Timeline

Events at the closed City swimming pool

A later appellate decision recounts allegations in Greg Smith’s removal order concerning an after-hours visit to the Nelsonville City Swimming Pool. The order alleged obscene and sexual conduct, an impaired City employee driving, forcible entry into the pool, and solicitation of sexual conduct.

Source: Greg Smith v. City of Nelsonville, Fourth District Court of Appeals, Case No. CA-1296.

Mayor dismisses Gregory Smith as police chief

Mayor Ralph Davis dismissed Smith after the investigation concerning 1984 events at the closed municipal swimming pool. The Civil Service Commission later sustained the removal.

Sources: 1987 Fourth District appellate decision and contemporary newspaper reporting.

Newspapers report suspensions of three other City employees

Period clippings report disciplinary suspensions for a dispatcher, police officer, and firefighter after the municipal-pool investigation. The original dates of the two supplied articles are not fully legible.

Source: supplied newspaper clippings, “3 Nelsonville employees are suspended” and “3 to get disciplinary action.”

Fourth District sustains the police-chief removal

The Fourth District Court of Appeals considered Smith’s procedural and due-process challenges after prior decisions had sustained his dismissal.

Source: Greg Smith v. City of Nelsonville, Case No. CA-1296, decided April 30, 1987.

Ohio Supreme Court declines further review of Smith’s dismissal

An October 29 Messenger article reports that the Ohio Supreme Court declined Smith’s appeal, leaving the lower-court judgment undisturbed. The report describes a refusal to review the case, not a new factual finding.

Source: The Messenger, Athens, October 29, 1987, page 17 (supplied newspaper image).

Special audit period

The Auditor of State’s special audit covers City activity from January 1, 2012 through February 5, 2020 and includes a fraud-examination report, findings for recovery, and management recommendations.

Source: City of Nelsonville Special Audit Report.

Council censures Gregory Smith and opens residency investigation

Council adopted Resolution 2239 censuring Smith for alleged conduct; Smith voted no. Dan Sherman then moved to investigate whether Smith met the charter's continuous-residency requirement. That motion passed, with Smith voting no.

Source: Nelsonville City Council January 26, 2021 meeting minutes; selected complete meeting-text PDF.

Sherman serves Smith with an administrative-hearing summons

Meeting minutes record Dan Sherman serving Smith with a summons for a February 19 administrative hearing.

Source: Nelsonville City Council February 8, 2021 meeting minutes; selected complete meeting-text PDF.

Council votes 6–0 for a residency-based removal decision

Cory Taylor moved and Dan Sherman seconded adoption of a Council finding that Smith failed to maintain continuous residency. The 6–0 decision described removal from Council as subject to Athens County Board of Elections review and suspension pending that review.

Source: Nelsonville City Council February 22, 2021 meeting minutes; selected complete meeting-text PDF.

Council appoints prosecutor representation in Smith matter

Council voted unanimously to appoint the Athens County Prosecutor or designee to represent the City in the matter involving Smith under Charter Section 11.08(F).

Source: Nelsonville City Council March 8, 2021 meeting minutes; selected complete meeting-text PDF.

Resolution 2243 appoints special prosecutors for Smith proceedings

Council adopted Resolution 2243 appointing attorneys of Reminger Co., L.P.A., as special prosecutors in the pending removal proceedings. Dan Sherman seconded the adoption motion.

Source: Nelsonville City Council May 24, 2021 meeting minutes; selected complete meeting-text PDF.

Smith residency hearing concludes with another removal vote

Dan Sherman acted as the sworn charging official and presented evidence. Smith, represented by Daniel Klos, contested the evidence and the hearing procedure. Ms. Jones moved to remove Smith, Sherman seconded, and the minutes record all voting Council members in favor.

Source: Nelsonville City Council June 2, 2021 meeting minutes; selected complete meeting-text PDF.

Smith still participates in recorded Council business

Despite the earlier removal votes, regular-meeting minutes record Smith moving to support the City Manager's course of action on a sewer project. This documents participation but does not establish why or how his office status remained contested.

Source: Nelsonville City Council August 9, 2021 meeting minutes; selected complete meeting-text PDF.

Council renews Reminger appointment with Resolution 2246

Dan Sherman introduced and moved adoption of Resolution 2246 concerning special prosecutors for Smith's pending proceedings and any future review. The minutes record unanimous approval among those present; Smith and Taylor were absent.

Source: Nelsonville City Council August 23, 2021 meeting minutes; selected complete meeting-text PDF.

Another contested hearing produces a vote to remove Smith

Cory Ward Taylor served as charging official, and Smith's counsel challenged the evidence and procedure. Dan Sherman moved to remove Smith for lack of continuous residency, Booth seconded, and the minutes report all voting Council members in favor.

Source: Nelsonville City Council September 2, 2021 meeting minutes; selected complete meeting-text PDF.

Council adopts Resolution 2247 explicitly removing Smith

Cory Taylor moved adoption and Dan Sherman seconded Resolution 2247, titled 'A Resolution Removing Gregory Smith From the City of Nelsonville City Council.' The minutes record unanimous approval among voting Council members present; Ms. Jones was absent.

Source: Nelsonville City Council September 8, 2021 meeting minutes; selected complete meeting-text PDF.

