Friday, April 6, 2007

Bennett Removal Hearing Postponed to April 16

From a today's SoS release:
For Immediate Release:
BENNETT REMOVAL HEARING MOVED TO APRIL 16
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The public hearing in Cuyahoga County on the potential removal of Robert T. Bennett from the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections has been postponed from Monday to April 16.
William Owen, the hearing officer appointed in the case, recommended to Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner that the hearing be delayed. Bennett's lawyer requested the delay based in part on schedule conflicts.
The April 16 hearing will be held in Euclid City Hall, 585 E. 222nd St., Euclid, in the city council chambers, beginning at 9 a.m.
Bennett, a Republican and the only Cuyahoga County elections board member who hasn't resigned as requested by Secretary Brunner, faces a complaint alleging misfeasance and nonfeasance in office connected to the board's administration of elections over the last few years.
All elections boards are made up of two Democratic and two Republican members.

The complaint accuses Bennett of:
•Failure to adopt adequate procedures for election recounts resulting in the felony convictions of two board employees.
•Failure to competently manage the board's finances.
•Failure to ensure the efficient administration of elections in 2004 through 2006.


All this delay for truly naught, is besides the actions of a panicked human being, so very typical of Mr. Bennett.
Bennett's typical non-caring/ignoring/non-recognition of the effects on citizens, leading to:
• 5+hour "executive sessions", putting us out in the hall in the middle of meetings waiting for "executive results", while the board sat inside munching and talking, (instead of declaring before going into session that the open meeting would continue the next day at a specific time, for instance);
• or almost always delaying the start of open meetings from 20 minutes to up to an hour, while very apparently the board sat in back and talked ...in "illegal executive sessions" before the open ones;
• or at least in 1/3 of cases, changing the long-posted dates/times of regular meetings at the last minute, with less than 24 hours notice.

is oh, too typical of Bob Bennett, demonstrating his need to immediately leave.

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