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Public records dispute continues

David Johnson

 

LISBON –Columbiana County Republican Party Chairman David Johnson has become involved in the records dispute between the county Democratic Party chairman and county Recorder Theresa Bosel by filing public records requests of his own.

Johnson told the newspaper he has filed the following records requests with:

–Madison Township, seeking financial records, among other information. The township fiscal officer is Tiffany Chetock, Bosel’s Democratic opponent in the Nov. 8 election.

–County Treasurer’s Office: Nick Barborak, the Democratic Party chairman, served as treasurer from 2007-12.

–County Bar Association. Barborak, an attorney, was in partnership with his sister, Virginia Barborak, who is in jeopardy of having her law license suspended for misusing more than $150,000 in client funds. The matter is pending before the Ohio Supreme Court.

Johnson contacted the newspaper to weigh in after reading Tuesday’s story about Barborak issuing a press release criticizing Bosel for allegedly dragging her feet in complying with a records request Barborak filed with her on Sept. 29. Johnson said he filed his records requests on Oct. 14.

Johnson accused Barborak of deliberately filing an inadequate records request knowing Bosel could not legally comply, and then using her response asking for more details to create a campaign issue.

“Nick Barborak is trying to prosecute this campaign in the newspapers … His letter was purposely so he could issue a press release,” he said. “They were losing the election when they took it to the newspaper. This a typical Don Gosney/Nick Barborak tactic.”

Gosney, the former long-time county Democratic Party chairman, died in 1989. Barborak, 41, was elected party chairman earlier this year.

Johnson said Chetock has yet to provide him with the requested records. “The only response I’ve gotten from her is she’ll get back to me. When will that be? After the election?” he asked.

Contacted for this story, Chetock said she received Johnson’s request on Oct. 18 and immediately responded the same day, advising him she would comply as quickly as possible. Chetock said she is nearly done and expects to be able to mail out the requested records today.

Johnson contends that Madison Township’s expenditures have increased 30 percent over the past four years, while the township trustees continue to ask voters to approve a new levy that has been rejected several times before, based on Chetock’s financial advice.

“If expenditures are going up and up and they are asking taxpayers for more money, does that sound fiscally responsible to you?” Johnson said.

As fiscal officer, Chetock serves as bookkeeper, pays bills, tracks spending and revenue, and keeps the trustees informed as to the township’s financial condition.

“That is their decision (to put a levy on the ballot),” Chetock said, referring to the trustees. “I’m not the governing body. I’m just the fiscal officer.”

As for his other records requests, Johnson said he wanted information about any money “misinvestmented” that occurred during Barborak’s time as treasurer. After Barborak left office in 2013, the new treasurer discovered that for more than two years he failed to reconcile interest income earned from a $5 million investment account, resulting in county general fund operating income being overstated by $118,000 in 2012.

That information has been provided, he said.

Johnson said he is seeking bar association records related to the grievance committee’s investigation that resulted in Virginia Barborak’s misconduct being referred to the Ohio Supreme Court. Barborak wrote two checks to his sister totaling $121,500 during that period, which she used to make payments, but he was not implicated in any wrongdoing.

Barborak was dismayed that Johnson was turning a records request into something personal. “It’s a matter of me requesting documents I believe I’m entitled to and getting the runaround,” he said. “It doesn’t surprise me that Dave Johnson would try to confuse the issue … To try to make it personal about me or my family is very low brow.”

“He’s certainly free to request whatever records he wants. I’ve got nothing to hide,” Barborak added.

Johnson defended seeking public records on Barborak. “The public has a right to know what Nick Barborak’s public record is –it is not stellar,” he said.

The dispute began on Sept. 29 when Barborak requested various records from Bosel, who initially said she was unable to comply because his request was too vague and overly broad as defined by Ohio’s public records law. After Barborak provided her with additional details Bosel requested, she sent him a letter saying she will endeavor to comply.

Barborak said he went public with a news release because he believes Bosel was dragging her feet. “I’m not sure why she has become so defensive over these records. What is she hiding?” he said.

In his records request to Chetock, Johnson also questioned the appropriateness of her appearance in a television advertisement for the former 1st National Community Bank while the bank served as the township’s depository. “It’s a little bit too cozy to see someone advertising for a bank that has public money being invested there,” he said.

Chetock appeared in the ad as a private citizen. “That had nothing to do with the township, and I was not there representing the township,” she said, “and I was not paid.”

Chetock was a bank customer in her personal life, which is why she was asked to fill in for someone who failed to show on the day of filming. “I was a last-minute replacement,” appearing as a customer in a non-speaking role, she said. “I was just a friendly face in the background.”

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