SIDNEY — The Shelby County Board of Elections held a special meeting to discuss the authorization of the board to extend an offer of employment to a qualified candidate for the position of Deputy Director.
During the special meeting Tuesday afternoon, the board discussed extending an offer of employment to a potential new deputy director. The process for hiring a new deputy director started on Nov. 11 when the board began advertising the open position and due to a low turn-out of applications despite outreach through the Ohio Election Officials Association and the Secretary of State’s Office, the deadline for the applications was extended from Nov. 28 to Dec. 12. As of Dec. 12 there were only two qualified candidates and of the two only one of the candidates responded to Director Pamela Kerrigan’s offer of an interview.
The candidate was interviewed by board members Merrill Asher and Douglas Pence on Dec. 16 who found the candidate “qualified and capable.” This candidate is a resident of Shelby County who is a registered republican and has previously served as Director of the Miami County Board of Elections from 2013 to 2015. Following the interview, the candidate was submitted to the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office for a criminal background check.
The meeting was not set to hire and swear in a new deputy director but to determine if the board should be authorized to extend an offer of employment, pending a satisfactory completion of the criminal background check being done on the candidate.
The board adjourned to executive session to proceed with discussions related to the candidate, their potential employ at the Shelby County Board of Elections and to draft the official offer of employment. Following the executive session the board voted on a motion from Pence to complete the draft of the offer of employment, but that no action regarding the offer is to be taken until the criminal background check is complete and all three board members have had a chance to review it. The motion was seconded by Asher and approved unanimously.
The goal of the board is to have an answer regarding their offer before the next meeting of the Shelby County Board of Elections on Jan. 9, 2023, at 10 a.m. Provided the background check clears and the board’s offer is accepted by the candidate, the board would like to swear in the new deputy director during their Jan. 9 meeting.
