This court should recognize the cloak of apparent authority that the village permitted Carole Lyle to wear in accepting the certified copy of the proposed ordinance and issue a writ of mandamus ordering the village clerk to immediately and timely comply with her legal duties under R.C. 731.28. I would not reward the evasive and unacceptable conduct by the village officials in this case. By refusing to issue a writ, the majority permits an Ohio municipality to deny voters the right to self-governance and allows officials who have sworn to do their duty to their village to thwart those and the village voters’ rights. Insofar as the majority does not take the actions I have described, I respectfully dissent.
The majority declines to issue a writ with respect to the Belmont County Board of Elections, and I concur in that decision. To the extent that this dissent were to be the majority opinion of the court, I would award fees and costs to relators.
That is the rendered decision in the case of Schmitt v. Bridgeport, Slip Opinion No. 2021-Ohio-2664 after Bill Schmitt Jr. filed a lawsuit against the village after deadlines were missed involving his citizen initiative to decriminalize the possession of marijuana in the East Ohio community.
Schmitt, the owner of the Holistic Cloud in Bellaire, was attempting to get the initiative on the November ballot later this year. The activist also filed similar paperwork in Tiltonsville, Martins Ferry, and Powhattan Point after collecting the necessary signatures per the Ohio Revised Code.
“What my attorney has told me is the Village of Bridgeport is saying that I went to the wrong office to hand in the paperwork,” the activist explained. “But I have a video that will be used as evidence of me going into the village office and turning in the initiative to a lady who told me she was the clerk.
“But after she date stamped the paperwork, she looked at me and said, ‘Well, I’m not sure I am authorized to do this because I’m just a volunteer clerk.’
“When I went back to the same office, they just kept denying me and referring me to the village’s solicitor. In other words, they gave me the runaround.”
Defeated for the First Time
Schmitt has been involved with decriminalization efforts throughout the state of Ohio, and, in fact, he guided the effort in Bellaire five years ago. On three occasions, however, he has had to file lawsuits and go to court in order for the decriminalization issue to appear on ballots.
Before this 15-page ruling, the Bellaire resident was 3-0 in those cases, but he was unsure how the Supreme Court would rule this time.
“My attorney has told me that we should have won this case, but he also said for me to beware because anything could happen. That’s why, in my mind, we had a 50-50 shot at this,” Schmitt admitted. “I just don’t understand why the village officials went to the lengths they did because it cost them a lot of money. One thing I know for sure is that I am not the person who has been deceitful.
“Yes, I feel they are trying to blame this fiasco on me, but I was the plaintiff,” he continued. “In my view, they used a technicality to not have to take this citizen initiative, but what they may not understand is that I will go about the same process to get it placed on the ballot in 2022. I had hoped that would not be necessary, but I was prepared for that scenario.”
On Video
Not only does Schmidt appear on Facebook Live at 4:20 p.m. most afternoons, but he will also begin broadcasting a podcast in the month of September.
His familiarity will such technology has allowed him to record his interaction with community officials each time he speaks with them concerning his decriminalization efforts.
“Anytime I interact with the police or any officials of a city or a village, I record it so I can protect myself. It’s a shame I feel I need to do that, but I do,” Schmitt said. “Some leaders in communities feel they can do what they want, and that’s just not the case because of the law. The process for citizen initiatives is right there in the Ohio Revised Code.
“With this case, though, they were saying that I turned it into the wrong person, but I have the video that proved that I was led to believe that the lady was the clerk because that’s what she told me,” he added. “So, I just hope the leaders in Bridgeport realize that I will be back next year, and they won’t be able to play these games again.”
