Pictured is the booking photo of David Uible, former Clermont County Commissioner and current candidate for Ohio Senate District 14. The photo was taken as part of guilty plea Uible entered to a previous crime, a misdemeanor count of tampering with records, on Oct. 25, 2019. Uible has been charged April 14, 2020 with two misdemeanor counts of falsification and obstructing official business.

Sheriff’s Office said he lied to a detective about GOP mailer

By Brett Milam
Editor

David Uible, a candidate for Ohio Senate District 14, once again appears to have put himself in the crosshairs of the law.

Uible, 59, was charged with one count of falsification, and obstructing official business, both misdemeanors, for allegedly making false statements to a detective with the Clermont County Sheriff’s Office.

The charges were filed on April 14, and come on the heels of a police report filed by Greg Simpson the week prior on April 7.

Simpson is the Clermont County Republican Chairman.

In Simpson’s report, he alleged that an unknown person printed and mailed campaign material to residents in Clermont County, which included the language, “paid for by the Clermont County Republican Party, Greg Simpson, Chairman.”

Simpson said he did not authorize the mailers and the Republican Party did not pay for the mailers.

On April 9, the detective with the Sheriff’s Office spoke to Uible and asked him if he had any knowledge of the mailers, to which Uible denied any knowledge or responsibility, according to court documents filed with Clermont County Municipal Court

The next day, the detective obtained evidence and statements from employees of Minuteman Press in Anderson Township that showed Uible was the responsible party for the mailer, and even instructed the company to destroy any evidence of the mailer at their shop.

When the detective contacted Uible again, Uible again denied any knowledge or responsibility for the mailer.

Simpson was also provided all relevant information needed to file a complaint with the Ohio Elections Commission related to the unauthorized use of the Republican Party’s name and information, according to a press release from the Sheriff’s Office.

A date will be set for Uible to appear in Clermont Municipal Court once the warrants for the two above charges are served to Uible.

Only four months ago, on Dec. 9, 2019, Uible was sentenced to community probation by Clermont County Judge Richard Ferenc after pleading guilty Oct. 25, 2019 to a misdemeanor count of tampering with records.

That issue stemmed from early 2018 when Uible, then-county commissioner and head of the county Republican party, sought a reelection effort in the May 8, 2018 Republican primary.

Despite the guilty plea and sentencing, Uible forged ahead with a Republican primary challenge to Terry Johnson, who was appointed to the Ohio Senate 14 District seat in October 2019. The District includes Clermont, Adams, Brown, and Scioto Counties, and a part of Lawrence County.

The Republican Primary race is scheduled to wrap up on April 28 after the coronavirus pushed the March 17 Primary Election back.

Deadline to request an absentee ballot must be received no later than 12 p.m. on April 25. Mail-in ballots need to be postmarked by April 27 to be counted.

The Sun reached out to Uible for comment, and as of print deadline, did not hear back. If we do, we will update the story with his remarks.

Editor’s Note: In the online version of this story, The Sun originally said, “Simpson has also filed a complaint with the Ohio Ethics Commission related to the unauthorized use of the Republican Party’s name and information, according to a press release from the Sheriff’s Office.”

That is incorrect. Simpson was given the relevant information needed to file a complaint with the Ohio Elections Commission related to the unauthorized use of the Republican Party’s name and information.

We apologize for the error.