The comeback bid is on: Ohio Supreme Court allows former lawmaker to appear on ballot
The Ohio Supreme Court has cleared the path for Steven Kraus to run for the Ohio House — sidestepping difficult questions about the former state lawmaker’s comeback bid. Kraus was removed from office in 2015 after a felony theft conviction, but he has since gotten that case sealed by the court.
State law bars ex-felons from holding office unless their conviction is “reversed, expunged or annulled.”
Kraus insisted his sealed case is the same as an expunged case, because sealing the conviction was the only option available to him. Dennis Schreiner, an Erie County resident who challenged Kraus’ candidacy, argued the two things are not, and have never been, interchangeable.
But the unanimous Supreme Court decided to avoid the question, “because Schreiner has not shown that the office of state representative involves substantial management or control over the property of a state agency, political subdivision, or private entity.”
Background
Schreiner’s case asked the court to prohibit Erie County election officials from placing Kraus’ name on the March 19 primary ballot. In light of Kraus’ prior conviction, Schreiner argued, the board of elections abused its discretion in certifying his candidacy.
The court, however, looked to a different clause in the statute. That provision states disqualification applies only to offices with “substantial management or control” over state property. So Kraus’ conviction — expunged, sealed, whatever — is irrelevant, because his offense only disqualifies him from certain kinds of public office.
“A state representative has no direct management or control over the property of any state agency, political subdivision, or private entity,” the court reasoned, and so his conviction doesn’t trigger disqualification.
Even if the General Assembly’s budget authority satisfies the requirement, the court added, a single representative just doesn’t.
“The General Assembly acts as a whole in exercising such authority, and each state representative is only 1 of 99 members of one chamber of the assembly,” the opinion states. “Schreiner has not established that acting alone, a single state representative exercises substantial management or control over a state agency’s property.”
The court went on to contrast the disqualification statute with Ohio’s theft-in-office statue. In the latter, an official who is found guilty “is forever disqualified from holding any public office, employment, or position of trust in this state.” Because the theft-in-office provisions are so broad and explicit the other statute’s qualifications about “substantial management or control” stand out.
In a final paragraph of its decision, the court asserted that because it ruled on that triggering clause, “we need not address whether a sealed conviction is the equivalent of an expunged conviction.”
“I’m back”
In an interview, Kraus sounded elated about the ruling.
“I’m feeling fabulous,” he said. “I mean this is a huge victory. This is a big blow to the good old boy system. It’s just wonderful, 7-0? You can’t get better than that.”
“I’m back,” he beamed.
Kraus will face incumbent state Rep. D.J. Swearingen, R-Huron, in the March primary election for Ohio’s 89th House district. The campaign seems likely to emphasize Swearingen’s vote for Kitts Hill Republican Jason Stephens as House Speaker.
Swearingen and 21 other Republicans earned derision among conservatives because they joined Democrats in supporting Stephens over the GOP caucus favorite Derek Merrin. The state GOP censured the so-called “Blue 22” shortly afterward. Now, those lawmakers are facing primary challengers.
Despite failing to reverse his conviction on appeal, Kraus maintains his innocence of the theft charges that complicated his run. And he argued the court’s posture in his case offers a measure of vindication against his removal back in 2015.
“When I was convicted in that courtroom on the 27th of July of 2015, the Ohio House immediately removed me,” he said. “I never went back. They packed me up and sent all my stuff here.”
“So, if what the supreme court is saying is true now,” he continued, “then I should never have been removed on July 27th, 2015 by the Ohio House.”
Nick Evans has spent the past seven years reporting for NPR member stations in Florida and Ohio. He got his start in Tallahassee, covering issues like redistricting, same sex marriage and medical marijuana. Since arriving in Columbus in 2018, he has covered everything from city council to football. His work on Ohio politics and local policing have been featured numerous times on NPR. Follow OCJ Reporter Nick Evans on Twitter.