New Legal Opinion Says Ohio GOP Must Proceed with Leadership Elections

A new legal opinion from the national law firm Thompson Hine says Ohio Republican Party (ORP) chairman candidate Bryan Williams and his supporters are correct to insist that new leadership elections must take place at their organization’s meeting on Friday near Columbus.

Members of the ORP’s State Central Committee (SCC) will meet at the Nationwide Hotel and Conference Center in Lewis Center Friday morning for a party reorganization pursuant to the election of new members last month. A notice of the meeting, which members of the general public may attend, indicated, “Business will include swearing in all qualified members.” 

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Commentary: Question Remains If Ohio Republican Chairman Paduchik Plans to ‘Unlawfully’ Deny a Vote That Could Replace Him at September Meeting

Ohio Republican Party Vice-Chairman Bryan Williams sent a letter to State Central Committee (SCC) members Monday congratulating them on their recent election and most notably to warn them of what he believes will be an attempt by current Chairman Bob Paduchik to deny the elected officials the “right and duty to elect five new officers including the chairman, in violation of Ohio [law].”

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Ohio Republican Party State Central Committee Member Calls on Chair and Treasurer to Resign over Party Finances

An Ohio Republican Party (ORP) Central Committeeman sent an email to party associates on Monday calling on ORP Chairman Bob Paduchik and Treasurer David Johnson to resign.

Mark Bainbridge, an accountant who represents ORP’s State Central Committee District 16 and who has led the committee’s reform caucus, wrote that the state party has suffered a decline in net worth that is “shrouded in secrecy.” Specifically, he stated, ORP reported a net gain of $147,259 through 2021 when it allegedly should have reported a loss of $162,088. He concluded that $309,347 in net expenses are absent from the organization’s profit and loss statement and that ORP had equity totaling $2,568,530 at the end of 2021 compared with $2,730,618 at the end of 2020.

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