ELYRIA — The Lorain County Township Association sued the county commissioners Friday over the commissioners’ decision not to appoint LaGrange Township trustee Rita Canfield as a representative in the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency.

The commissioners instead appointed Wellington Township trustee Virginia Haynes, who is also a county employee working on economic development.

“It’s just all politics and had nothing to do with whether one person was more qualified than another,” the association’s attorney, Dennis O’Toole, said.

Canfield, a Republican, has twice run for commissioner, losing to commissioners Betty Blair and Ted Kalo, both Democrats.

Kalo called the decision a political move on the part of the township association, whom he said may be helping Canfield position herself for a run at Blair’s seat. Blair has announced she is retiring and will not seek re-election.

Kalo said during a commissioners meeting earlier this month that he didn’t believe he could trust Canfield, whom he said ran a negative campaign against him.

“It’s important that we have a working relationship with whoever’s on the NOACA board,” he said Friday.

The county, he said, needs to present a unified front at NOACA, and he isn’t sure Canfield can put the county’s interests ahead of her own political ambitions.

Canfield said Friday she has no intention of running for commissioner this year but believes she could be effective on the NOACA board.

“I don’t perceive I would have any difficulty working with Mr. Kalo or Mrs. Blair,” she said.

Kalo said he would take that under consideration.

Commissioner Lori Kokoski said she considers Canfield a friend, but since she was outvoted by Blair and Kalo, she didn’t push to appoint Canfield.

“There’s some hard feelings between the three of them, but I get along with Rita just fine,” she said.

Association President Rob Scheithauer said the association had originally planned to ask the commissioners to reconsider their decision, but learned Friday that the commissioners had officially appointed Haynes to NOACA on Dec. 30. The deadline to file a lawsuit was Friday, and the association did so to protect its rights to challenge the decision, said Scheithauer, an Elyria Township trustee.

O’Toole said the association has traditionally submitted its recommendation for a NOACA representative to the commissioners and their choice has been approved without any problem.

But Kalo said the decision is ultimately up to the commissioners and they exercised their power to decide who will represent the townships.

“Our decision was to do the best for Lorain County residents,” he said.

Kalo also said he’s talked to trustees from some of the townships — all of whom also were named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit — who disagree with the decision to sue the commissioners.

Scheithauer said the issue will be discussed at a special association meeting on Thursday. Those townships that want to opt out of the lawsuit can do so, he said.

“We have to decide whether to fight or not,” he said.

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

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