Justin Smith to replace Peg Rettig on Sandusky County Board of Elections
The Sandusky County Board of Elections' vacant Republican seat, previously held by Peg Rettig, will be filled by Justin Smith.
The regular board meeting on Thursday began with a moment of silence for their long-time member, whose last meeting was on Aug. 25. She missed the September meeting because of ill health and died of cancer on Sept 20. She was 82.
Democratic Party Board of Elections member Sandra Wise called Rettig a mentor. Wise is a former chair of the Sandusky County Democratic Party. She noted that all of the board members work in a bipartisan fashion.
"She promoted anything that had Republican party causes. She was an extremely patriotic person," Wise said. "That included, state, local and national causes. She was also a member of the Ohio Federated Republican Women. She had a lot of energy. We thoroughly looked to her for her opinions on issues at our Board of Elections meetings, because she had all that background."
"She was on so many boards. She never slept," said Ben Decker, Republican Board of Elections member.
"It's going to be a sad day, meeting without Peg," Tom Younker, Democratic Party Board of Elections member, said.
Smith, the Sandusky County Republican Party chairman, was selected by the Republican party as the replacement for Rettig. Smith previously sat on the board and Rettig had replaced him in 2015.
Decker reported to the board that Smith was chosen on a single round of voting, because he won with 26 of 33 votes, and one abstention.
"I think Justin has been a really dedicated part of the Republican Party. One of the things that makes Justin a really good candidate for this is Justin is one of those people that is super, super politically savvy," Decker said. "The behind-the-scenes brain-crunching of numbers is Justin's work... He has also worked on the board. He's worked as a poll worker. He's done a lot of work around the board and has a really good relationship with the poll workers, which is hundreds of poll workers. He's really good at building relationships, so he's a natural fit for this."
Smith also sits on the Fremont city council.
Decker explained that an individual can be an officeholder and serve on the Board of Elections, but cannot run for office while serving on the board.
"He can fill out his term on city council and serve on the board, but he cannot run again for city council while he's on the board," Decker explained.
He added that the Ohio secretary of state will make Smith's formal appointment.
"Justin will do a fine job. We have worked with Justin. I have worked with Justin," Wise said. He will be a very fine board member. He always comes to the meetings prepared. I look forward to working with him again."
Decker gave some insight to the selection process.
Wise and Decker said that Rettig's unexpired term officially ends on Feb. 25, 2025.
In other business, the board has been awarded a $13,000 grant from the Emergency Management Agency for additional live-feed security cameras to be used in and around the outside of the office. Also awarded was a grant for $5,000 from the secretary of state, which will be used for computer security upgrades.
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This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Board of Elections informed of replacement for Rettig
