SANDUSKY — Today marks the last day of public service for a man who has been a leader of the Democratic Party in Erie County for more than 30 years.
Tom Ferrell is stepping down from the county elections board, effective today. Ferrell submitted his resignation to county officials Sept. 16. He gave no reason for his decision.
Ferrell engineered a partisan investigation of the elections board director a couple of years ago. His allegations were disproved and he never offered a full explanation for why he targeted the director.
Ferrell was a Perkins Township trustee before he became an Erie County commissioner. During his tenure as commissioner, Ferrell drove county debt up to record levels. Democratic Party chair Amy Grubbe, who was forced off the elections board years ago after the Ohio Secretary of State determined she was a detriment to board operations, engineered getting Ferrell appointed to the board.
The board is made up of two Democrats and two Republicans. It will be up the county Democratic Party to select Ferrell’s replacement.