Lyle Waddell has filed a lawsuit to challenge the election results after Tesa Spletzer unseated him for 3rd Ward Council in Newton Falls. 

Waddell -- a former Newton Falls mayor -- had held the seat since last year, and on Nov. 20, he filed a complaint with the Trumbull County Court of Common Pleas.

In the court filing, Waddell claims Spletzer was not legally elected because the Newton Falls charter requires that the election for this "unexpired term" take place during the next general election, which is set for November of 2021. Waddell says the board of elections has no jurisdiction or power to override the charter and claims that he remains the 3rd Ward Councilman. 

21 News reached out to board of election officials, and they referred us to the court. The court has not yet made a decision on the matter. 

Spletzer received 67 percent of the vote in the Nov. 3 election.