Lorain County Ohio Records

Former mayoral candidate asks court to put him back on ballot (with video)

&Ldquo;They basically force Mr. Quinn to chose between two Constitutional rights, his constitutional right to access to the ballot to be a candidate or his constitutional right to vote,” Phillips said. “I think that is totally illegal, un-American, undemocratic to force someone to give up one Constitutional right in order to exercise another.” “They basically force Mr. Quinn to chose between two Constitutional rights, his constitutional right to access to the ballot to be a candidate or his constitutional right to vote,” Phillips said. “I think that is totally illegal, un-American, undemocratic to force someone to give up one Constitutional right in order to exercise another.

Former Avon Lake mayor arrested in prostitution sting « The ...

Urbin, 52, current director of community services at the Lorain County Community Action Agency, pleaded no contest Friday in Bowling Green Municipal Court to a misdemeanor count of soliciting, according to court records.

Urbin was fined $500 and sentenced to 31 days in jail, but 30 of those days were suspended. He will be on probation for one year, court records showed.

The arresting officer with the Wood County Sheriff’s Office, which conducted the sting, could not be reached for comment Tuesday. Other media outlets reported that Urbin was responding to an online sex ad when he was arrested.

Urbin forfeited $100 he paid out in the sting, according to court records. His car also was impounded. He is due back in court in August for a review hearing.

This isn’t Urbin’s first brush with the law. He was convicted of tampering with evidence, complicity to tampering with evidence and two counts of unlawful interest in a public contract in February 2001.

Those charges stemmed from allegations that Urbin, who resigned as Avon Lake mayor in March 2001, steered $2,745 worth of city business to the Fountain Bleau Party Center, which was managed by his brother Daniel Urbin. Vince Urbin was also accused of trying to hide a computer disk containing the names of campaign contributors from police.

He was sentenced to 90 days in jail and three years of probation after he was convicted in that case. Urbin was later cleared of additional bribery charges.

Urbin successfully convinced a Lorain County judge to seal his criminal convictions last year, saying that he wanted to restore his good name.

His criminal past had proven an obstacle to his career, including losing out on becoming city manager of Newton Falls in 2007 when his conviction became public knowledge there.

Urbin won’t have the opportunity to get his soliciting conviction expunged from his record, however. Under Ohio law, a person can only have one criminal case sealed during his lifetime.

Urbin did not return a call seeking comment Tuesday.

Contact Brad Dicken at 329-7147 or bdicken@chroniclet.com .