TheChiefSource.com – This is my blog. We are proud to support our fellow Akron bloggers and appreciate their work.

EricMansfield.blogspot.com – He's got his pulse on what is happening in Akron and Northeast Ohio. As a news anchor for WKYC in Cleveland, Eric can provide a perspective that most other sites can't because of his access to information and his relationships with people.

Grumpy Abe – This site is written by retired Akron Beacon Journal Columnist Abe Zaidan. The posts are fantastic and loaded with opinion. Of all the sites I read, this one makes me laugh the most. It is a newcomer to the Akron blogging scene and I hope a permanent fixture.

Pho's Akron Pages – Pho knows politics, the law, and Akron very well. All his posts are well written and interesting. He writes on topics happening up the block or on the other side of the world with clarity and wit. It is a fun site to read and has some great comment threads.

Fem Dem In Akron – Katie shares her perspective on events local and national. This past fall she was profiled in the Washington Post for her involvement in the Obama campaign.

LongLiveTheVillageGreen.com – This site is based in Kenmore, Ohio. They provide a unique perspective on their community, public education, and the arts. The site covers a range of topics and regularly posts some great music. God save strawberry jam and all the different varieties.

These are just a few of the sites I check out. If you have a blog here in Akron, please post the address in the comments so I can check it out. Thank you for reading my posts. See you around Akron.

Now I know how President Bush feels, minus the whole being president part. It is like I am here – but also not.

But anyways, the beat goes on. News from the model city of Cleveland that isn't Brady Quinn / LeBron James / (generic Indians player) / home foreclosure / Jimmy Dimora / crime / Detroit comparison related.

PD: Cleveland could be among the first cities in the nation to name a school in honor of President-elect Barack Obama if a city councilman has his way. But officials will have to act fast to claim that distinction.

City Councilman Zack Reed called on fellow members at Monday's council meeting to join him in urging the Cleveland Municipal School District to rename a school in honor of the nation's first black president.

Unfortunately for the always attention seeking Reed, he was tardy on getting in on this idea. That school in Long Island beat him to the punch. Just like the school in New York pushed aside Dr. Charles Ludlum for The One, Cleveland will be doing the same to Nathan Hale if Reed gets his way. Hale is considered America's first spy. He was captured by the British and is remembered for his speech before being hanged following the Battle of Long Island. Before he was killed Hale said, "I only regret that I have but one life to give my country."

If people like Reed want to start naming buildings and what not after someone who currently only holds a make believe office, go ahead I suppose. I would say it might be more prudent to wait until he is actually in office and see what happens, but that is just me. But how about naming things that you know, need names, instead of just plastering over the old with the new? Nathan Hale and Dr. Ludlum will probably be among the many who disappear into history to make way for Obama. Look, I understand the symbolic victory Obama achieved. He wasn't my guy, but I respect what he has accomplished and wish him well. However, Americans from our past who achieved great things and had the honor of something being named after them don't deserve to be relegated to the trash bin of history.

If Reed is successful, and who knows if he will be, Obama will join the illustrious Michael R. White in getting a Cleveland Municipal School named after him.

Minnesota Update: Because the post has rolled off the front page, here is what is going on in the recount between Senator Norm Coleman and unfunny comedian Al Franken. With 82% of the vote counted, Coleman has an unofficial lead of 231 votes. Coleman has challenged 1,853 votes and Franken has challenged 1,773. I am starting to feel a little more optimistic here.

Republicans everywhere in Ohio and especially powerful ones in Columbus are not very happy with State Senator Tim Grendell.

Grendell (R-Chesterland, 18th District) found himself unopposed on November 4 for his second term in the Ohio Senate. He was one of only two State Senators who faced no opposition – and the only Republican. Kind of curious.

Both the Democrat (Mark Schneider) and Republican (Carol-Ann Schindel) candidates in the 63rd House District claimed Grendell's support in one of the marquee races from three weeks ago. The 63rd is located in parts of Lake County, which also is part of Grendell's Senate territory. Both Schneider and Schindel had ads
with the Republican Grendell's statements of support. "I am confident that Mark Schneider will provide a strong voice for the families of Lake County in the House of Representatives," one of the Schneider ads quoted Grendell as saying. According to Gongwer (subscription required), House Democrats said their spots stemmed from an agreement with the lawmaker, who would not go as far as an endorsement but agreed to provide the quotes and appear in a picture with Mr. Schneider. The Democrat's campaign produced signed copies of the statements on the candidate's letterhead as proof of the arrangement. But he did say later "I exclusively and wholeheartedly endorse State Representative Carol-Ann Schindel." Way to back your party, Tim. In the end, Schneider won with around 54% of the vote.

