Nelsonville Again Reinstates Council Member Due To Procedural Error
By: Destiniee Jaram
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NELSONVILLE, Ohio (WOUB) — The Nelsonville City Council retracted its decision to remove council member Gregory Smith due to a procedural error last Monday.
The council did not alert the public seven days in advance of Smith’s removal as established in the city charter.
The council plans to correct its mistake then remove Smith again.
“It’s a very unfortunate thing because what we are doing is correct,” council member Dan Sherman said. “It’s the right thing to do and again it’s just a procedural error. We hope to correct that.”
Smith was first censured for inappropriate social media posts in January that opened an investigation into Smith’s residency in Nelsonville.
A month later, Smith was suspended for not being a continuous resident — a requirement for elected officials in Nelsonville. Smith has residency in Belpre and Waterford, both in Washington County, according to evidence collected by the council.
The council then rescinded its decision in mid-May, reinstating Smith as a council member. Later in May, Smith was again removed as a member of the council.
A Facebook page, Recall Greg Smith, was created in June 2020 to remove Smith from the council in a joint effort between petitioners and some of the administrators from another Facebook page, Nelsonville Crackheads, about crime in Nelsonville.