Summit County Republican Party vs. The Republicans of Summit County: GOP feuds over PAC name

Some prominent local Republicans are at odds with each other after a political action committee gave itself a name that could be mistaken for the party's official Summit County arm.

The dispute led to a formal complaint filed with the Ohio Elections Commission and an ultimatum from county election officials threatening to disband the PAC.

But it's unclear whether the group calling itself The Republicans of Summit County will be prompted to change its name or face any other repercussions — despite a new state law designed to prevent confusion for voters and campaign donors.

The complaint to the state elections commission was submitted Dec. 29 on behalf of Summit County Republican Party Chairman Bryan Williams, who contends that reasonable people could be misled into believing that the PAC is the GOP's official local branch. Being able to distinguish between the two groups is important; even though both are affiliated with the same party, their candidate endorsements and fundraising decisions do not always align.

Those differences also factor into a personal beef that Williams has with the group. In 2022, the PAC endorsed former Cuyahoga Falls Mayor Don Robart in his unsuccessful bid to unseat Williams on the party's statewide central committee.

The PAC's leader, Edward Davidian, contends Williams is misusing his authority as one of two Republicans on the four-person, bipartisan Summit County Board of Elections.

The board voted unanimously Dec. 29 to terminate the PAC if it didn't change its name by Jan. 15. That deadline came and went without penalty, and the board concluded Jan. 30 that it would pursue no further action.

The board did not respond to requests for comment.

Basis of Bryan Williams' complaint to elections commission

Williams' complaint called on the Ohio Elections Commission to "immediately investigate The Republicans of Summit County and its sole responsible party, Edward Davidian, and appropriately find they have engaged in an election violation, order their PAC terminated and sanction them each as may be appropriate."

Williams' attorney in the matter, Corinne Hoover of the law firm Hoover Kacyon LLC, provided as evidence a slate card issued by the PAC bearing its name and a logo similar to that of the county party.

An Ohio statute passed in October 2023 prohibits PACs from crafting or distributing communications that might make someone think the publication was produced "by or on behalf of a county political party" unless the PAC has written permission signed by the county political party's executive committee or chairperson. The law outlines no mechanism by which to remedy violations.

John Chapman, the attorney for the PAC, said via email that it "has not violated any laws and the complaint is both frivolous and politically motivated," adding that Davidian is prepared to "happily abide" by whatever determination the commission makes on the matter.

PAC accuses Bryan Williams of conflict of interest

The PAC believes Williams has a conflict of interest in the matter. In a letter to Lance Reed, director of the Summit County elections board, Chapman says Williams is "comingling his public position as a member of the board with his private position as chairman of the Republican Party." Williams' attorney, Hoover, however, says her client has not engaged in any ethical breach.

Chapman said the complaint was meant to intimidate Davidian in response to his endorsement of Robart in their August 2022 contest for the Ohio State Central Committee's 27th District. Williams eked out a victory in a five-way race — gathering 3,752 votes to fellow front-runner Robart's 3,473.

Rebutting that suggestion, Williams said the board examined all registered PACs regardless of party affiliation and found the name of Davidian's PAC to be too similar to the county Republican party.

Davidian said he spoke directly with Williams and told him the PAC was not seeking to confuse anyone with its name.

Chapman also told the Beacon Journal that Davidian disagrees with Williams' approach as chair, citing instances in which Democratic incumbents have run unopposed as well as endorsements of primary challengers who are less popular than GOP incumbents.

Williams' trail of intraparty disputes includes a rocky relationship with Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, who sought to block Williams' reappointment to the Summit County elections board in 2021 over his handling of the 2020 general election amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Earlier in 2020, Chapman, at the time a candidate for Summit County executive, suspended his campaign and called on Williams to step down as the local GOP chair. Chapman took issue with the county party's $70,000 campaign contribution to Larry Householder — the former Ohio House Speaker who was sent to prison last year for his role in the House Bill 6/FirstEnergy bribery scandal — saying the funds should have supported Republican campaigns in Summit County.

Williams' complaint hits procedural bump in Columbus

On Feb. 7, Chapman wrote to the Ohio Elections Commission asking it to dismiss Williams' complaint, offer an opinion on whether or not the PAC is in violation of the statute in question and for the commission to "sanction or admonish" Williams for "his baseless and defamatory allegations and unethical and self-serving conduct in abusing his authority as a member of the board of elections."

A spokesperson for the commission, however, told the Beacon Journal on Thursday that Williams' complaint is incomplete, saying the office "never received the original notarized affidavit of complaint. The Commission cannot process a complaint until an original document has been received by our office."

In an interview and in a meeting with the elections board, Williams acknowledged it would be difficult to penalize the PAC because the law isn't retroactive and the PAC hasn't engaged in any election activities this year.

And the Summit County Board of Elections concluded Jan. 30 that the PAC had not run afoul of the law, upending the possibility of disbanding the group.

Williams said Thursday he was unaware of the commission's requirement for the notarized affidavit of complaint.

"I'll wait to hear from them and respond accordingly," Williams said. "If they need an original copy, I'll certainly give it to them."

Chapman said he has spoken with the OEC's staff attorney, who explained to him that Williams' complaint was missing the notarized affidavit. As for the PAC's countercomplaint against Williams, Chapman is confident it fulfills criteria outlined on the commission's website; he said "it was properly mailed last Friday, regular mail, and should be there anytime and does meet their requirements for a properly filed referral."Contact reporter Derek Kreider at DKreider@Gannett.com or 330-541-9413.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Summit County GOP chair Bryan Williams spars with local Republican PAC