It is really a matter of semantics if he endorsed Schneider. But Grendell did agree to appear in his campaign lit and say nice things about him, stopping short of using the word "endorse." He may as well have though. The common understanding is he pulled this stunt in a quid pro quo for running unopposed, even though the Democrats didn't really have a top tier candidate to run against him. So there really wasn't a need to do this. Grendell has a reputation of just looking out for his own best interest and stepping on anyone needed that is in his way, including Republicans, and this would certainly be an example. Grendell has reportedly been getting some very icy treatment from his colleagues.

Grendell has been long known to have his eye on the U.S. House seat of Steve LaTourette. From what I am hearing he can forget that now. He will not get the party backing if the chance ever comes. There has been talk he will lose any possible chairmanship for the next legislative session in Columbus. To say that many of his fellow Republicans in Columbus and the leadership was outraged over his actions is an understatement. Additionally, I was told that tonight at the Lake County Republican Party executive committee meeting the discussion of censuring Grendell will be started.

One local point to add to this. At the April meeting of the Summit County Central Committee, Grendell was the hand chosen parliamentarian of Alex Arshinkoff. Grendell was paid handsomely for his services that night. Real objective.

UPDATE: I spoke to Mendenhall today. Here are the basics: Throughout the Issue 9 campaign – he was involved in this along with Issue 8 – the hundreds of volunteers constantly heard from people who wanted to do something to change Akron leadership. The "special place in hell" comment was a last push to really get this effort going. Mendenhall and the other volunteers decided they could not run a successful recall campaign unless a couple of hundred people would work to collect signatures and campaign for change, and Mendenhall volunteered to create the website to determine if there is enough community interest to make this a possibility. That remains to be seen. He said that this was a group decision.

Joe Finley supports the recall effort and will probably be on the ballot in 2009 for one of the at-large council seats, Mendenhall said. He added that the numbers in the 2007 Democratic primary, and numbers from a recent poll show (I don't know anything about this or who it was conducted for) Democrats essentially split 50/50 on whether or not they would vote for Plusquellic. The poll did show that those who think Plusquellic has done a good job still dislike many of his personal qualities and that his positives are relatively weak. Additonally, about 150 Republicans contained within the sample of the poll. He said they were "100% opposed to Issue 8." (end update)

Local bombshell, Ohio.com: A local attorney who has been a constant adversary of Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic plans to launch an effort to have the mayor recalled.

Warner Mendenhall will start a Web site — www.changeakronnow.com — Tuesday morning to recruit volunteers for the recall effort. He wants to enlist about 200 people to gather the 3,000 signatures needed to put the recall on the ballot.

And also a PD Quote: "Half the city doesn't like him," Mendenhall said Monday. "We think it's essentially time to have a referendum to decide whether or not the people of Akron want him to continue to be mayor."

The group will have to collect just under 3200 signatures to force a special election. My guess is that it will get done….with lots and lots and lots of close scrutiny on every single name that appears from those who do the checking. If Mendenhall and Co. get enough valid signatures, there will be a simple up or down vote in a special election where turnout will be key and results hard to predict. As an FYI for those that don't know, Mendenhall was one of the leaders against the "Sewers for Scholarships" ballot issue that went up in flames on November 4. Oh, and estimated cost for the special election is around $160,000 for the always needing more money Summit County BOE. Fully expect that to be a major reason to try and convince people not to sign anything. The county wastes money everyday on dumb things and pet projects and is already massively in debt, so $160,000 isn't the end of the world. Anyhow, we just spent millions to update the state voting system to help elect and inexperienced socialist as President of the United States. But back to the topic at hand.

