After a hotly contested race for Mahoning County Sheriff this past election, an Ohio lawmaker has introduced legislation that would clarify the amount of college needed to become a Sheriff's candidate in the State of Ohio.
Currently there are two ways to qualify; one deals with having supervisory experience, the other requires a candidate to have two years of post secondary education. State Representative Ron Gerberry's bill would change that qualification to include an associate degree. "So it's an upgrade. It's not saying that you have two years of equivalency. You have to have an associate degree as one of those qualifications if you don't have the supervisory, under a certain section of that qualification act," says Rep. Ron Gerberry (D) Ohio.
Gerberry feels the update is necessary because of the controversy that surrounded the Mahoning County Sheriff's race and candidate David Aey last November.
As you will recall, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled David Aey did not meet the educational requirements to run as Sheriff, saying he didn't have enough college credits. Court documents showed 16 of his hours were from peace officer training, but under election guidelines, those hours didn't count.
