Political mudslinging and disseminating negative information is nothing new on the state and national level, with TV and radio advertisements featuring candidates taking nasty shots at their opponents.

Local battles can be just as nasty, but these are fought far more discreetly. Instead of the airwaves, these battles are waged on front porches, in grocery stores, at kitchen tables and across our entire community.

Perhaps more than any other this year, the race for Lawrence County Auditor has both candidates battling rumors and forced to clarify half-truths.

Incumbent county commissioner Jason Stephens, a Republican, is facing off with current county treasurer Stephen Dale Burcham, a Democrat, to see who gets to take over the auditor post that has been filled by county GOP chairman Ray T. Dutey for more than 25 years.

Although neither candidate personally is initiating public attacks, a number of rumors and negative messages are making their way through the county.

Election Season Rumor 1 – Commissioner Jason Stephens is violating ethical guidelines by allowing at least one county agency to purchase gas from a station he and his father owns in Proctorville.

The attack centers on the fact that Stephens and his father purchased in 2005 a Citgo gas station located along State Route 7 in Proctorville. It later became an Exxon station operating under the name of Silver Star Fuel. The company is also the only wholesaler of Exxon fuel in the county and sells gas to two other Exxon stations in Chesapeake that are owned by other individuals.

The Union Rome Sewer District purchases gas from all three stations using what is termed an “in-store” account, since no employee has an actual charge card. According to invoices from the Exxon corporate account that were filed with the Lawrence County Auditor’s Office, charges totaled approximately $53,687 from January 2007 to October of this year.

The ethical implications fall in a gray area and depend on who you ask. Stephens’ detractors allege that this is an ethical violation and that the county agency is under some pressure to use these stations, allegations that Stephens vehemently denies.

“In any small town, small county, you are going to have individuals who own businesses and are also involved in the government,” he said, adding that this information is disclosed in filings with the Ohio Ethics Commission every year. “I have even asked state auditors about this. We have never had a finding for recovery (on the state audits) even once or any other issue with it.”

The Ohio Revised Code says, “No public official shall knowingly do any of the following: … occupy any position of profit in the prosecution of a public contract authorized by the public official or by a legislative body, commission, or board of which the public official was a member at the time of authorization, unless the contract was let by competitive bidding to the lowest and best bidder; Have an interest in the profits or benefits of a public contract entered into by or for the use of the political subdivision or governmental agency or instrumentality with which the public official is connected.”

Ohio law goes on to state that this does not apply when all of the following apply:

“(1) The subject of the public contract is necessary supplies or services; (2) The supplies or services are unobtainable elsewhere for the same or lower cost, or are being furnished to the political subdivision or governmental agency or instrumentality as part of a continuing course of dealing established prior to the public official’s becoming associated with the political subdivision or governmental agency or instrumentality involved; (3) The treatment accorded the political subdivision or governmental agency or instrumentality is either preferential to or the same as that accorded other customers or clients in similar transactions; (4) The entire transaction is conducted at arm’s length, with full knowledge by the political subdivision or governmental agency or instrumentality involved, of the interest of the public official, member of the public official’s family, or business associate, and the public official takes no part in the deliberations or decision of the political subdivision or governmental agency or instrumentality with respect to the public contract.”

Stephens said the sewer district has purchased gas from these stations out of convenience and necessity — the grade of diesel used at one time was only offered there without significant travel — for years and long before his family ever purchased the station. Documents filed at the auditor’s office and information provided by URSD administrator Gary Criswell confirm Stephens’ explanation.

“I think they have used this provider forever,” said deputy auditor Chris Kline, referring to the creation of the sewer district in the 1980s. “They have used them as far back as I can remember.”

Although the name of the actual provider has changed a few times through the years, auditor’s office documents show that the Union Rome district was using these gas stations in 2004, which is as far back as the current computer system goes and is approximately two years prior to Stephens’ purchase of the Proctorville station.

Criswell, who has been a system administrator with the URSD for almost 22 years, said that the county has never done anything to direct the agency to use one station or another, adding that it uses Exxon, Marathon and Speedway stations as needed.

“We don’t drive out of the way use one station or the other,” he said, adding that the station they use is all about the need and what station is closest at the time. Although he didn’t have exact figures, Criswell estimated that 70 percent of the Exxon purchases come from the Chesapeake Exxon stations and the other 30 from the Silver Star Fuel station.

The district uses standard diesel for most of its trucks and off-road diesel for its large electricity generators that have storage tanks that can hold up to 7,000 gallons. Not all the local stations offer both grades, Criswell said. “Off-road diesel” is cheaper for taxpayers since it is exempt from highway taxes.

