On Monday Common Pleas Judge Patricia Oney, who oversaw the selection process, signed an order vacating the appointment of Stamper that was made in December, because she failed, as required by law, to “notify the American Legion Posts that they ‘may submit a list containing three recommendations of persons who are eligible for appointment.’”
“Consequently, none of the eligible posts submitted recommendations for the five year term of service…,” the order reads. “In recognition of the importance of a careful and statutorily compliant selection process, it is the order of this court that the previous selection shall be set aside immediately.”
However, Oney sent the posts in Hamilton, Middletown and West Chester Twp. a letter on Sept. 12 notifying them of the opening and asking for up to three names of people to be considered for the commissioner opening.
Under state law, the county’s common pleas judges must select commissioners from a list of recommended candidates compiled by area veterans chapters, including the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans and AMVETS. This year it was the three American Legion posts’ turn to nominate commissioner candidates.
When the common pleas court judges voted on Dec. 10 they had four candidates from Hamilton and two from West Chester to consider. Oney could not be reached for comment about the seeming contradiction over notification to the Post leaders. However the confusion seems to have come in over the four Hamilton applications. Dr. William Jones, commander of Stamper’s post in Hamilton said he collected applications from three candidates and mailed them to Oney.
He said Stamper came to him after he had mailed the other applications and said he’d decided he wanted to be reappointed so he was going to bring his application to Oney personally. Stamper has not returned phone calls, but his application was among those for the judges’ selection.
It would seem that Stamper did not get the recommendation from his post because his application was not mailed in by Jones but delivered by hand. But the four names from the Hamilton post violates the law regardless, because only three people per post are allowed. Jones said the post didn’t really “recommend” anyone.
“I did not put a cover letter per se for each person saying we either did or did not recommend anybody,” he said. “I just put the applications in, put a cover letter and sent it back to the judge just like she had said.”
Oney’s order indicates she will be sending a letter to the three posts asking again for recommendations and the selection process will be done over. West Chester Twp. Trustee Lee Wong, who was one of two people recommended by Post 681, said he thinks only the Hamilton post should be subjected to a do-over.
“Our other posts already did the due diligence by sending in the application , recommended, my recommendation by my 681 already is in there,” he said. “Why make everybody doing that. The post that messed up, that did not do it right, or whatever the reason was, they need to send someone who is eligible.”
Wong may have some cause for concern over the do-over, if others step up to the plate this time and his post can only choose three. West Chester Post Commander Chuck Miller said Oney’s September letter led him to believe Stamper was ineligible for reappointment, an impression that made a difference to him.
‘Had we known that incumbent Tom Stamper was a potential extended-term candidate, we likely would have made a different effort and process in defining our appointees for consideration. But that did not appear to be a legal potential,” Miller said. “This does not reflect any negative specifics toward commissioner Stamper, but rather a better understanding of who the best qualified candidates were, toward providing veteran support from the county.”
Stamper’s challengers were: former commission member and West Chester Twp. trustee Lee Wong, 62; retired University of Cincinnati political science department head James Stever, 71, of Hamilton; Clyde Navey, 58, of Hamilton, who did not list his employment history; West Chester firefighter Paul Kreiner, 51; and retired security and bank officer Jude Haslinger, 71, of Hamilton.
Once the posts receive the letter from Oney they will have 60 days to make recommendations.
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