Ross County deputy says he was fired after starting run for sheriff

CHILLICOTHE, Ohio (WCMH) — A Ross County Sheriff’s deputy received a letter of termination after he filed his intent to run for sheriff.

Former deputy Isaac Oberer said he submitted the necessary documents and signatures to the Ross County Board of Elections on March 18, the deadline to do so.

He received a letter of termination from Sheriff George Lavender two days later.

“I was getting off shift at 5 a.m. I just worked from 5 p.m. to 5 a.m., ready to go home. He came in. So, the sheriff wanted to meet with me. Basically, he said, ‘Sorry, I hate to do this to you.’ You had me take a seat. Then he cited off, one, basically stating that I was a candidate for this election coming up in 2024 and also a union contract violation that he said that I had violated,” Oberer said.

The letter states, “failure to successfully complete your probationary period, including engaging in activity prohibited of a classified civil servant by Ohio Revised Code Section 124.57.”

That section of Ohio Revised Code is titled “Prohibition against partisan political activity” and can be interpreted to mean employees and officers of the state, city, or county cannot seek elected office.

“I didn’t think that it would be any sort of concern for me,” Oberer said. “I’ve never failed to complete my job duties as outlined by the sheriff’s office. It wasn’t a performance issue on my end or anything of that nature. I hadn’t gotten in trouble previously during this tenure or anything of my employment, so I could have retired from here and I could have continued to work in my community.”

Oberer interpreted the reasoning for his firing to be due to his opposition to Lavender in the race for sheriff this fall.

“I did and I do have respect for the man, and I certainly did at that time as well,” he said. “This kind… it was unexpected. It wasn’t something that I thought that he was going to do.”

Oberer plans to continue his effort to run for Ross County Sheriff. He will be eligible for the November ballot once his signatures are certified at the next board of elections meeting.

NBC4 reached out Lavender for comment but did not hear back. NBC4 has also requested employment and disciplinary records for Oberer within the Ross County Sheriff’s Office.