NEWTON FALLS — A dispute over a June 1 recall election for village council’s 4th Ward member now is in the hands of the Ohio Supreme Court.

Village Law Director A. Joseph Fritz, clerk Kathleen M. King and 4th Ward Councilwoman Sandra Breymaier filed a complaint with the state’s highest court against the Trumbull County Board of Elections and its four board members to stop the June 1 recall election.

In a filing with the court from James F. Lang of Calfee, Halter and Griswold, a Cleveland law firm, the three contend the 2-1 vote May 10 by village council — with Breymaier abstaining — means the motion for the election didn’t receive a majority vote of members present as required by the village charter. Mayor Kenneth Kline determined the motion was approved at the meeting.

“The motion proposing that date (of June 1) was not passed by a majority vote of members present,” the Lang filing reads.

Because of that, council hasn’t “fixed the date for holding the recall election,” he added.

It’s the same argument Fritz made to the board of elections in a letter Friday, the same day it voted 4-0 to put it on a special June 1 ballot.

Board members said residents of the village’s 4th Ward have spoken by submitting a valid petition for recall, and it’s the board’s duty to carry out elections.

The board received an opinion from William J. Danso, who serves as its legal counsel as an assistant county prosecutor. The board won’t provide a copy of the letter to the Tribune Chronicle, citing attorney-client privilege.

But at Friday’s meeting, board Chairman Mark Alberini said: “It’s nothing definitive. Arguments can be made on both sides.”

Early voting for the recall started Tuesday and is scheduled to run through May 31.

“There is no restraining order so we’re proceeding with the election as if there’s no lawsuit,” Stephanie Penrose, director of the board of elections, said.

The board received two requests for votes by mail as of Tuesday and is processing both of them, she said.

Kline wrote a letter last Thursday to Penrose stating: “The recall petition has been verified as sufficient by the village clerk, and it also was signature validated by the board of elections staff. Please take the necessary course of action to allow the voters in Newton Falls 4th Ward to vote on June 1.”

Kline said Tuesday: “It definitely is a majority. We never had an issue like this until the law director started this. It’s sad that someone wants to step on the scale. The law director works for me and council, and he’s taken the side of one person.”

Kline also called Fritz’s legal opinion on a 2-1-1 vote “ridiculous. He wants it to be this way so he makes it this way. If there was a question on the vote, why did the board of elections vote unanimously to put it on the ballot?”

There was a 2-1-1 vote at village council’s Monday meeting to name police Chief Gene Fixler as council’s sergeant-at-arms. Fritz declared the motion defeated over Kline’s objections.

“I should have asked the law director to explain his legal opinion,” Kline said Tuesday.

Some residents of the village’s 4th Ward want to recall Breymaier, saying she isn’t representing them based on her actions and comments at meetings.

The May 10 vote came after several delays at meetings because some council members either walked out before a vote or not enough attended for a quorum.

Maureen O’Connor, the court’s chief justice, granted the request of Fritz, King and Breymaier for an expedited schedule.

The board has until noon today to file an answer to the complaint. Lang has until 9 a.m. Friday to file a brief and evidence, the board has until 9 a.m. Monday to do the same, and Lang can file a reply brief no later than 9 a.m. Tuesday.

“It is ordered that no requests or stipulations for extension of time shall be filed and the clerk of court,” O’Connor wrote.