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Is an unprecedented three-decade reign as a political fundraiser and power broker on the verge of ending?
By Phil Trexler and Katie Byard
Beacon Journal staff writers
Published on Saturday, Aug 18, 2007
For close to three decades, Alex Arshinkoff, the staunch and boisterous Summit County Republican Party boss, has masterfully navigated through a sea of Democrats, seemingly always outnumbered, but rarely outgunned.
Ruthless, energetic, relentless, vindictive and shark-like. Arshinkoff has been called them all sometimes even by his allies. And along the way, he's raised millions of dollars for his party, locally and nationally.
But now, some of the very people he's helped propel into political power are seeking a very public coup.
The move to unseat the so-called godfather of the Summit County GOP is being led by state Sen. Kevin Coughlin, R-Cuyahoga Falls, who e-mailed a scorching letter to party supporters and the media seeking support for Arshinkoff's ouster.
Coughlin said in his no-holds barred, three-page letter released to reporters Friday that the party ''has slipped into a pathetic state'' under Arshinkoff.
Arshinkoff on Friday said he will fight the fight. He then cited his history of successes and lamented that the effort to remove him comes only after a storm of anti-Republican sentiment triggered by various events from the Iraq war to the Tom Noe-Coingate affair in Ohio.
He said it all contributed to a near sweep by Democrats of statewide offices, ending more than a decade of GOP rule in 2006.
''If I could turn around all the negative publicity the Republican Party received on the state and national level, which has impacted our party's popularity in this county as well as across the country, I'd be a candi date for pope,'' he said.
''The facts are anybody can challenge you, but I believe my record will stand the test of time.''
In order to succeed in his coup attempt, Coughlin will have to win over a majority of the 400-plus Republican committee persons who will be elected countywide in March. They will then elect a central committee that will vote on the party chair.
''I have no doubt we're going to have enough people to do this,'' Coughlin said in an interview Friday. ''People are contacting us every day to see how they can help.''
Coughlin said he has the support of various officeholders. He said he didn't want to name them now because some are running for re-election and ''prefer not to attract the ire of Alex before this (November) election.''
On Friday, the Beacon Journal attempted to contact 19 county Republican officeholders and supporters, among them several judges, state party officials and contributor David Brennan. All but two Cuyahoga Falls Mayor Don Robart and former Goodyear CEO Charles Pilliod either declined comment or did not return a message.
Arshinkoff backer
Pilliod, a GOP contributor, voiced his support for Arshinkoff.
''He's experienced and he's done a good job up until now. I think we can still use him. (His job is) a difficult one, because he's not in a Republican area, so it's a real challenge. He works very hard and he's honest at what he does. I think he's a good leader,'' Pilliod said.
In his letter, Coughlin echoes other critics, saying Arshinkoff is vengeful and ''too paranoid, too vindictive'' to continue leading the party.
The Coughlin letter also includes a list of results of key state and county races, titled ''Alex Arshinkoff's Losing Streak.'' In it, Coughlin recounts elections, local and statewide, dating back to 2003.
He further questions Arshinkoff's loyalty to his party and says the leader ''appears to be the dancing bear on a chain held firmly by the local Democratic Party.'' For example, Coughlin cites recent elections, such as those for Akron mayor and Summit County prosecutor, in which the GOP and Arshinkoff ''cut deals'' and failed to field a candidate against a Democratic incumbent.
Audit sought
Coughlin's letter also says that under new leadership, an audit of party books would be conducted. Earlier in the passage, he alluded to claims that money that went into campaigns through the party failed to come back out in the form of support.
As a result, Coughlin writes that ''I began to question whether the money contributed really went into winning elections.''
Coughlin said he is not seeking the party chair for himself.
Arshinkoff argued that Republicans wherever one travels in the county are the underdogs and that during his tenure, the GOP has faired well despite demographics that show he's outnumbered.
''We are in Northeast Ohio. This is Fort Apache. We're just trying to keep the two-party system alive,'' he said. ''Our candidates are always the underdogs in Summit County.''
The fight to remove Arshinkoff, 52, will certainly not be easy. A college dropout who went on to head the University of Akron's board of trustees, he is said to have raised nearly $5 million for the GOP in 2000, about half of which went to President Bush's campaign.
He was just 23 years old when he first took the job as party chair and after all these years, all his wars, he is still not without loyalists.
One is Don Robart, the Republican mayor of Cuyahoga Falls, who dismissed Coughlin's campaign, saying, ''He's nuttier than a fruitcake.''
Robart said that the effort will ''get a little support. He's a state senator. It's not like he's a councilman of some obscure little burg. But you're going to find that he has very few friends . . . he's burned everybody off.''
Not on ticket
Robart said Coughlin has been a malcontent for some time, not showing up at party meetings and fundraisers. Others say his discontent goes back to the 2006 statewide elections, which didn't include the ambitious Coughlin.
Instead of Coughlin, it was Mary Taylor, a Summit County Republican, who won Arshinkoff's backing for state auditor. Taylor was the only Republican to win a major statewide office.
Coughlin cannot seek re-election to the senate in 2010 because of term limits.
One of the earliest signs of Coughlin's disconnect with the party came in 2006 when he helped forge a new judicial seat in Summit County through the statehouse, a move long and adamantly opposed by Arshinkoff.
Wayne Jones, Summit County's Democratic Party finance chair, said his party has faced a challenge to its chair, but the GOP never has during Arshinkoff's tenure.
He said the attack on Arshinkoff's leadership is a reflection of the 2006 election as much as anything else.
''It's kind of like they go after the manager when the baseball team is losing. You can't change all the players, so you've got to change who's in charge. You don't fire all your players, you fire the manager,'' he said.
Herb Asher, an Ohio State professor emeritus and political science expert, also said efforts to remove Arshinkoff could have to do with the recent series of losses suffered by Republicans throughout Ohio.
However, he said, Arshinkoff still maintains a national reputation as one of the most powerful Republican Party chairs, due mostly to his fundraising efforts and his leadership.
He calls Arshinkoff's 30-year tenure in the often nasty political world ''unheard of.''
''It's his ability to attain power, hold on to power, be a power broker, play a role in candidate nominations, recruitment and fundraising. The whole forceful personality, intensity and ambition,'' Asher said.
Phil Trexler can be reached at 330-996-3717 or ptrexler@thebeaconjournal.com. Katie Byard can be reached at 330-996-3781 or kbyard@thebeaconjournal.com. Beacon Journal Columbus bureau chief Dennis J. Willard and staff writers Carol Biliczky and John Higgins contributed to this report.
For close to three decades, Alex Arshinkoff, the staunch and boisterous Summit County Republican Party boss, has masterfully navigated through a sea of Democrats, seemingly always outnumbered, but rarely outgunned.
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