Rosenberger wrote in her complaint that by registering “Republican Party of Clark County, Ohio” as a trade name with the Secretary of State, “unlawfully” taking control of the party’s website and holding a meeting to remove leaders in November among other things, the party with new leadership is “impersonating a county party.”
Nearly three dozen members of the GOP voted overwhelmingly to oust the leaders of their central and executive committees Nov. 2 and install a new team.
The votes were the culmination of a months-long dispute involving chairs Rosenberger and William Lindsey (Central Committee) and their supporters vs. others who said they lacked confidence in the abilities of leadership and alleged they failed to follow rules.
Rosenberger has repeatedly denied wrongdoing, saying she has worked to root out corruption and ensure the party is financially responsible.
The vote against Lindsey was 32-1 with an abstention, while the vote against Rosenberger was 33-0 with an abstention.
“Ms. Rosenberger’s response to being voted out of her position is to file complaint after complaint with all the various agencies hoping she will somehow prevail in her desperate attempt to remain in power,” Jeannette Chu, Republican Party of Clark County executive chair, and Jim Stickford, central committee chair, wrote in a statement. “Although she is costing the party members money by hiring an attorney to answer her complaints, we feel confident we will prevail against each and every complaint that she files.”
Rosenberger wrote that party member Benjamin Bahun “unilaterally and unlawfully attempted to appoint himself” as party treasurer and filed a “Pre-General Report” containing all zeros, which she said was “under penalty of election falsification.” She said a “Post-General Report” filed by Judy Croucher that also showed all zeros “was also filed under penalty of election falsification.”
According to the Republican Party and its members’ response, Rosenberger and other officers who were removed “refused to surrender the funds” that belonged to the party, so filings showed no money.
Chu and Stickford said Rosenberger has continued to use party funds “despite being removed from office.”
The response asks the OEC to either dismiss the complaint, saying Rosenberger lacks standing or the OEC does not have jurisdiction to “resolve intra-party disputes,” or to find the complaint “lacks merit” and deny it. It also asks that Rosenberger be personally liable for the respondents’ attorney fees.
Rosenberger said in her claim the party members who voted officers out and new ones in violated several bylaws, but the Republican Party said in its response that Rosenberger filed these bylaws improperly and they are therefore invalid.
Rosenberger filed civil protection orders against five party members, but Judge Thomas Capper rejected the requests on behalf of the party, saying he lacked jurisdiction to rule in favor of the party as a protected group. Rosenberger later withdrew her individual requests.
She also filed a police report regarding two meetings in October she said were disrupted and canceled, providing police with a newspaper article and a list of “suspects,” as well as a folder she asked to be given to a municipal prosecutor rather than county, according to the police report.
“Miss Rosenberger appeared to be of sound mind but began advising that Sheriff Burchett, Scott Cultice and another unknown male deputy were at her two meetings at the Marriott and were ‘paid off to disrupt them,’ ” the police report stated. “Miss Rosenberger further advised that she believed the Clark County Prosecutor’s Office to be involved in disrupting her meetings, advising of county wide corruption involving the Sheriff’s Office.”
One of these meetings was to appoint Hillary Hamilton as county treasurer.
Rosenberger, who began her leadership term in June 2022, is represented by attorney Scott Pullins.
Pullins was an attorney on actions Rosenberger filed as the lead plaintiff against the Ohio Republican Party, Ohio Republican Party chair Robert Paduchik and party treasurer Dave Johnson, alleging that more than $3 million of the party’s funds “may have been improperly misappropriated, misreported, and/or otherwise improperly expended.” A Franklin County judge ruled against Rosenberger in June of 2022, and in October, Rosenberger lost an appeal in the state Court of Appeals to file an amended complaint in the case.
Rosenberger did not respond to a request for comment.
Chu and Stickford said they feel confident in their response.
“We look forward to the ruling from the Ohio Elections Commission because the evidence is overwhelming that she was removed from office and has no standing to file any complaint against the true Republican Party of Clark County, Ohio,” the joint statement read.
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