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My Three Cents on the Summit County GOP Race
- Filed under: Arshinkoff / Coughlin
- Date: Jan 23,2008
I tend to give people more than the usual two cents.
So let me get this out of the way in the interest of full disclosure: I support State Senator Kevin Coughlin’s effort to shake up the Summit County GOP leadership and am I running for Central Committee on his behalf. I have nothing personal against current party chairman Alex Arshinkoff (link to the dreadfully designed website that takes his side in this). Actually, I have never met the guy (nor Coughlin for that matter). So this is not about playing favorites or going with the guy who I like better. I have only seen Mr. Arshinkoff once in person – at the 2007 Summit County Republican Dinner. I think I gave him a head nod as we crossed paths and he gave me a look like “who are you and why are you acknowledging me?” No reason he would have known me. In his eyes I was just some loner who showed up to get a good meal (it wasn't very good).
I went by myself to the dinner – mainly to take pictures for my website. I sat at a table of 10; had never met any of the people sitting with me, don't remember any of their names. I do, however, remember quite a bit of eye rolling as Alex butchered name after name of “prominent people” in attendance. Obviously no one would speak up outside of a quiet, soft spoken, snide comment at the table of which there were numerous about various subjects. They didn't need to speak up; their opinion was more than clear. There was this tension in the air that made it feel like you would have been escorted outside by security if you were overhead saying anything detrimental towards or about Alex. (On a side note, Mike DeWine was there working for the room for John McCain for the straw poll they conducted that evening. People responded pretty much how you would suspect they would to a defeated United States Senator who was trying to persuade attendees to support a candidate they did not want to.) Anyways…….
Everyone loses elections – even Republicans. Hard to believe, I know. The conventional wisdom seems to be that Republicans always face an uphill battle in Summit County. It is just accepted by people. Though when you look at the numbers, it does not have to be that way. As of 11/30/07, the voter registration in Summit County was: D 65,042, R 31,340 and I 254,211 (an astonishing number – I had no idea there were so many unaffiliated voters). That means the voters are there to win if you go after them. Just like the big buzzword for those running for the White House is “change,” that seems to be the sentiment of a lot of people in the local party these days. After a while, enough is enough. People don't like to constantly be on the losing end of anything in life. I know I don't. It is like in baseball; if the manager of the team has multiple losing seasons in a row, he will probably be replaced by the GM of team. Same applies here. Like I said, it isn't personal. I am the kind of guy that would probably be on board with Alex Arshinkoff if our side was winning at the polls. But that is not the case for our party and has not been for some time.
Does new leadership at the top guarantee success? Absolutely not. However, when you look at the recent results, it would be difficult if not impossible to do any worse. That is why I am on board to try something new and take the party in a new direction. A winning direction.
*Thanks to the Summit County BOE for providing those voter figures.
(This is assumed, and should be assumed for all posts here in the future – the Beacon Journal / Ohio.com does not necessarily endorse my positions. In this case, with this particular story being such a hot topic around the area, I felt I needed to make that clear. I stand with Kevin. It does not mean the ABJ / Ohio.com does.)
13 Responses for "My Three Cents on the Summit County GOP Race"
Ben as an original subscriber to the newsletter I expect you to continue the insightful thoughts I've become used to for the last five years, keep up the great work.
You make a valid point concerning the number of independent voters that determine the resultof the election and the lack of effort by the local Reps. to aggresively court those voters. A change is needed.
Are those numbers for Indy's accurate?? I really can not believe that many people are independents or just hate the current politics. Do they just lump undecided people into that category?? Or persons who vote for issues/canidates on both sides??
As a former Ohio resident who still likes to keep an eye on local politics, it's really nice to see a site like this up-and-running. Look forward to reading more as this election year gets underway.
Sweep out alex
Republican voter registration is so low because Alex and his cronies have driven republicans out of the party. Many people are ashamed to be associated with his antics.
Alex and his yes men allocated $350,000 to save his job rather than electing Republicans to public office.
Four (4) points:
(1) No organizatin can be on top if its leader is not;
(2) Summit County, Ohio needs to abide by State of Ohio law and have three county commissioners – not the so-called one person county "Executive;"
(3) As a nation we need term limits for all elected persons; most certainly, term limits are badly needed for the office of Mayor of the City of Akron. (I suggest the following as a 28th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America, the greatest document ever reduced to writing: "Except for the president of the United States of America, the term in elected public office shall not exceed a combined total of ten years for any person" (T. Coyne, (6/19/98)); and,
(4) No one moved TO Fairlawn, Montrose, Copley, and Bath Ohio; instead, businesses moved FROM the City of Akron.
(If and when these neighboring communities become as corrupt and as poorly managed as the city of Akron, they can and will move again).
There is an old saying Watch what you wish for, I may not like Alex, but Kevin is no better, and I consider him a wolf in sheep clothing.
Kevin will use the same smear tatics he has used in his past elections, and why won't he name Alex's replacement?? what is he going to Nominate his wife Anne?
The biggest barrier to success is the fear of change.
I, like you, have never had any particulary close ties with Coughlin. I am, however, aware of his winning record and respect him as a skilled political tactician. He has made a very convincing argument for change and does offer the Summit GOP some promise of future success. I really like that he listens to others and is a concensus builder as opposed to the dictatorial style of our currenly leadership. As was mentioned, this team can't do any worse. If they do not produce the results we are counting on, they to will be chased away. Good luck on your PC race and good luck to Kevin and his team.
[...] A banner under each blogger's post title (seen here under Kyle and here under Ben) that specifically mentions the partisan nature of their [...]
Here we are less than a month out and the need for this mad man to get booted is immense. Only the PC's who have the ball in their court can change this now, the only question is do they have the guts?
HudsonHusband seems to comment about this community on every blog on the internet. You hide behind your name and state you are from different cities and states. You even commented on http://www.rottenneighbor.com . You added comments there that were based on false information. Contact the Hudson police department and see what the poster is in criminal charges for. I have lived in that neighborhood for 34 years. Come see me in person versus posting on the internet.
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