When asked if there was any mandate or pressure that would dictate where the district purchases gas, Criswell was very clear.

“Absolutely not. Tim (Porter) and I are the administrators,” he said. “I have never been given any directive. It is a matter of convenience, the same price and service.”

Criswell, who is a registered Democrat, said he questions where this information is coming from and the motivations for anyone who would be trying to make the issue into something it is not.

“Right is right. Wrong is wrong,” he said. “I don’t like disinformation. People need to make decisions based on the truth.”

When asked directly about these rumors, Burcham said he sees this as a clear conflict of interest that never should have been allowed to happen.

“I think that, based on the information that I have seen, it is an apparent ethical violation that should have been cleared with an opinion by the prosecutor’s office and the facts and circumstances presented to the Ohio Ethics Commission, to which they would have received a written response,” Burcham said. “I’m not the judge or jury but I believe it is a clear violation of ethics standards.”

The Ohio Ethics Commission has been notified of this situation, Burcham said.

Julie Korte, senior investigative attorney with the ethics commission, said the agency cannot confirm or deny an allegation or investigation.

Any time a complaint is filed the first step is to look at all the facts and determine if it something that even falls in their jurisdiction and if it merits investigation, she said.

After that, the timeline varies greatly depending on the complexity of the case as well as the severity of the allegations Currently, five investigators at the agency are working 130 open investigations.

Once an investigation is complete, the next step depends on the results. A variety of options range from a written reprimand to a settlement agreement to referral to the county prosecutor’s office, Korte said.

For his part, Stephens remains adamant that the transactions with the gas station are very minimal and are in no way an ethical violation. He called this nothing more than an election-year attack fueled by politics.

“Rumors are started and innuendo is (made). I believe in looking at the facts,” he said. “In my case, there has not been one finding or one issue, other than a week before the election. People can judge for themselves.”

Election Season Rumor 2 – County treasurer Stephen Dale Burcham violated ethical guidelines by allowing his son-in-law to bid on property during a 2008 tax sale.

Like most of the campaign information making the rounds through the county, this one is grounded in truth but whether or not this is an ethical violation is open to interpretation.

Burcham said his son-in-law purchased seven parcels but that the purchases would not be considered an ethical violation, something the treasurer says he researched prior to the sale just in case someone questioned it later.

“Since it is a public auction, anyone is free to bid on this property. There were probably 30 bidders at that auction,” he said. “Since this was a public auction, it was at arm’s length.”

Burcham said the idea that he could influence the sale — conducted by Kevin Waldo from the prosecutor’s office — or provide any inside information simply doesn’t hold up

“The treasurer’s office doesn’t research the properties. We are not title experts. The same information available to (my son-in-law) was available to anyone else,” Burcham said. “The treasurers office doesn’t have a lot of information about these individual properties. We have the name, address, amount of taxes and assessments and penalties.”

When asked directly whether or not he feels this would be a conflict of interest, Stephens said he preferred to maintain a positive message in campaigning and focus on actual results.

“I think my opponent’s record speaks for itself,” Stephens said. “People are smart enough. They can figure it out for themselves.”

Election Season Rumor 3 – Commissioner Jason Stephens is misleading the public when he says he is a certified financial planner or uses the initials CFP after his name.

This is another one that is widely circulated by his opponent’s supporters or Stephens’ detractors.

According to the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc., Stephens is certified but not listed as a practitioner. The distinction has to do with whether an individual charges for services as a certified CPA or charges commission as a practitioner.

“‘CERTIFIED’ indicates the planner is currently in good standing and is certified by CFP Board to use the certification trademarks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™” according to the board of standards’ website.

Stephens said these rumors are meant to do nothing more than mislead the public before the election, keeping their focus of the facts that he believes shows he is the better candidate.

Election Season Rumor 4 – Stephen Dale Burcham turned a blind eye while an employee in his office stole more than $25,000 in taxpayer’s money.

Burcham doesn’t shy away from this issue and says this problem arose from how the office was operated for years. When he took office all four employees used one, shared cash drawer and the accounting software used was more than 20 years old and simply didn’t have adequate checks and balances in place, Burcham said.

Once the theft was detected — at that time projected to be a few hundred dollars — the employee was terminated, Burcham said. Only later did his continued investigation determine the extent of theft, he said.

The employee eventually pleaded guilty to criminal charges.

“Yes it happened under my watch. I think it was happening before I got there,” he said. “The things that I put in place are what caught it. In no way, shape or form do I turn a blind eye to someone defrauding the government.”

Voters will have to decide whether or not any of these rumors — and the facts that go with them — has any bearing on who is the best man for the job.