Fayette president judge refuses to hear arguments in election case
A losing Republican candidate for the Fayette County board of commissioners appeared in court Thursday, hoping to present motions to support his contention that there were improprieties in the May primary.
Instead, Jon Marietta and his co-plaintiff, Delaware County resident Gregory Stenstrom, were told by President Judge Steve P. Leskinen that they did not make proper service of the civil filings on the county, its election board and the board’s solicitor.
Leskinen grew frustrated with the men during a back-and-forth about how the paperwork needed to be served, noting that Marietta had hand-delivered the notice to the board of elections. The judge said that a representative of the plaintiff cannot legally serve the defendants, and explained this must be done by the sheriff or a sheriff’s deputy.
While Leskinen spoke, Stenstrom, who is listed in court paperwork as Marietta’s “authorized representative,” repeatedly tried to interrupt.
“Excuse me, sir, when I’m talking, please stop,” Leskinen said.
Stenstrom tried to argue that if the matter is “urgent in nature,” the law allows for plaintiffs to serve the defendants.
“We contend proper service was made,” Stenstrom said.
Leskinen disagreed and told Stenstrom that there is only an exception if there is no other practical way to serve a defendant.
He said Marietta and Stenstrom had ample time to arrange for a sheriff’s deputy to serve the defendants prior to appearing in court Thursday.
Leskinen told them that he would consider hearing arguments Tuesday at 1 p.m., provided they follow through with properly serving the county and board of elections.
Still, Stenstrom insisted they had acted properly, and that Leskinen was obligated to make a ruling on their proposed order.
“I feel like I’m arguing with a goldfish,” Leskinen said.
Stenstrom and Marietta, the county’s elected recorder of deeds, were seeking injunctive relief against the county and its board of elections, asking the judge that all election equipment “be retained and secured from potential spoliation.”
Court records also list individual election board members Mark Rowan, Robert Lesnick and John Kopas II, as well as board solicitor Sheryl Heid, as defendants.
Their proposed order also seeks to have the county turn over election-related records, including the ballots from every precinct. They also hoped to have Leskinen put in place a stay on the certification of the results “until a full public forensic investigation is completed for election results.”
The last of the county’s election results – the Republican commissioners race – were certified in August after the county agreed to Marietta’s request to recount six precincts in which he contended “bleed-through” from pen markings could have altered how scanners read votes.
The recount occurred Aug. 21 and 22 and showed one discrepancy out of nearly 1,500 in-person ballots counted.
Marietta, who lost the Republican commissioner nomination by 121 votes, and Stenstrom have since filed numerous motions alleging additional discrepancies with mail-in votes, among other issues.
Outside the courthouse after Thursday’s hearing, Stenstrom reiterated his position that Leskinen was wrong, but seemed to acknowledge they would have to follow the judge’s request regarding how the complaint should be served.
“We’re going to take care of that right now,” Stenstrom said.
Stenstrom repeated many of the same claims he made following a court proceeding last week, alleging there were discrepancies in the vote count that could have changed the outcome of the race. Senior Judge John F. Wagner Jr. halted that hearing because he was not the judge assigned to the case.
Last week, county solicitor Jack Purcell called the claims “outrageous.”
“This case is keeping me up at night because these people are making claims … that have no basis in fact. It needs to stop,” Purcell said. “I will not cede to them that they are here for democracy. We are the ones who are trying to hold fair elections.”