The victorious opponent of appointed Struthers Municipal Court Judge Jennifer Ciccone isn’t the only person who should be frustrated by Ciccone’s legal objection — filed and then withdrawn — to the outcome of last month’s general election.

Every voter who resides in the Struthers Municipal Court district, along with every taxpayer in Mahoning County, should be infuriated.

Shortly after the Nov. 8 election was certified giving challenger James Melone a decisive 10.28% victory, Ciccone’s attorney filed court action in the 7th District Court of Appeals disputing the election’s validity, and alleging “improper, irregular and illegal conduct.”

The allegations were made by attorney Michael P. Ciccone on behalf of 28 voters who supported the judge.

James Melone, a county common pleas court magistrate, won the election with 7,390 votes, compared with 6,012 for Ciccone.

Days later, as judges and the prosecutor recused themselves, and attorneys sought answers to the vague allegations, Michael Ciccone suddenly and without explanation dropped the case.

After Michael Ciccone launched the allegations, both Democrat Mahoning Board of Election member David Betras and Republican Mahoning Board of Elections Director Tom McCabe expressed outrage at the allegations of improprieties in the handling of ballots, noting that the vague complaint contained no concrete evidence to prove any of the charges.

McCabe said, “This does a great disservice to the whole process.”

Betras, a lawyer, said of the attorney who filed the complaint: “Lawyers should watch when they make spurious claims. He’s lying to the court. He should know what happens to other lawyers who make false claims.”

In a swift and controversial process, Ciccone had been appointed by Gov. Mike DeWine to fill a vacant municipal court seat just weeks before the election, making her the technical incumbent and possibly giving her a leg up on her opponent.

Jennifer Ciccone, who McCabe said called him the day after the election claiming it “was rigged,” also sought hundreds of pages of election documents from the Mahoning Board of Elections. When asked for comment by our politics reporter after the case was filed and dropped, Ciccone denied any connection to the lawsuit and said she had not questioned the election’s outcome.

Now Betras says he’ll seek punitive action against the attorney who had filed the case.

“He filed it, and now he has to eat it,” said Betas. “You don’t get to call me a felon and walk away. No, no, nope, no. My lawyer is going to file a complaint for our legal fees. Whatever our remedies are against him and her and the people who filed this, I’m going to sue them for legal fees.”

He also did not rule out filing a complaint to seek disciplinary action against the two from the Ohio Supreme Court, saying he’s “not putting up with it.”

Given the circumstances, we are not surprised by Betras’ anger.

Sadly, these kinds of allegations seem to be becoming more and more commonplace in America.

While we fully respect the right by every candidate to request a recount to feel confident with the reported results, we do not respect arguments and allegations made by candidates and especially in court filings, without evidence of such improprieties.

We are disheartened and frustrated by these types of action.

These types of allegations without evidence are a waste of time for the boards of elections and the court, and a waste of time for the taxpayers who foot the bill. Further, they stand to shake the credibility of the entire election system on which our democracy has been built.

What happened to the days when candidates who were defeated handled the outcome with poise and grace?

Every election results in winners and losers. If candidates are not willing or able to accept the results, then they should stay out of the race.

editorial@vindy.com