Secretary of State Jon Husted, following a hearing a couple of weeks ago in Columbus, removed two members of the Putnam County Board of Elections Tuesday for violations of the state’s open meetings laws.
Husted and a hearing officer listened to arguments from Ann Dillinger and Martin Kuhlman that they did not receive proper training, their infractions were technical in nature and not intended to deceive the public and that the elections board had since cleaned up its act. It didn’t matter in the end. Both were let go
Earlier this year, a county judge found the Putnam County panel broke Sunshine Laws on several occasions from 2008-10 and ordered more than $40,000 in damages and attorney fees.