Commissioner Candidate & County GOP Chair Nancy McArthur’s Legacy of Questionable Behavior

A Plea to Secretary of State Frank LaRose
In January of 2023, a group of elected officials and concerned citizens in Geauga County wrote to Secretary of State Frank LaRose, asking him to refrain from appointing Nancy McArthur to the Geauga County Board of Elections. These concerned citizens provided Secretary LaRose with more than 20 pieces of evidence making the case that Mrs. McArthur was unsuitable for the position, and had unfairly biased the GOP Executive Committee to vote her into the position. This letter is a matter of public record and is reproduced below as a courtesy to Geauga County voters (see below). Secretary of State LaRose ultimately decided to override the concerns of these Geauga constituents and approve Mrs. McArthur’s appointment to the Board of Elections. (Read Frank LaRose’s useless “admonishment” in this article.)

More Recent Questionable Behavior
Last month, Mrs. McArthur resigned from the Board of Elections when she entered the race for Geauga County Commissioner. This was required because her campaign would have presented a conflict of interest with her board position. Her resignation left an opening on the Board of Elections, which is lawfully to be filled by our county GOP voting on a replacement.

At the time of her resignation, Mrs. McArthur had been scheduled to attend a Board of Elections training conference in Columbus. This training is available only to Board of Elections members, employees, and vendors. Mrs. McArthur had been approved via board vote to attend, but she tendered her resignation before the training took place. Even though the GOP had not yet met and voted on a new Board of Elections member, Mrs. McArthur asked the Board of Elections to approve sending her preferred candidate in her place to the Columbus training. This was inappropriate, not only because the individual in question was ineligible, but because it would have given him an unfair or preferential advantage over other Republicans who were seeking to be considered for the Board of Elections position. The Board of Elections appropriately declined to send him, as he was not a member, employee or vendor of the board.

Despite the Board’s CLEAR decision, and despite the fact the GOP had not yet voted on her replacement, Nancy’s preferred candidate somehow ended up being registered for the training. When questioned, the hosts of the conference indicated they had been told this individual was “Nancy’s replacement” on the Board of Elections and that the Geauga County Board of Elections (not just Nancy) was requesting he be allowed to attend. Geauga Board of Elections officials have confirmed they never made this call and they explicitly denied approving anyone to attend “in Nancy’s place”.

Conflict of Interest
Many elected officials and citizens are gravely concerned that Mrs. McArthur should have recused herself as GOP Chair while she is running against another Republican in the March 19th Primary election. Thankfully, Mrs. McArthur’s attempt to secure party endorsements for the primary was voted down at the February GOP Executive Committee meeting. Many are still uneasy with the conflict of interest inherent in her making partywide decisions while also running against another party member (for instance, as Party Chair, she gets a say in which Geauga County candidates can use State GOP resources for their campaigns). Common sense and integrity should lead her to set aside party leadership.

Self-Dealing Not a Good Quality for Chair or Commissioner
Nancy McArthur has a history of abusing her positions. The letter below illustrates her self-dealing, loose interpretation of ethics, and history of denigrating other conservatives, all of which make her a very poor choice for party leadership, let alone the position of County Commissioner. For the good of Geauga County, on March 19th, we should vote decisively to end her campaign for County Commissioner. Geauga County deserves better.

Letter to Secretary LaRose

Links to videos in the document below:
B. Violent spectacle at Metzenbaum Center, January 7, 2023
7. Constituent video
8. Security footage #1 from the inside camera of the Metzenbaum Community Center
9. Security footage #2 from the outside camera of the Metzenbaum Community Center
F. General disorganization/disarray of GOP office & website
16. Video of Headquarters
H. Failure to promote candidates on Election Day November 8, 2022.
24. A compilation video of dialogue and photos shared between constituents as a result of no Republican candidate signs at polling precincts all across Geauga County. Once this was discovered, constituents in a collaborative effort went into action at the last minute to ensure the placing of Republican signs were at as many polling locations as possible from 6 AM until 2 PM on election day November 8, 2022.
Where’s Nancy – Election Day Nov2022 Geauga County

Don’t miss:
Interview with Commissioner Ralph Spidalieri
Establishment GOP Attacking Tea Party, Squawking About “Fake Slate Cards”

March 19th Primary Links:
Information on all Republican Geauga County Commissioner candidates in the Primary
Issue and Candidates
How, When & Where to Vote
Find Your Sample Ballot