Aug 7, 2015 3 min read

The Republican executive committee in Washington County overlooked a former district attorney as a candidate for a vacant seat on Ringgold School Board and will leave the November ballot slot for the office empty.

Ringgold committee members in July nominated a Democrat for the ballot, ignoring former Washington County district attorney Steven Toprani, a Republican who was appointed to fill the board seat through December, said Scott Day, chairman of the party’s executive committee.

“Was I happy that a Democrat was nominated? No,” Day said Friday, a day after his committee followed the advice of the party’s solicitor and decided to leave the ballot spot blank.

“We’ll leave it up to write-ins,” Day said, while declining to comment on the legal advice that prompted the decision.

“I think this is just outrageous,” said Ringgold School Board President Mariann Bulko, a Republican.

Bulko said she joined other Ringgold Republicans in gathering nearly 100 signatures in support of placing Toprani on the ballot to give to party leaders and the Washington County Elections Office.

“It’s bizarre,” said Larry Spahr, director of the elections office.

The seat became vacant in early June following the resignation of Christopher Carroll. Toprani was appointed a week later to fill the at-large seat through the end of this year.

Spahr said the party has a right to decide on a Democrat in such elections. He said he received the Ringgold petition supporting Toprani Friday.

Toprani, who didn’t seek re-election as district attorney four years ago, said he was unsure about why he was not selected to appear on the ballot.

“I stated publicly that I wanted to run,” Toprani said. “I enjoy serving. I’m just hoping the Republicans have a candidate on the ballot in the fall.”

Day said 11 Ringgold Republicans who are eligible to vote for the nomination decided on Jim Dodd at a meeting July 25. Dodd, a registered Democrat who won the Republican nomination for another Ringgold school board seat earlier this year, was the only candidate interested in the nomination who attended that meeting, Day said. He said the party’s bylaws require 30 percent of the eligible voters attend such nominating meetings, and 11 people met that requirement. The vote for Dodd, of Monongahela, was unanimous.

There is no Democrat on the ballot for the seat currently held by Toprani, Spahr said. Democrats have until September to select a candidate.

Bulko said she and other Ringgold Republicans, including Toprani, were not permitted inside the executive committee meeting, even though they stood outside in the hall for 2 1/2 hours before speaking to Day.

“We all went ballistic,” said Bulko, who claimed some eligible voters were not aware of the July 25 nomination meeting.

Day declined to say why those party members were not permitted inside the Thursday meeting.

“It’s a lot of drama,” he said. “There are two sides to every story.”