Jerusalem Township Fiscal Officer Julie Van Nest was seeking re-election to a second four-year term this fall. But an error on her petitions caused the Lucas County Board of Elections to invalidate them.

An official with the Lucas County Board of Elections said that Van Nest made errors in the petitions’ signing dates.

Former Fiscal Officer Don Murray, whom Van Nest defeated in 2007, submitted petitions to the board as a write-in candidate just before the deadline on Aug. 29. Murray, fiscal officer of the Allen-Clay Joint Fire District, is the only candidate who is running for the office, according to the board.

Murray’s return as fiscal officer will unlikely be met with open arms in some quarters of the township.

Murray, former Trustees Rodney Graffis and Joe Gray frequently clashed with Trustee Joe Kiss soon after he was sworn into office in 2008.

Gray, Graffis and Murray made it clear to Kiss, who is running unopposed for a second term in November, that he was not welcome. They were angry that Kiss, who was elected to office along with Van Nest in November, 2007, ran his campaign on a platform of “restoring fiscal responsibility” to the township.

Soon after being sworn in as trustee in January, 2008, Kiss made a public records request of Murray for the township’s credit card statements. Murray instead froze the books, saying he had requested a state audit after Kiss had allegedly accused him of fraud.

Kiss had denied he accused anyone of fraud and that he only wanted to see the township’s credit card statements. Gray and Graffis, who often voted together, backed Murray and not Kiss.

When Van Nest started her term as fiscal officer on April 1, 2008, residents were already packing trustee meetings on a regular basis, pressuring Gray and Graffis to release the records Kiss had requested. Van Nest complied with the public records requests by Kiss as well as The Press Newspapers.

In October, a state audit had failed to show credit card fraud in the township. It did, however, show that Graffis was required to repay the township $20,174 for health insurance reimbursements he had received for health insurance coverage. The audit had stated that Graffis was already getting health insurance coverage through his union. Jerusalem Township reimburses township trustees for out-of-pocket costs of health insurance premiums if they are denied or opt out of coverage from their primary employer. The Auditor’s office had reviewed the documentation Graffis had submitted for reimbursement and found that health insurance was part of his primary employer’s benefit package. Graffis never repaid the township after there were conflicting opinions between the auditor’s office and the Lucas County prosecutor as to whether the finding was enforceable. House Bill 458 eventually released Graffis and other township officials in Ohio with similar findings from having to repay the township.

For the next year, Kiss, Graffis and Gray constantly sniped at each other at trustee meetings, with Van Nest quietly siding with Kiss on financial matters. Meetings were frequently marked by conflict that sometimes involved members of the audience. In 2009, the public, grown weary by the constant strife on the board, gave Gray and Graffis their walking papers and voted for newcomers David Bench and Ron Sheahan to sit with Kiss on the board of trustees. Since then, Kiss said things have quieted down considerably. He hopes it will continue to run smoothly when Murray returns.

“We’re hoping he will work with trustees to move the township forward,” Kiss said of Murray. “We’re there working for the people. I don’t want any dissention or anything else. We’re there to work for the citizens of the township. Trustees are communicating together, working for the same goals. I’m not trying to stir up trouble. But it’s been a much more professional working environment around here in the last couple of years. I just hope it can be the same for the next term with Murray.”

Kiss said Van Nest was part of the professional working environment he has enjoyed.

“I thought she was very thorough. She did a very good job. She was up front, honest. She was a good fiscal officer. She just unfortunately got hung up with the paper work for re-election and put in the wrong dates,” said Kiss. “I hate to see Julie go. But it’s out of my control.”

Van Nest did not return calls to The Press for comment.

Murray said he also hopes everyone will get along when he returns as fiscal officer.

“Only time will tell about that. I want to get the business of the township done. I don’t think there will be any problems working with Joe,” said Murray. “If we all just follow the law, we’ll be just fine. That was always the overriding theme.”

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