The chair of a prisons oversight committee that's taken recent hard looks at Ohio's troubled prison food contract and security issues in prisons wants the panel's director fired.
State Senator Shirley Smith, a Cleveland Democrat, has sought votes from fellow lawmakers on the panel in recent days to force out executive director Joanna Saul. Smith says today that Saul refused to follow her directions when crafting a document that recommended changes to the contract won by Philadelphia-based Aramark Correctional Services. Smith has called a Wednesday vote on Saul's position. State Representative Bob Hagan, a Youngstown Democrat, says he's opposed to any attempts to remove Saul. Hagan says she's being accused of insubordination over the writing of a report.