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By Rick Armon/Beacon Journal staff writer
POSTED: 11:39 a.m. EST, Feb 22, 2008
Embattled Summit County Republican Party Chairman Alex Arshinkoff has fired off an angry letter to the Ohio secretary of state, calling her decision this week to dump him from the county elections board unfair and ‘‘supported only by inaccurate and incomplete facts.’’
He also decried the fact that he was not provided an opportunity to defend himself against the allegations and asked Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner to reconsider her finding ` a request she rejected immediately today.
Brunner, a Democrat, announced Wednesday in a surprise move that she would not approve the reappointment of Arshinkoff, who had served for more than 29 years on the board. She cited a history of harassing and intimidating past and current board workers; creating a partisan working environment; and an affidavit saying he tried to influence three county judges.
Arshinkoff released a four-page, single-spaced response to the media today.
‘‘The letter speaks for itself,’’ he said, declining further comment.
‘‘I strenuously object to your conclusion that I am unfit to serve as a competent board member for the next four years,’’ he wrote. ‘‘My record over the past 29 years and three months demonstrates that I am competent and I have the knowledge, temperament and judgment necessary to serve on the Summit County Board of Elections.’’
The county Republican Executive Committee will meet Tuesday to determine how to formally respond to Brunner's decision, the letter said. The party can decide to fight her decision, submit another name for appointment, or do nothing and allow her to make the appointment.
The decision by Brunner is the latest in a series of high-profile scraps involving Arshinkoff. Last year, state Sen. Kevin Coughlin, R-Cuyahoga Falls, launched a coup to depose him as party chair at next month's annual convention. Arshinkoff and fellow board member Wayne Jones also got into a verbal sparring match last month during a board meeting that included Jones calling Arshinkoff an obscenity and crazy.
In his letter, Arshinkoff refuted the allegations against him used by Brunner to make her decision. He also claimed his Democratic counterparts on the board ` Jones and Timothy Gorbach ` engage in more political activity at the board than Republicans.
Messages seeking comment were left with Jones and Gorbach.
‘‘As a former judge, I know you understand that hearsay is no way to make a just decision,’’ Arshinkoff wrote. ‘‘Sadly, you have based your entire conclusion on hearsay and unsubstantiated allegations perpetrated by my political opponents. You have refused to reappoint me without affording me even the courtesy of any opportunity to respond to these allegations.’’
Jones was given that courtesy five years ago when then-Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, a Republican, concluded that he broke a series of elections laws and committed ethics violations. As part of a deal with Blackwell's office, Jones resigned from the board, but then was allowed to regain his post a few months later.
In a letter responding to Arshinkoff's letter, Brunner said she isn't required to hold a hearing on the matter.
‘‘No statutory or constitutional law requires that I do more than I have already done,’’ she wrote.
Brunner spokesman Jeff Ortega declined comment when asked whether allowing Arshinkoff to respond to the allegations in a hearing would have been a common courtesy.
Embattled Summit County Republican Party Chairman Alex Arshinkoff has fired off an angry letter to the Ohio secretary of state, calling her decision this week to dump him from the county elections board unfair and ‘‘supported only by inaccurate and incomplete facts.’’
He also decried the fact that he was not provided an opportunity to defend himself against the allegations and asked Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner to reconsider her finding ` a request she rejected immediately today.
Brunner, a Democrat, announced Wednesday in a surprise move that she would not approve the reappointment of Arshinkoff, who had served for more than 29 years on the board. She cited a history of harassing and intimidating past and current board workers; creating a partisan working environment; and an affidavit saying he tried to influence three county judges.
Arshinkoff released a four-page, single-spaced response to the media today.
‘‘The letter speaks for itself,’’ he said, declining further comment.
‘‘I strenuously object to your conclusion that I am unfit to serve as a competent board member for the next four years,’’ he wrote. ‘‘My record over the past 29 years and three months demonstrates that I am competent and I have the knowledge, temperament and judgment necessary to serve on the Summit County Board of Elections.’’
The county Republican Executive Committee will meet Tuesday to determine how to formally respond to Brunner's decision, the letter said. The party can decide to fight her decision, submit another name for appointment, or do nothing and allow her to make the appointment.
The decision by Brunner is the latest in a series of high-profile scraps involving Arshinkoff. Last year, state Sen. Kevin Coughlin, R-Cuyahoga Falls, launched a coup to depose him as party chair at next month's annual convention. Arshinkoff and fellow board member Wayne Jones also got into a verbal sparring match last month during a board meeting that included Jones calling Arshinkoff an obscenity and crazy.
In his letter, Arshinkoff refuted the allegations against him used by Brunner to make her decision. He also claimed his Democratic counterparts on the board ` Jones and Timothy Gorbach ` engage in more political activity at the board than Republicans.
Messages seeking comment were left with Jones and Gorbach.
‘‘As a former judge, I know you understand that hearsay is no way to make a just decision,’’ Arshinkoff wrote. ‘‘Sadly, you have based your entire conclusion on hearsay and unsubstantiated allegations perpetrated by my political opponents. You have refused to reappoint me without affording me even the courtesy of any opportunity to respond to these allegations.’’
Jones was given that courtesy five years ago when then-Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, a Republican, concluded that he broke a series of elections laws and committed ethics violations. As part of a deal with Blackwell's office, Jones resigned from the board, but then was allowed to regain his post a few months later.
In a letter responding to Arshinkoff's letter, Brunner said she isn't required to hold a hearing on the matter.
‘‘No statutory or constitutional law requires that I do more than I have already done,’’ she wrote.
Brunner spokesman Jeff Ortega declined comment when asked whether allowing Arshinkoff to respond to the allegations in a hearing would have been a common courtesy.
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