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Secretary of state must answer questions on Arshinkoff ouster
By Carol Biliczky
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Tuesday, Mar 11, 2008
The Ohio Supreme Court dealt Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner two blows Monday in her ongoing battle with the Summit County Republican Party.
The justices declined to block Brunner from being questioned under oath about the removal of a county elections official. They also declined to limit what she might be asked about.
Both issues are part of whether Brunner had the authority to put Republican attorney Don Varian on the Summit elections board after choosing not to reappoint longtime member and county GOP chairman Alex Arshinkoff and rejecting another candidate the party recommended.
''She will comply with the notice of deposition. She will comply with the notice of the court. That's really all I could tell you,'' Brunner spokesman Jeff Ortega said Monday.
Brunner, a Democrat, three weeks ago said
Arshinkoff was unfit and refused to reappoint him to the four-member elections board, where he had served for almost 30 years.
The GOP then recommended retired businessman Brian Daley, a former Hudson City Council president who lost a bid for reelection last fall, for the four-year elections board term beginning March 1.
Brunner told the Beacon Journal that Daley ''suffered from some of the same characteristics as what concerned me about Arshinkoff'' — that he was what she called a bully and tried to intimidate others with threats in a loud voice. She rejected him, too.
In his place, she named Varian, who has been working with state Sen. Kevin Coughlin to wrest control of the Summit party away from Arshinkoff.
The GOP challenged her decision, asking the supreme court that Daley be appointed in Varian's place.
The party said in its filing that Coughlin issued a news release about Varian's appointment an hour before Brunner notified the public that she was rejecting Daley.
''If someone is competent, she has to go with the recommendation,'' said Timothy Grendell, a Republican state senator and attorney from Chesterland who is representing the Summit County GOP.
''The fact that he may have some political foes or that there may have been a bad editorial written about him doesn't rise to the level of incompetence.''
Brunner asked the supreme court to dismiss the GOP lawsuit. She said she needs only ''reason to believe'' to reject a party recommendation as incompetent.
''This is an objective determination to be made by the secretary of state, not a factual conclusion that must be proven to the acceptance of all. It has nothing to do with Daley's background or actual competence, only whether the secretary of state had reason to believe he could not competently serve,'' Brunner's filing said.
The supreme court declined to limit questioning to Brunner's ''reasonable belief'' about Daley's competence and declined her request for 30 more days to collect information about Daley.
Grendell said he will depose Brunner at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday.
He said the issue should be decided in 45 to 60 days via depositions and sworn written statements, probably not by oral arguments.
In addition to Varian, the elections board is made up of Republican Jack Morrison Jr. and Democrats Wayne Jones and Tim Gorbach.
Board members make about $17,700 a year. The salary is set by statute based on the population of Summit County.
Carol Biliczky can be reached at 330-996-3729 or cbiliczky@thebeaconjournal.com.
The Ohio Supreme Court dealt Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner two blows Monday in her ongoing battle with the Summit County Republican Party.
Get the full article here.
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