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SOS SUPERVISING NITRO CITY ELECTION
Dollar General Envelopes Used For Ballots 
By Lawrence J. Smith

Just when you thought politics in Nitro couldn't get any wackier,                                    comes word that                                   envelopes purchased                                    at Dollar General are                                   being used for election                            ballots.

"We sent Mayor [Rusty]                             Casto to the Dollar                                  store, and he bought some security envelopes," confirms Rita Cox the city's recorder.

As some voters took advantage to vote early in Tuesday's election, they questioned the manner in which their ballots were secured.  Apparently, instead of being placed first into one smaller envelope and then into a second larger manila envelope, ballots were only placed into the manila one.

According to Cox, Casto and Harris, the Ripley-based election supplier, did not provide the city enough of the smaller envelopes thus necessitating Rusty Casto's trip to Dollar General.

Also, after early ballots were cast, they were put into a single locked box at the conclusion of each day. As more people came into vote early, the decision was made to separate ballots by precinct, and put the ballots into locked box for each of the six precincts.

The decision, Cox told the Charleston Gazette, received the approval of the Kanawha County Clerk's Office.

However, the confusion on how to properly secure early ballots, and the complaints of those casting them, has caused the Secretary of State's Office to monitor Nitro's election.  Though state officials were on hand to observe the process during the first week of early voting, and after the initial complaints were lodged, it was not immediately clear if they would continue monitoring the election through Tuesday night.

Deputy Secretary of State Sarah Bailey was not available for comment and did not return repeated telephone calls.

According to Cox, by Friday 175 people cast an early ballot. Despite the early glitches, she says people have no reason to worry about the integrity of election.

"We're doing everything by the book," Cox claims.

When pressed for details on the election, including Casto's purchase of envelopes, Cox said she couldn't talk any longer due to the need to attend to early voters. She said she will return the call later, and discuss the problems with early voting in detail.

Cox never did.

 

Another Nitro black eye

All this is too much for Karen Fritz, an outspoken critic of the current administration at city hall and Cox's opponent for city recorder. Until the Secretary of State began monitoring the election, Fritz was encouraging people to hold off casting a ballot until tomorrow.

"I was going around and telling people not to vote early," says Fritz. "I trust the procedure now."

This is the first election Cox has overseen, Fritz said. Two years ago she was appointed to replace the former city recorder, Joan McClanahan, who resigned due to health reasons.

The fact that state officials are observing Nitro's election puts the city on par with a Third World country emerging from a dictatorship into democracy.  The monitoring, Fritz says, could have been avoided if Cox, Casto and other city officials took time to study the election code.

"A book is provided on what to do," Fritz says. "I know the Secretary of State will answer any questions they have."

This, Fritz adds, is one more reason the current administration needs to be swept from office.

"Every door I've knocked on, the people say they want change," Fritz says. "Nitro has a lot of potential. I don't think it's lived up to that potential."

PutnamLIVE.com attempted to get Casto's comments on the election problems. After he didn't return Publisher Mark Hallburn's call to City Hall, Hallburn approached him Monday morning where Casto was campaigning next to the Speedway gasoline station, where Hallburn happened to stop to fill up and buy breakfast.

"He called me a ego reporter piece of s--t," says Hallburn. "This is a guy that allowed his city to go a million dollars in debt, and laid off six workers to recover. It wasn't their fault Casto can't manage his city. Here I am spending money in Nitro to help bail him out of his million-dollar debt debacle and Casto calls me a piece of s--t. He's taking audacity to a new level."
 

Parallels to disputed Hurricane election

Concerns raised in Nitro's election are not the first time this has happened in a Putnam County municipality.  Less than a year ago, similar concerns were raised in Hurricane�s election, which is still the subject of pending litigation.

Sam Cole, Scott Edwards and Frank "Sarge" Sargent were vying to replace Raymond Peak as Hurricane's mayor in the June 12th, 2007 municipal election. Election returns throughout the night showed Cole with an 85-vote lead over Edwards.

However, once early voting returns were tabulated after 1:00 a.m. the next day, the lead shifted back to Edwards giving him a 25-vote victory. After both the canvass, and a recount requested by Cole, the tabulation showed Edwards the winner.

Like the Nitro election, Hurricane's was being run by the incumbent recorder, Linda Gibson, a political ally of Edwards.

In a lawsuit filed July 6th, Cole maintained that the early ballots were tainted because they "Were not placed in secrecy envelopes with a seal, and were thus improperly included by the Defendants in determining the successful candidate for mayor."

On September 13th, Putnam Circuit Judge O.C "Hobby" Spaulding heard arguments in the case.  On September 24th he referred the matter back to the city council to consider at its next regularly scheduled meeting on October 1st.

That never happened.

Two days later, Edwards filed a motion to stop the council from considering whether early-voting ballots should be considered.  Putnam Circuit Judge Norbert "Ed" Eaglowski granted Edwards' motion 18 minutes after it was filed, and scheduled October 26th for a show-cause hearing.

Upon conclusion of the hearing, Eaglowski ruled that not only because the City of Hurricane, and not Edwards was served with the notice of Cole's suit, but also the fact the service occurred on July 7th, one day after the statutory 10-day notice, that the June 12th election results must be upheld.

This has led to much criticism of Eagloski and the concern of "political motivation" because Eagloski, like Edwards, is a Republican and administered Edwards' oath of office in June.

"Eagloski should have recused himself," said Cole last year.

Cole’s attorneys, David O. Moye and Lisa M. Moye, appealed Eaglowski’s decision to the state Supreme Court. During a petition conference last month, the Court wanted to hear additional information on the case before deciding whether to accept or deny the appeal.

On Tuesday, June 10th, the Court will grant a five-minute audience from Moye to make her case on Cole’s behalf.

Before she ended the conversation, Cox, who lives on the Putnam County side of Nitro, said she had some knowledge of what happened last year in Hurricane.

”I am aware that there were some problems in Hurricane,” Cox says.