NEWTON FALLS, Ohio - The Ohio Supreme Court Thursday ordered the Trumbull County Board of Elections to remove the recall election of Newton Falls 4 th Ward Councilwoman Sandra Breymaier from the ballot just five days before the special June 1 election. The state’s highest court agreed with the filing of A. Joseph Fritz, Newton Falls law director, who challenged the recall on the grounds that village council lacked a majority vote when it passed the recall motion that was later certified by the board of elections.

More than 200 residents had signed petitions demanding the recall of Breymaier for comments she had made that were viewed as derogatory, particularly towards Mayor Ken Kline. When council approved the recall motion, only two members voted for it, one voted against and Breymaier abstained. The fifth council position had been vacated by the resignation of Tarry Alberini. The state supreme court ruled that contrary to the mayor’s determination that the motion passed, it actually “failed for want of one vote” and that the board of elections had a “legal duty” to reject it.

Mark Alberini, elections board chairman, said the board’s action was taken after receiving a legal opinion from the Trumbull County Prosecutor’s office. At the time, Alberini said the board voted to certify to defer to the will of the voters. “The prosecutor’s office said they didn’t feel strongly one way or the other and left it to the discretion of the board,” Alberini told 21 News Thursday. “In situations like these that are a little ambiguous, we have always deferred by allowing such a matter to go to the polls.”

Mayor Kline, however, is not happy about the court ruling, because he believes the recall can still be held in July. “Our charter says you have 90 days from the time signatures were verified, which would be around July 8, (so) four weeks from now, it should be on the ballot anyway,” he said. “I think the whole matter is silly. This is a waste of a lot of people’s time.”

Message requesting comment from Breymaier and Fritz has not been returned.

Another matter that will have to be addressed is the cost of the now aborted recall. “This isn’t free to put on,” Alberini said. “I don’t know whose dime this is on, but it should be on Newton Falls in my opinion,” Kline revealed he is also concerned. “I don’t know what this might cost us,” the mayor said. “We don’t have thousands of dollars lying around.”