The Jerome Township Board of Trustees abandoned a misconduct charge against township fire Chief Douglas Stewart that stemmed from a letter he sent to Amazon Web Services in 2025 outlining safety issues at the company's data centers.
The charge against Stewart was not included in a new statement of charges that was read into the record at the trustees' regular meeting Sept. 15. The township also dropped a charge that he had improperly participated in partisan political activities by being part of a Union County Republican Party Central Committee.
Instead, the township charged Stewart with improper participation in partisan political campaign activity and unprofessional conduct and insubordination.
The two new charges come less than two months after
the township trustees voted to dismiss a first set of charges against Stewartover concerns the township did not follow Ohio law when it appointed Township Administrator Brandon Standley as its first investigator.
The charges read into the record Sept. 15 were prepared by attorney Christina Corl of law firm Plunket Cooney, the independent investigator the township hired to investigate Stewart.
The first public hearing into the charges against Stewart will be at 8 a.m. Oct. 6 in the Jerome Township Hall, 9777 Industrial Parkway, Plain City. If necessary, the hearing could continue at 1:15 p.m. on Oct. 9, Trustee Andrea Watson said at the Sept. 15 meeting.
Stewart declined to comment on this story.
What charges against Stewart were dropped in the second investigation?
Corl found two charges from the first investigation to be unsubstantiated: improper participation in partisan political party governance and unauthorized use of official position, township resources, and official authority in communications with Amazon Web Services.
The township previously alleged that Stewart being elected to and serving on the Union County Republican Party Central Committee violated township and fire department policies. Corl found that Stewart never participated in the committee in his official capacity, did not attend meetings or events in uniform, did not campaign for candidates and was not a member of the party's executive committee. Stewart said his involvement with the committee was to plan dinners, participate in discussions and to vote to elect members to the committee.
The township also previously alleged that Stewart violated township and fire department policies by sending a July 2025 letter to Amazon Web Services outlining safety issues at the AWS facility. Corl found there is no township or fire department policy that required Stewart to get the township's approval to send the letter, and the "tone and substance" of the letter was directed at safety concerns, which Stewart is responsible for as fire chief. The letter also was not a statement of township policy, according to the investigation report.
Corl also noted the township did not discipline Stewart for sending the letter during his annual performance review.
What are the new charges against Douglas Stewart?
The new charges − improper participation in partisan political campaign activity and unprofessional conduct and insubordination − are similar to two charges included in the first round of proceedings against Stewart.
The township alleges Stewart violated township and fire department policies by endorsing and appearing in campaign photos and materials for former Republican Ohio House candidate Wezlynn Davis. Corl found multiple campaign ads that "clearly depict" Stewart in his fire chief uniform, on Jerome Township property and in front of Jerome Township fire equipment. He is also identified as "Fire Chief" or "Chief Stewart" in the ads, according to the investigation report.
Additionally, the campaign materials assert that Stewart endorsed Davis, according to the report.
Stewart did not deny appearing in the photos when interviewed by Corl, but he and Davis said the photos were taken to demonstrate to township trustee Joseph Craft that Stewart and Davis – then a Jerome Township Trustee – had mended their relationship after they had a disagreement about purchasing a ladder truck for the fire department, according to the report. Joe Craft ordered Stewart to reconcile with Davis, Stewart told Corl.
However, Corl found no evidence to support Stewart and Davis' claims in text messages sent between the two when the photos were taken. When Stewart found out that the photos were being used in campaign materials, he reached out to Davis to let her know using them "could be a problem," according to Stewart's interview with Corl detailed in the investigation report. He never requested that Davis stop using the photos in her campaign materials, according to the report.
The township is also accusing Stewart of unprofessional conduct and insubordination that occurred during a June meeting with Standley. Corl found that Stewart used profanity against Standley when he presented Stewart with a separation agreement and offered him the chance to resign. Standley also alleged Stewart threw the separation agreement at him, while Stewart said he just pushed it back across the table toward him, according to the report.
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 abandons charge against fire chief for data center letter
