SCIOTO TOWNSHIP, Ohio — A heated political dispute in Scioto Township has cooled—at least for now—after trustee-elect Cory Wasmus voluntarily dismissed his lawsuit seeking the removal of sitting Trustee Ralph Wolfe.
Wasmus, who won one of two open trustee seats in November’s election alongside Wolfe, had filed a complaint in Pickaway County Common Pleas Court alleging Wolfe engaged in more than a year of misconduct. But in a filing dated Dec. 2, Wasmus abruptly ended the case.
The dismissal came shortly after Wolfe’s legal counsel argued the lawsuit was legally flawed and improperly filed. In court documents, Wolfe’s attorney called the case “a frivolous attempt at removing Wolfe as Trustee,” noting that Ohio law requires specific statutory procedures to remove an elected official—procedures the attorney said were not followed.
“Wasmus has commenced this action in an attempt to remove Ralph Wolfe…due to his personal grievances with Wolfe,” the response stated, adding that the complaint “serves only to harass Wolfe and is not warranted under existing law.”
The two men were rivals in this fall’s contentious Scioto Township Trustee race, with Wolfe finishing first and Wasmus second. Much of Wasmus’ complaint stemmed from allegations of harassment during the campaign.
The now-dismissed complaint also sought to link Wolfe to a separate civil case Wasmus filed against a neighbor, Wendy Sizemore, whom he also accuses of harassment. That case remains ongoing, though Sizemore’s attorneys have sought to dismiss portions of Wasmus’ filings as well.
Wasmus has represented himself in both cases. Attorneys in each dispute have described elements of his filings as frivolous or procedurally improper.
For now, both Wolfe and Wasmus are set to take their seats on the Scioto Township Board of Trustees in January—at the same table Wasmus was initially seeking to remove Wolfe from.
