Pickaway County Democrats sue Circleville Pumpkin Show over alleged political favoritism – WSYX

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President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump participate in Halloween at the White House.
by Erin Simonek
PICKAWAY COUNTY, Ohio (WSYX) — Leaders with the Pickaway County Democratic Party are suing the Circleville Pumpkin Show, claiming Democratic candidates were treated unfairly while Republican candidates received special treatment during this year's parade.
The dispute centers on Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy's late entry into the parade and allegations that Democratic candidate Don Leonard was not given the same opportunity.
Ramaswamy and several other Republican candidates rode in a military tanker that was the second participant in the parade, behind the Circleville mayor.
Pickaway County Democratic Party Chair Carolyn Loxley says the placement gave the impression that the candidates were leading or organizing the event. She is behind the complaint filed to the Attorney General's Office.
The parade requires political candidates to apply in advance. Democrats allege Ramaswamy's campaign was allowed to register after the deadline, while Leonard was told he could not participate because late entries were not permitted. Loxley added there was a Republican fundraiser held just outside the pumpkin show grounds.
"I don't know how that all happened but again it violated the stated rules," Loxley said.
“All candidates who wanted to participate were allowed to,” said Marc Rogols, President and Chairman of the Circleville Pumpkin Show. “We never got any calls from Acton or Brown.”
Rogols said the pumpkin show team even reserved spaces for late-registering candidates and granted all late requests.
Pumpkin Show attorney Mark Weaver says organizers are reviewing what happened. He agreed late applicants from either political party were allowed to participate and says the organization is trying to determine why Leonard was left out.
"We don't think that's true, but we're looking into it," Weaver said.
Weaver said the organization is made up of volunteers and is working to sort through the communications surrounding parade applications. The event has no control over private events that are held on personal property.
"Because everyone's a volunteer, we're trying to find out who talked to who, what was said, and how we can make it right. But these are all volunteers trying to manage tens of thousands of people coming into a very small area for just a few days," Weaver said.
Weaver agreed with Rogols that the Acton and Brown campaigns did not express interest in participating. He said organizers do not reach out to campaigns to recruit them, but allow candidates from either party to request a spot.
With Election Day approaching, Loxley says the situation raises concerns about how political candidates are treated and how parade rules are communicated.
"Let's get it right next year. And if you're going to make exceptions, how do you communicate that?" Loxley said.
ABC 6 spoke with Leonard's campaign, and they issued the following statement:
The complaint is now with the Ohio Attorney General's Office.
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