(9-16-23) Mercer County Prosecutor Erin Minor has indicated that the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office will be discussing this with the Board of Elections in the future when the Board convenes.

The following letter was sent to area media and local officials:,

On November 29, 2021 four recall petitions were delivered and accepted by the Mercer County Board of Elections. These petitions were submitted by three filers and seven circulators with known falsehoods / false statements. The petitions are public record, available at the Mercer County Board of Elections.

The petitions in question were circulated with the following complaint language:
“disregarding the stated will of the majority of the residents of the City of Celina; sending the wrong message to the born children in Celina regarding the value of human life and the worthiness of the protection of life; putting unborn children at risk of being murdered within the city limits; and putting businesses at risk of having an abortion facility located next door to their place of business”

The petitioners, circulators, and filers, knew these items were mostly all falsehoods. For one, “Disregarding the stated will of the majority of the residents of City of Celina” is clearly a false statement. No vote was held, no tally taken, no evidence to provide that such a statement is even close to the truth.

The second point, “putting unborn children at risk of being murdered within the city limits” is also false. Murder and abortion are two different things. Additionally, no real threat of an abortion clinic coming to Celina was every provided.

Furthermore, when filing, the group knew their petitions were unlikely to be true in nature and form, further underlying their guilt of falsification:

On November 29, 2021, Mark Lee Dickson posted in the private facebook group a photo (selfie) with the petition filers with the caption, “Celina Sanctuary City”, which has since been renamed, “Protect Celina’s Children” that, “Today Recall petitions were filed on the four Celina, Ohio city council members who voted against the Sanctuary City for the Unborn Ordinance. If this process does not work as outlined in the Ohio Revised Code then that will be yet another issue which will need to be addressed in the City of Celina, Ohio”

The filing of these petitions caused harm to the taxpayers of the City of Celina and the County of Mercer. The Board of Elections spent time and money validating the signatures, updating voting records, and accepting the filing fee. The Mercer County Prosecutor and Celina Law Director spent time and money investigating the legal nature of the recall process.  

The circulators knew they were submitting a false petition before the electors who signed it, further spreading and stating their falsehoods to the electorate. They also knew the serious nature of their actions, as each one of them signed their documents that held the clear message: WHOEVER COMMITS ELECTION FALSIFICATION IS GUILTY OF A FELONY OF THE FIFTH DEGREE.  

Because the false petitions were filed with the Board of Elections, I urge the Board of Elections and County Prosecutor to investigate the multiple accounts of Election Falsification (ORC Section 3599.36) and Falsification (ORC Section 2921.13) that have occurred.

Section 3599.36, Election falsification, states: No person… in a statement made under penalty of election falsification, shall knowingly state a falsehood as to a material matter relating to an election in a proceeding before a… election official, or in a matter in relation to which an oath or statement under penalty of election falsification is authorized by law, including a statement required for verifying or filing any… other petition… filed with the secretary of state, a board of elections, or any other public office… for the purpose of submitting a question or issue to the electors at an election… Whoever violates this section is guilty of election falsification, a felony of the fifth degree.

I believe it to be clear that the circulators and filers of the four petitions in question are in violation of this section. I encourage each and every one of you to do your due diligence in researching and, if deemed necessary, prosecuting this case. 

Thank you, 

Richard Stickler