The Ohio Supreme Court directed the removal of a Whitehall City Council candidate from the November ballot because she did not meet a two-year residency requirement for council candidates.
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court reversed a decision by the Franklin County Board of Elections to certify Holly Stein as a candidate for the Ward 4 council seat. The court found that Stein had not lived in the city for two years prior to the election.
Stein told WOSU on Thursday that she lived in Whitehall from 2019 to 2022, then moved to Buckeye Lake in 2023 and returned to Whitehall in 2024.
Stein argued that because she lived in Whitehall during that previous period she met the two-year residency requirement.
But in its decision the court said that Stein's candidacy did not comply with the charter's two-year requirement.
Stein said she was disappointed with the ruling. "I accept it," she said.
Lori Elmore, an at-large Whitehall city councilmember, challenged the Franklin County Board of Election's decision.
