Huber Heights City Council candidates respond to complaints


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Huber Heights City Council candidates Glenn Otto and Richard Shaw have responded to the complaint that was filed against them last week by resident Alexander Black Jr.

Black Jr. sent a letter to Huber Heights City Attorney Alan Schaeffer on Oct. 1 claiming Otto and Shaw violated a city ordinance by using the “city’s logo on their respective campaign websites without permission from the city to do so.”

Otto and Shaw said they committed no wrongdoing, they have not and will not make any changes to their campaign websites, and the matter is now closed in their eyes.

“The campaign website has been reviewed by legal counsel and an ethics board covering city, county and state laws, with no violations found to date,” Shaw said in a statement. “Simply, this complaint is highly politically motivated to derail the motivation this campaign has going into the election.”

Otto did not issue a formal statement but said he’s in full agreement with Shaw. Attempts to reach Black Jr. and Schaeffer on Thursday were unsuccessful.

Otto and incumbent Jan Vargo will square off for an at-large seat Nov. 3 after they finished 1-2 in the primary in May. Shaw is opposing incumbent Lu Dale for the Ward 1 seat.

Black Jr. also filed a complaint with the Ohio Elections Commission against Otto, alleging Otto failed to report certain expenditures on his pre- and post-primary Ohio campaign finance reports. Otto said he has not yet seen the complaint.

Black Jr. said earlier this week the initiative to file formal complaints against Otto and Shaw started last month after Shaw alleged unethical and illegal conduct against Dale related to campaign material.

“It was time to take the gloves off and play fair,” Black Jr. said. “I’d rather stick to town hall meetings and door-to-door campaigns, and not go this route.”

Shaw said it would be in the best interests of the city to revisit the city logo ordinance and clear up any confusion that exists, including how to apply for such permission.

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