OH Dem Candidate Accused Of Dumping Raw Sewage In Ohio River
Mood:  d'oh
Topic: Lib Loser Stories

Republicans question Wilson's past

The congressional candidate was recorded expressing concern over this issue.
By David Skolnick

The National Republican Congressional Committee is wasting no time targeting Charles A. Wilson Jr. (right), a Democratic write-in candidate for the 6th Congressional District, one of the few open U.S. House seats in the country.

Wilson's "questionable past" includes his concerns about how the dumping of raw sewage into the Ohio River more than a decade ago would impact his political career, said Ed Patru, an NRCC spokesman.

Wilson, of St. Clairsville, a state senator, is running as a Democratic write-in candidate for the 6th Congressional District after failing to get the required 50 valid signatures from registered voters on his nominating petitions to be on the May Democratic primary ballot.

There are two Democrats whose names will appear on the ballot. But Wilson is expected to spend whatever amount of money it takes to win the primary and has the support of the Ohio Democratic Party.

The nominating petition debacle is no surprise when you consider Wilson's past, Patru said.

"He has a record that sends shivers down the spine of environmentalists and parents," he said.

Specifically, Patru points to Wilson's tenure on the Eastern Ohio Regional Wastewater Authority in his home county of Belmont from 1985 to 1996.

Wilson and others acknowledge that the authority dumped raw sewage into the Ohio River during that time. Until 1964, the county didn't treat its sewage.

What was disputed
Wilson said the dumping occurred during heavy rainfalls. But David Charvat, the authority's superintendent from July 1994 to September 1995, disagrees.

Fired in September 1995, Charvat successfully sued the authority, saying he was wrongfully terminated because he discovered the raw sewage problems and other violations, and his concerns fell on deaf ears when he informed the board.

In court documents, Charvat says he discovered that an authority employee cross-connected the sewer plant system with the public water supply, leading to the raw sewage problem. Also, Charvat said in court documents that after Wilson and the rest of the board was informed, the agency didn't report the violation to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.

The board contended Charvat was fired over poor job performance. Wilson, who headed the board at the time, abstained from the vote to fire Charvat but couldn't remember why he did so. Court records state Wilson didn't vote because he testified at a hearing to terminate Charvat.

An Ohio Environmental Protection Agency investigation showed that the plant illegally dumped sewage into the river in the early to mid-1990s, according to a Jan. 23, 1996, article in the Dayton Daily News.

A federal administrative law judge ruled in Charvat's favor in July 1998, and the U.S. 6th District Court of Appeals sided with Charvat in a separate matter in April 2001 that his termination was in retaliation for his exercising his free-speech rights. Later in 2001, Charvat and the authority agreed to an out-of-court settlement on both cases. The settlement forbids either side to discuss its provisions.

Charvat, a self-employed engineer in Wheeling, W.Va., recently declined to comment on anything regarding the authority saying the court records "speak for themselves."

What's in decision
The 1998 decision ordered the board to reinstate Charvat as superintendent, pay him $175,020 in back pay with interest, $5,000 for emotional distress and loss of reputation, $10,000 in exemplary damages as well as attorney fees. Though the settlement details aren't known, Charvat never worked for the authority again.

Charvat's efforts resulted in a greater reporting of permit violations, court records show.

"Wilson called Charvat and expressed his anger that Charvat's actions had resulted in the reopening of the OEPA investigation," the court of appeals decision reads.

In June 1995, Charvat wrote a letter to Wilson listing a number of concerns about various violations of state laws and requested an investigation. A month later the board denied Charvat's request.

Charvat recorded a conversation he had with Wilson at the time without Wilson's knowledge. Wilson's statement from that conversation is in the administrative law judge's decision and a copy of it used in a radio commercial by a political opponent of Wilson in 1996 was provided to The Vindicator.

On the tape, Wilson, who used a vulgar term twice, says, "This has Pandora's box written all over it. ... I'm gonna take a fall because of this. ... I can't have my future on the line over the sewer authority. I can't do that. I won't do it that way."

When recently asked about the statement, Wilson didn't remember saying it.

Wilson said the tape-recorded statement has been used against him every time he's run for office. He ran and won Ohio House races in 1996, 1998, 2000 and 2002, and was elected to the Ohio Senate in 2004.

Wilson's comments
In court proceedings, Charvat contends Wilson was concerned the violations would hurt his aspiring political career. Charvat also wrote in an affidavit that Wilson "emphatically stated that this issue couldn't be made public because his enemies would use it to hurt him politically," according to the Dayton Daily News.

"It didn't impact my political career," Wilson told The Vindicator.

When asked if he was concerned at the time that the sewage issue could impact his political career, Wilson refused to answer.

Wilson said he was surprised that the authority issue is being used against him so early in the campaign.

"It's always been a month before the election," he said.

Patru said the other campaigns using this issue against Wilson were ineffective because they were "Kmart blue-light special, low-budget efforts. National Republicans will drive this message home so [Wilson's] embarrassed to show his face in public. The facts are very difficult to ignore. Politicians who poison public waters and try to cover it up will be held responsible."

Republicans view the 12-county 6th Congressional District that includes all of Columbiana County and a portion of Mahoning County as its best opportunity to win an open U.S. House seat.

David Thomas, the authority's executive director who served as office manager under Charvat, said Wilson was a proactive board member who helped initiate the $6 million worth of improvements made to the facility between 1995 and 2000.

Thomas has worked for the authority for 23 years, and his father, Michael, served as a board trustee with Wilson.

Related:
Youngstown Ohio Vindicator ~ David Skolnick and Jeff Ortega ** Wilson petitions not valid
This Blog ** Demented-crats Furious: Candidate Screwed Up Petitions

Youngstown Ohio Vindicator ~ David Skolnick ** Republicans question Wilson's past