This week the Ohio Supreme Court essentially exonerated Reynolds of any criminal wrongdoing — when it refused to disturb the appellate court’s not guilty decision — clearing the way for him, his attorney says, to take his elected office back.
Chad Ziepfel told the Journal-News after the 12th District Court of Appeals reversed his client’s felony conviction in May, ”I would argue he became your auditor right then and there” and as for the resignation Reynolds submitted after he was convicted on one felony count in December 2022, “you could theoretically say he resigned from his prior term, but he certainly never resigned from the term set to begin March 13, 2023.”
Reynolds won reelection handily while he was under indictment in November 2022. He beat Democratic challenger Mike Dalesandro by 67% to 33% or 79,969 votes to 43,861.
Ziepfel told the Journal-News, “Mr. Reynolds is innocent, and his complete acquittal is the right, fair, and just result. Mr. Reynolds and his family would like to thank the countless friends and supporters who have stood by his side. He looks forward to returning to work on behalf of the citizens of Butler County, as their duly elected Auditor.”
Butler County Prosecutor Mike Gmoser said, “that’s a distinction without a difference, he was duly elected that’s true, he also duly resigned that’s also true., right now there is one county auditor and that’s Nancy Nix.”
Reynolds was indicted in February 2022 on five counts for bribery and leveraging his public office to further his own interests on charges related to trying to help his family develop land in West Chester Twp. A third felony was added in July for him allegedly asking Lakota Schools officials to use $750,000 of the unspent fees he routinely returns to taxing bodies each year for a golf academy at Four Bridges Golf Course, where his family lives.
The jury found him guilty on the charge related to Lakota but not guilty on the development deal charges. He was sentenced to 30 days in jail, five years of community control and fined $5,000, the judge stayed the sentence pending appeal. Reynolds was forced out of office because he could not serve as a public official after a felony conviction.
Nix was appointed by the GOP Central Committee in February 2023 by a vote of 127 to 45. She told the Journal-News she can’t fathom how Reynolds thinks he can come back.
“I don’t know that there’s a mechanism for Roger, I think there’s sort of a black hole,” she said. “There’s no job to be had, the job is filled, he resigned, life goes on. Government vacancies must be filled and it was filled properly.”
She said it is a shame if Reynolds intends to fight to regain the office.
“It’s unfortunate because it puts the county and the auditor’s staff under more of a cloud,” she said. “We’d all like to move on, we don’t want to go backwards. We’ve made a lot of changes since he was here, I think his ordeal cast a pall on the office for so long that they weren’t really able to move forward as they should have been able to.”
Gmoser said if Reynolds forces the issue or tries to retake the office he’ll be trespassing.
“I have advised the auditor to contact appropriate law enforcement authorities with respect to a trespass situation and request the removal of Mr. Reynolds of the inner offices of the auditor’s office,” Gmoser said. “If he refuses to leave I would expect under those circumstances he would be treated as any other citizen who is trespassing and refuses to be escorted he would be arrested.”
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s office prosecuted the case and they can ask the high court to reconsider. Spokesman Steve Irwin said they have no comment. Ziepfel said he has advised Reynolds not to make any public comments until after the 10-day window to request reconsideration has passed.
Now that Reynolds is free to hold public office he also has the option of filing with the Board of Elections to be a write-in candidate, challenging Nix in the November General Election. BOE Director Nicole Unzicker said the deadline is Monday afternoon and they had not heard from Reynolds as of Wednesday morning.
Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s office could not be reached for comment on the assertion Reynolds is still the county auditor.
Reynolds has also been battling a civil lawsuit filed by Gerald Parks that essentially spawned the criminal charges. Most of those claims have been tossed by visiting Judge Dennis Langer who is hearing the case. Langer recently ruled the county’s insurance company isn’t responsible for paying any potential damages in the case or for Reynolds’ defense. Langer let the county off the hook months ago.
Reporter Lauren Pack contributed to this story.
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