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Precinct filings suggest he doesn't have GOP majority
By Stephanie Warsmith
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Saturday, Jan 05, 2008
In the battle for control of the Summit County Republican Party, state Sen. Kevin Coughlin apparently recruited about 170 people to run for the party's central committee, the county elections board staff reported Friday.
That number falls short of the 238 needed to claim a majority on the committee.
''The filing deadline is a demonstration of how he is falling far short of the people needed to mount a credible challenge,'' said Bryan Williams, the Republican director of the Summit elections
board.
Coughlin, however, was maintaining that he has additional support among the committee candidates filed by the party — giving him a potential of about 315 members committed to ousting party Chairman Alex Arshinkoff.
''The important figure is the number we have committed to changing leadership,'' Coughlin said.
Williams said Coughlin ''was telling everybody he'd have 250 to 300 petitions.''
''At the last minute, he decided to take credit for the party filings,'' Williams said. ''The guy can't produce what he says he's going to produce.''
650 file for panel
About 650 candidates had filed Friday — the deadline for the March 4 primary — to run for the 475 precinct positions on the local Republican Party's central committee.
Both Coughlin and the party have been working feverishly in the past few weeks to get candidates to run for the committee which will meet 60 days after the March primary to decide the party's leadership.
Arshinkoff declined comment Friday evening, but is not running for the central committee seat in Hudson's precinct 1C — a position he now holds.
The Republican Party filed petitions for about 480 candidates for the central committee. In a few precincts, the party filed petitions for more than one person, Williams said.
Elections board staff said Coughlin and his supporters filed petitions for about 170 central committee candidates.
Coughlin said this is a good ''ballpark figure.''
''I don't know what the total is,'' he said. ''It's been crazy here the last couple of days.''
Facing Mayor Robart
Coughlin, who will challenge Cuyahoga Falls Mayor Don Robart for his central committee seat, said he won't have exact numbers until he sees the list produced by the elections board and verifies who has filed to run. This list wasn't available Friday night because elections board employees were still compiling it.
With the filing deadline passed, the battle for control of the party now shifts gears, focusing on the election of the central committee.
Coughlin said he is not ''writing anybody off'' on the central committee and will attempt to recruit as many of the candidates as possible.
''Where we have set up contested precincts, we will work hard to make sure they are elected,'' he said. ''Where there are unknowns or fence sitters, we will reach out to them and talk about the things we would do to make the party better.''
Coughlin's proposal
These plans, according to a recent memo by Coughlin, include doing an audit of the party's funds, requiring expenditures of $250 or more to be approved by a board of control, spending more on election campaigns and less on operational overhead, and encouraging the creation of more Republican clubs and organizations to help groom candidates.
The party is expected to mount an organized campaign of its own, with the finance committee committed to raising $350,000 for the fight to keep Arshinkoff.
Angela McMillen, a political consultant working for the party, said the party has not sent out information responding to Coughlin's claims but soon will.
''We will start being in touch with people who will be candidates for precinct committeemen,'' said McMillen, who is running for the central committee.
Stephanie Warsmith can be reached
at 330-996-3705 or
swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com.
In the battle for control of the Summit County Republican Party, state Sen. Kevin Coughlin apparently recruited about 170 people to run for the party's central committee, the county elections board staff reported Friday.
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