Sugarcreek mayor's petition rejected; Parson and Wilson running to replace Stutzman
SUGARCREEK ‒ With Mayor Jeff Stutzman being disqualified for the Nov. 7 general election ballot, the race for Sugarcreek mayor comes down to a contest between James Parson, a former councilman; and former Sheriff Walt Wilson, who is running as a write-in candidate.
The Tuscarawas County Board of Elections rejected Stutzman's candidate petition because he did not include his statement of candidacy on four petitions. He filed a complaint for a writ of mandamus on Sept. 8 with the Fifth District Court of Appeals to reverse the board's decision. However, the court ruled on Sept. 21 that his failure to include the statement of candidacy violated the Ohio Revised Code and sided with the board of elections.
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Stutzman, who was elected mayor in 2019, said he is not going to take the issue any further.
His predecessor, the late Clayton Weller, shared a similar fate. In 2019, he failed to fill out the nominating petition section of the petition and had his petition rejected by the board of elections. Weller appealed to the Fifth District Court of Appeals and the Ohio Supreme Court but ultimately lost.
James Parson
James Parson served on both Sugarcreek Village Council and the Garaway Board of Education, as well as the Sugarcreek Zoning Board of Appeals. He retired from the Belden Brick Co. after 32 years and currently works as a bus driver for Garaway.
He resigned from council on March 16 following an accusation that he had made sexually inappropriate comments to a female village employee and her boyfriend. His resignation was part of a settlement to resolve the situation and came after an investigation by the Sugarcreek Police Department.
In an interview with The T-R, Parson denied making those comments. He said he resigned from council because the accusation was something that wasn't worth fighting. "My health, my family and my kids were worth more than being on council."
He added, "If elected, I have a plan in place for the chain of command when dealing with our staff to ensure a safe and inclusive work environment. Sexual harassment is something I take very seriously, having three daughters and two granddaughters."
Parson said he would like to bring more transparency to village government. "If elected, all council meeting will be live-streamed so anyone having questions can watch from home to stay informed."
He also wants to revamp the local parks and possibly add additional ones.
Walt Wilson
Walt Wilson has been a Sugarcreek resident since 1968 and is a 1973 graduate of Garaway High School. He worked at the Tuscarawas County Sheriff's Office for 37 years, the last 16 as sheriff.
Asked why he decided to run for mayor, he said, "When I learned that they had disqualified our current mayor, Jeff Stutzman, from running again, I felt that maybe it would be good if the people had a second choice, instead of one person just walking into it."
Since deciding to run, Wilson has been attending council meetings and has reviewed the village's financial information.
"Financially, the village is very sound. I would like to see that it remains that way as best that we can," he said.
He also said he would work closely with local business leaders to provide them any assistance that they might need.
Reach Jon at 330-364-8415 or at jon.baker@timesreporter.com.
This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: Rejection of mayor's petition complicates Sugarcreek race
