Franklin County Republican Party Executive Director Nathan Burd said the party is investigating a complaint that questions the eligibility of Stephanie Kunze, the top vote-getter in the May 5 Hilliard City Council GOP primary.

The complaint centers on Kunze's status as a classified employee with the Hilliard City School District.

Kunze, a secretary at Norwich Elementary School, told ThisWeek that she is a classified employee of the school district and that she was not aware of any issue that would have prevented her from running for city council in Hilliard's partisan primary election.

"I was diligent in looking into this issue before I decided to run for council," Kunze said. "I was advised there did not seem to be a conflict and believe that to still be the case. I am researching it again to be sure. I am looking forward to the opportunity to serve the citizens of Hilliard."

Burd said the Franklin County Republican Party had received a complaint after the May 5 primary but did not say who initiated the complaint.

"We were made aware of that late last week," Burd said. "We have got a couple of different people looking into that right now to determine exactly what the situation is. We talked to Stephanie about it for the first time late on Friday and I believe one of our chairmen followed up with her today (Monday).

"We are currently getting information on what the statute says and what her employment situation is. We are aware of it but we're not in a position to make any further definitive statement on it at this time as we're still gathering info on it."

Section 123:1-46 of the Ohio Administrative Code states that classified public employees are prohibited from "candidacy for public office in a partisan election" and "candidacy for public office in a non-partisan general election."

If her candidacy is validated, Kunze would be one of four Republican candidates advancing to the November general election against Democratic challenger Meagen Pandey. Four candidates will be elected to office.

A spokesperson for the Ohio Secretary of State's office referred questions on the issue to the Franklin County Board of Elections. Board of Elections spokesman Ben Piscatelli said local officials had not encountered the situation before and referred questions to the Ohio Attorney General's office.

Ted Hart, a spokesman for Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray, declined to comment on the case and said it should be handled by the prosecuting authority for the appropriate jurisdiction.

Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien said state law clearly prohibits classified civil servants from involvement in partisan elections.

"That is in the general Civil Service code of the state law," O'Brien said. "Many cities will duplicate the state law, the thought being that classified civil servants are supposed to be above or beyond partisan political electioneering."

O'Brien pointed to former Franklin County Commissioner Dewey Stokes as an example.

"People become aware of the statutory prohibition and therefore it deters them from engaging in electoral conduct rather than finding out after the fact," O'Brien said. "Dewey Stokes, when he was a Columbus policeman, considered running for sheriff. As a classified city employee, he couldn't run for sheriff. He was a member of the police department so he either would have had to retire or take a leave of absence. It deters people from becoming a political candidate because you can't do it if you are a classified civil servant."

However, O'Brien said jurisdiction over this case falls back to the city of Hilliard.

Hilliard Law Director Pam Fox was not available for comment Tuesday afternoon.

Kunze, a political newcomer, was the surprise winner in the Hilliard City Council Republican primary,

Kunze led all candidates with 828 votes followed by council president Brett Sciotto (758), Jim Ashenhurst (740), council member Kelly McGivern (707), Heather Keck (653) and Doug Jackson (369).

The top four Republican candidates advance to November's general election, where they will face Democratic challenger Meagen Pandey.

Kunze, a 38-year-old mother of two, is involved in her first political campaign. During her primary campaign, she said she would bring a family-oriented perspective to city government.

jdonahue@thisweeknews.com