Friday, March 14, 2008

Is She Hiding Something?

The ruling yesterday by the Ohio Supreme Court denying the third bid by Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner to slip out of having her decision yanking Alex Arshinkoff off the Summit County Board of Elections speaks volumes -- even though the state's top elections officer wants to remain remarkably quiet.

The latest is the videotaped deposition by the Secretary where she has to answer questions from her detractors, namely Arshinkoff and the Summit County GOP on just what led her to take the unique position of removing him from the Board. Just what in particular did he do to warrant this action? Arshinkoff has many detractors, most objecting to what they say is his heavy-handed use of power (or abuse of power depending on your perspective) but any decision to tell any local party their choice can't serve must be followed up by a clear, public disclosure of what the issues were.

Arshinkoff, no stranger to the machinations of hardball politics given his history of trying to build patronage jobs loyal to GOP office holders, says his woes lie at the feet of nemesis Wayne Jones (also no stranger, one must add, to hardball politics) and the alleged conspiracy of state Democrat and local Democrat banding together to control Summit County's Republican Party.

Now I'm not saying Arshinkoff is right; but I am a firm believer in the observation that"...just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you." Does it strike anyone, honestly, as a stretch to think that Jones and other Democrat power-brokers would take advantage of more friendly ears in Columbus to rid themselves of a more-often-than-not over-the-top pain in the neck like Alex? From a political power building perspective, it absolutely makes sense they would work hard to minimize their opponent's impact and power base and clear the way for their slate of candidates (and issues and cronies) to do better at the ballot box and in the halls of government. That's not corruption; it's politics, played by adults who fully understand the stakes involved and what it may take to win.

Hopefully, now that the Ohio Supreme Court has decided yet again that sunshine pokes it's rays even into the Secretary of State's decisions, we'll get an honest and clear review of just what's in that file that caused Brunner to pull the trigger on Arshinkoff and the party's properly-elected representative to replace him.

Questions we'd like to see answered:
  • Just what did she say in her deposition? We'd like to hear and see ourselves, not only the tape but a transcript as well;
  • What role did local Democrats and State Senator Kevin Coughlin's camp play in desposing Alex from his empire, if any? They are clearly stakeholders in this fight -- Democrats in ridding themselves of a bitter rival, the New Republicans to benefit from Arshinkoff's diminished stature;
  • Does that anti-Alex file include letters from Arshinkoff critics speaking for themselves or does it resemble more a Google search of newspaper articles? Example: should an opposite-party Secretary of State really base such a decision on the controversial Free Times article alleging trolling in Highland Square, or was her investigation more substantive than a collection of clippings?

The honeymoon on Brunner should be long past on forcing the process out in the open, much as it was when she explained her reasoning for replacing the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections. In that case, she was able to make a clear and compelling case that their mismanagment put the state's largest block of voters at a disadvantage and hurt the system we need the most confidence in; but in the Arshinkoff case using as an excuse an abrasive and sometimes abusive personality should require more than just saying he's a jerk and other elected officials don't like him.

Can anyone imagine Republican Ken Blackwell getting away with removing duly-elected Democrat local party representatives from local political boards because they weren't liked? Just how long would those howls of indignation have lasted?

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