The Jerome Township Board of Trustees unanimously voted Oct. 7 to immediately terminate Fire Chief Douglas Stewart after finding two charges of misconduct against him were proven during a hearing that extended over two days.
The trustees' vote marks the end of a months-long process to discipline Stewart, who was first placed on administrative leave May 2.
Stewart's first charge, improper participation in partisan political campaign activity, stemmed from his appearances in campaign ads for former Republican Ohio House candidate Wezlynn Davis while in uniform and identified as the township's fire chief.
The second charge, unprofessional conduct and insubordination, was from a June meeting between Stewart and Township administrator Brandon Standley,
where the township accused Stewart of using profanity against Standley and throwing a proposed separation agreement at him.
After more than 10 hours of public hearings and deliberation Oct. 6 and 7, the trustees unanimously voted that both of these charges were proven. The trustees then held two separate votes on firing Stewart, one for each charge. They unanimously voted to fire him for each charge.
Before voting to fire Stewart on his improper political participation charge, township Trustee Joe Craft said firing Stewart, who he hired, was a difficult decision, but he had noticed Stewart's behavior change in recent years.
"I've observed this lapse of judgment and responsibility was not an aberration; it was part of a pattern for a chief who behaved increasingly as if he is not accountable to anyone. I saw it time and time again over the years and it saddened me because this was my guy," Craft said. "But as much as it pains me to vote to relieve him of his duties and employment with the township, I know that returning him to the fire station would not be good for the township and it would not be good for our outstanding fire department."
When a Dispatch reporter contacted Stewart via social media to ask for a comment on the hearing, Stewart said, "GOD has a plan for me and I will prevail." When asked if he would appeal the township's ruling, he said, "I will go where GOD leads me."
The two days of hearings resembled traditional court proceedings, with both the township's legal counsel, Jonathan Downes and Jacqueline Seifert of the law firm Zashin and Rich, and Stewart's counsel, Barbara Letcher of Mowery, Youell and Galeano, able to call witnesses, submit evidence and cross examine witnesses called by the opposing side.
In his closing argument, Downes rejected many of the arguments Letcher and Stewart made during the hearings, and said that Stewart knew the campaign photos were a violation of township policy, did not act to get them removed and that the proceedings did not violate Stewart's due process rights.
"Regardless of public disagreement with the investigation, it is the legal and ethical responsibility of the board of trustees to address the allegations and make a determination," Downes said at the end of his closing argument.
In Letcher's closing argument, she said Stewart's alleged misconduct was not severe enough to warrant his termination under Ohio law.
"Should Chief Stewart be removed because Wezlynn Davis used his image in her campaign materials without his consent? Should Chief Stewart be removed because he used the word 'b-------' during a meeting with administrator Standley during a time when he was relieved of his duty as fire chief? It is clear that he should not," Letcher said.
The trustees dropped a first set of charges against Stewart in July due to concerns that Township Administrator Brandon Standley serving as the investigator for the charges did not comply with Ohio law. They then appointed a second investigator, Christina Corl of law firm Plunket Cooney, to look into charges against Stewart at a rate of $250 an hour.
Battalion Chief Justin French has served as acting fire chief since Stewart's suspension in May.
Reporter Nathan Hart can be reached at NHart@dispatch.com, @NathanRHart on X and nathanhart.dispatch.com on Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Jerome Township trustees terminate Fire Chief Douglas Stewart after misconduct hearing
