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Ms. Cosme currently is pursuing an Executive LL.M. degree
(Masters of Law) in International Business Law at Boston
University, where she did her undergraduate work. She is a
former partner at the downtown Toledo law firm of Cosme,
D’Angelo, and Szollosi.
“You manage,…find the time to make everything fit and I did take
some time to consider this seriously because I know how
important it is,” said Ms. Cosme. “I’ve made a commitment.
Obviously, it’s up to the Secretary of State to make the final
appointment, but I’m very confident about it.”
The appointment of Ms. Cosme to the elections board comes at a
crucial time, as Ohio traditionally plays a big role in the
presidential election. 2012 is an important year for both
federal and state elections, as voters also decide congressional
races and who will represent them in the Ohio General Assembly.
“Now is the right time for a transition, Ruvolo said in a
statement. “I hate to leave, but given the constraints with my
job and the amount of travel required compared to the importance
of the elections this year, staying on was not the right thing
to do for the electorate.”
Ron Rothenbuhler,
who serves both as Lucas County Democratic Party chairman and
chairman of the Board of Elections, expressed his confidence in
Ms. Cosme’s abilities, both for her knowledge of legal issues,
as well as bringing “the right temperament” to the board.
“It’s a very important year and we want to make sure we have a
member on the board who will make a commitment to work together
in a non-partisan fashion to ensure the integrity of the
election is maintained to the highest standard,” she said. “What
I bring to the table is my ability to take a non-partisan
approach. Obviously, I think we can all benefit from having
someone with a legal background sitting around the table
discussing and making decisions.”
Ms. Cosme’s presence means each political party will have legal
representation on the board. Her GOP counterpart, Anthony
DeGideo of Maumee, also is an attorney.
“I think we’ll have a much better response and ability to have a
dialogue. I have the right temperament,” she said in a phone
interview. “I’m not a very volatile person in politics. It can
only enhance the ability of the board to come to productive
resolution in whatever disagreement might present itself during
the election.”
The Board of Elections currently is operating without an
executive director, just six weeks removed from the March
primary. Ms. Cosme will have a hand in deciding who will take
over the troubled county agency, which has been marked by
controversy and in-fighting for years. Republican Ben Roberts
resigned a few weeks ago after just a few months at the helm,
following the firings of the top two elections board
administrators over their handling of provisional ballots in the
2010 race.
“The position is challenging, but I look forward to working
closely with the board, its staff, and the Secretary of State to
ensure that the integrity of our election system is held to the
highest standards,” Ms. Cosme said in a statement.
Ms. Cosme grew up in Puerto Rico and moved to Massachusetts to
attend college at the age of 17. She had to learn English while
attending college. She attended the Marshall College of Law in
Cleveland. She came to Toledo in 1998 when her husband was
recruited to a local law firm.
The couple later opened their own firm with attorney and state
representative Matt Szollosi, where she became the
managing partner until her appointment to the bench.
On the Internet:
http://www.laprensatoledo.com/Stories/2010/102910/cosme.htm
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