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A Huber Heights resident filed election-related complaints last week against two candidates running for City Council next month.
Alexander Black Jr. filed a complaint with the Ohio Elections Commission against Glenn Otto, in addition to sending a letter to Huber Heights City Attorney Alan Schaeffer claiming Otto and Richard Shaw have violated a city ordinance.
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.
When reached by this newspaper on Monday, Otto and Shaw said they were unaware of the complaints.
“It’s politically motivated,” Shaw said. “Anybody can see that. The incumbents are running scared. They’ve never really had a serious political challenge in the city of Huber Heights of this magnitude.”
Black alleges Otto failed to report certain expenditures on his pre- and post-primary Ohio campaign finance reports.
In his complaint to Schaeffer, Black claims 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.”
Black — a Huber Heights resident for the last 35 years — said 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 said. “I’d rather stick to town hall meetings and door-to-door campaigns, and not go this route.”
Schaeffer said he received a copy of the letter from Black, and notified Otto and Shaw Monday afternoon about the issue. He said he’s awaiting their response before he makes a decision.
“I absolutely reported everything I had spent,” Otto said. “And I’m pretty certain I have not used the city logo inappropriately. I have no idea what he’s talking about.”
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