to prevent Nunez, or anyone else, from challenging Kalo and Commissioner Lori Kokoski, who also is seeking re-election.

“You must think I have some ax to grind, and I really resent that, Mike,” Giardini told Nunez.
Kalo said he didn’t need any protection and stands on his record as a commissioner.

“I wish he was in the race,” Kalo said. “It’s a shame his petitions weren’t filled out correctly.”

On his petitions, Nunez marked that he was seeking an unexpired term that ends on Jan. 2, 2009 — the date Kalo’s current term expires. Kalo said he plans to serve the remainder of his term.

Elections Board Chairman Robert Rousseau, a Republican, said when he saw Nunez’s petition, he assumed that Nunez was challenging Kokoski, not Kalo. Jan. 2 is the day Kokoski’s new term would begin if she wins re-election, and Rousseau said he believed Nunez had simply put the date in the wrong place.

Nunez told the board that the past four times that he’s unsuccessfully run for commissioner, he’s filled out his petitions the same way — writing when the current officeholder’s term expires.

But in 2004, the last time Nunez challenged Kalo in a four-way primary, he filled out the date when the term he was running for began. There were other errors on the 2004 petition, but nothing serious enough to remove Nunez from the race, elections officials said.

After being shown a copy of his earlier, correct petition, Nunez conceded that he had filled out at least one correctly.

Throughout the meeting Nunez, his campaign manager — fired county worker Karen Pleban — and an attorney insisted that he was being unfairly targeted.

Board members said they were simply trying to avoid setting a bad precedent.

“This isn’t about you,” Giardini told Nunez. “The next 100 times this happens, we have to deal with it the same way.”

Nunez could challenge the board’s decision in the courts, but he said that because the primary election is in March, he doubts he’ll pursue that option. He said he would probably run as an independent against Kalo in November, although Elections Board Director Jose Candelario said he was unsure if Nunez could do that since he has already tried to run as a Democrat.

Kalo must still survive a primary challenge from Joshua Meszes, grandson of former county Commissioner Mary Jo Vasi. The winner in March will face Amherst Councilman Nick Brusky, the only Republican running for Kalo’s seat.

Kokoski is being challenged by fellow Democrats Dave George and Kathleen Rednour. The winner of that primary will face Avon Lake Councilman Martin O’Donnell, the sole Republican seeking Kokoski’s current job.

Contact Brad Dicken at 329-7147 or bdicken@chroniclet.com.

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