Council seeks removal of Smith's name from November ballot

Council unanimously approved a motion to contact the Athens County Board of Elections about removing Smith's name from the November ballot. These minutes do not document the Board's ultimate action.

Source: Nelsonville City Council September 13, 2021 meeting minutes; selected complete meeting-text PDF.

Resolution 2258 addresses still-pending Smith removal proceedings

Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2258 appointing special prosecutors for pending removal proceedings and any future review. The minutes also record notice being read for a public hearing on January 12, 2022.

Source: Nelsonville City Council December 27, 2021 meeting minutes; selected complete meeting-text PDF.

Hocking College investigation and Lowry resignation

The college report finds policy violations involving communications and conduct, disputes an alleged student sexual relationship, and recommends rehire ineligibility. It records a December 14 resignation.

Greg Smith settlement documentation

The assembled records show a $137,500 settlement structure: $70,000 paid by the City toward legal fees and $67,500 paid by the City’s releasees to Greg Smith. The agreement includes dismissal and future-office provisions that should be read in full.

Source: Settlement, Waiver, and Release Agreement and related payment records.

Community letter urges church leadership to act

A letter criticizes Lowry’s conduct as described in college records and requests removal from leadership. It is advocacy, not an official finding or proof of resulting action.

Case No. 24CA0011 and related service dispute

The 2025 motion-to-strike package recounts the related Common Pleas filing, the commencement of the Fourth District action, dismissal of the first appellate proceeding, and a later Supreme Court remand. Its email exhibits document repeated correspondence between counsel about electronic service. This description reflects the respondents’ filing and attached docket materials; the package does not include every underlying order.

Source: Respondents’ Motion to Strike and Exhibits A and B-1 through B-8.

Issue 23 approved

The June 10, 2026 appellate decision recounts that voters approved Issue 23 to abolish the city charter and return to a statutory form of government effective January 1, 2026.

Source: Decision and Judgment Entry, Case No. 26CA3, ¶¶ 5–7.

Respondents seek to strike merit brief

After the relators filed a merit brief and amended petition, respondents moved to strike the May 16 brief, reset the schedule, and require future email service. Two supporting affidavits state that counsel learned of the brief through the docket rather than service. The supplied package does not include a court order resolving that request.

Source: Motion to Strike Relators’ Merit Brief, filed June 3, 2025, and supporting affidavits.

Ordinance 54-25 enacted

The appellate record states that Council enacted Ordinance 54-25 as an emergency measure purporting to repeal Issue 23. The ordinance’s validity later became central to the quo warranto dispute.

Source: Decision and Judgment Entry, Case No. 26CA3, ¶ 10.

Nelsonville seeks reconsideration in Supreme Court election case

After the Ohio Supreme Court’s September 17 merits decision denied mandamus relief, the City and City Council asked the court to reconsider the mandamus claim. The motion argues that Ordinance 54-25 supplied the statutory duty the court said Nelsonville had not identified. This is the relators’ argument; the supplied record does not include an order resolving the motion.

Source: Relators’ Motion for Reconsideration, Supreme Court of Ohio Case No. 2025-1061.

Lowry educator-permit hearing

Case No. 2021OPC16885 records testimony, admitted exhibits, and a request for revocation. The transcript itself contains no final Board order.

Board revokes Lowry educational aide permit

Certified Resolution 15 revokes the 2021 permit and makes Lowry permanently ineligible for State Board credentials. No later appeal outcome, stay, or modification is verified here.

Case No. 26CI0017 dismissed without prejudice

Andrea Nicole Thompson Hashman voluntarily dismissed the civil action without prejudice. The parties stipulated that defendants would waive a laches defense if the same claims were refiled.

Source: Notice of Voluntary Dismissal and Joint Stipulation.

Cory Taylor dismissed from Case No. 26CA3

The magistrate granted the parties’ joint motion and dismissed Cory Taylor from the action as a party respondent. The order concerns Taylor’s party status; it does not resolve the merits of the remaining quo warranto dispute.

Source: Magistrate’s Order, Case No. 26CA3.

Public-records response dispute

A Court of Claims filing by Gregory Smith alleges delay in the production of ordinances requested on March 17. The filing records responses from the Council Clerk and special counsel; the complaint itself is not a finding.

Source: Ohio Court of Claims public-records complaint.

Injunction request denied

The Fourth District denied the motion for injunctive relief in Case No. 26CA3 for lack of jurisdiction.

Source: Judgment Entry, Case No. 26CA3.

Writ denied in Case No. 26CA3

The court found that the relators established entitlement to the statutory offices, but denied the writ because it lacked original jurisdiction to declare Ordinance 54-25 invalid. The court stated that, without such a declaration from a court with original jurisdiction, relators had not proven respondents held office unlawfully.

Source: Decision and Judgment Entry, Case No. 26CA3, ¶¶ 35–38.

Case No. 26CA0022 — Thompson-Hashman seeks auditor’s office by mandamus

A verified petition dated August 26 and stamped filed August 27 asks the Fourth District to order the termination of Brian Elkins’s appointment, or that of whoever may then be serving as City Auditor, and permit Andrea Nicole Thompson-Hashman to occupy the office while the ultimate legal title is resolved. The petition relies on her certificate of election and presents a narrower theory than the earlier quo warranto action. Its assertions and requested remedies are party claims, not court findings.

Source: Verified Petition for Mandamus, Case No. 26CA0022.