Shaming FDR and Mike Bloomberg, Plusquellic won reelection for his seemingly 3,481th consecutive term (actually first elected in 1987) last September, defeating Joe Finley in the Democratic primary 53-47%. 11% of eligible voters turned out. Akron pride! The narrow win was not considered a surprise, that would be an understatement – it was shockingly close. The general was then a mere formality, as the local Republicans decided it would be best to not run a candidate. Always a good strategy to win elections, guys! Don got just under 16,000 of the approx. 20,000 voters (quick math from the BOE site, someone may want to check that, it is late) who could have checked his name, even though no one was against him on the ballot. That is not very good. When Plusquellic won the primary, I wrote: The race was supposed to be a blowout by all accounts. Finley was massively outspent and faced constant ridicule in local media (including but not limited to the ABJ), including the blogs. He had almost no name recognition outside the ward he used to represent. Finley by most accounts did not run a good campaign, though I can not speak to that directly. Most analysts said Finley performed at an abysmal level in his head to head debates with Plusquellic. Yet he still got 47%. The majority of that 47% wasn't pro-Joe Finley. It was anti-The Don.

There are simply a ton of Akron residents – many of whom are Democrats – who just don't like Plusquellic. Certianly most parking attendants would be included in this group. The guy lost 47% of the vote from his own party in his most recent primary against Finley. That is why this is going to be fascinating to watch. Haven't heard anything yet from Finley on this, though my guess is that he isn't really involved but will probably come out and say he is for the recall and sign the petition. From what I hear, and this is all sketchy right now so take it with the proverbial grain of salt, is that this is Mendenhall going after Plusquellic, and there aren't any big names out there behind the curtain. I'll try and see what else I can dig up Tuesday.

Jumping way ahead, lets just say that all this comes to fruition and Plusquellic is booted. Would Alex Arshinkoff run a GOP candidate in the general? Could he even afford to, considering it would take some money to do so? Don't new campaign finance reports come out soon, BTW? This would be a great opportunity for a non-Alex Republican to make a mark. Of course now I am getting ahead of myself, but that is to be expected.

As of this hour, there is no word on whether or not the people who sign a petition to remove Plusquellic have a "special place in hell" reserved for them.

Our friends over at Psychobilly Democrat have some thoughts as well.

This past Friday, Ben and I were invited to be guests on NewsNight Akron. Thank you to Eric Mansfield for inviting us to participate in a panel discussion about the previous election. NewsNight Akron is one of the few places were those of us who love politics can go to hear about local issues here in our community.

It is in these final weeks of the campaign that local candidates try to be heard in a media market saturated by advertising. Democratic Candidate for Summit County Engineer Al Brubaker has released a television ad. The spot highlights Al's family life and history here in the Akron area.

Democrats in Summit County are exceptionally coordinated this year and are looking to maximize their gains from the projected record turnout on Election Day. Candidates like Russ Pry, Frank Communale, Democratic Judicial Candidates, and Al Brubaker have been working with the Obama campaign locally as a team. I know most of you just said "duh," but it is a stark contrast to what is happening on the Republican side. Deep divisions remain from the infighting that consumed Summit County Republicans this past spring. The result is that they have very limited coordination and many local candidates are left to go it alone while Democrats work together countywide. I think this will be what leads to a Democrat sweep on Election Day.

Unrelated: Republican pollster Rasmussen Reports has Obama up 8% nationally today.

Thought I would pass this along for our readers who listen to conservative talk radio when not reading The Point.

(Glenn) Beck returns to weekdays 9 a.m. to noon, starting Monday, Nov. 3. "Bringing Beck back now is a chance to correct the mistake that was made more than three years ago, and he gives us the best chance to win weekdays 9 a.m. to noon," said WTAM program director Ray Davis in an email. Bob Frantz, in the mid-morning slot, moves his talk show to 7 p.m. to midnight.

This caused changes elsewhere locally. Clear Channel just wants Beck on The Big One, so he will be off the air now on Akron's 640 and Elyria's 930. Matt Patrick will take the 9-12 slot on 640 replacing Beck there. 640 will now air the final hour of Hannity (instead of Patrick 5-7) and Mark Levin live from 6-8 instead of on a one hour delay. Patrick is growing on me, but to me he will always be the guy on WKDD who said if school was open or closed due to the snow storm as I sat in my bed listening to the radio (that is how we used to find out, youth). To be honest, I didn't know 930 in Elyria even existed so I don't know or care what they will be doing. If you do care, it actually does tell you in the article. (Ohio Media Watch was first on this story earlier this week).

The move helps me. I listened to Frantz when he first came on in this market after the Jerry Springer disaster. Then my schedule changed and I really don't have the chance to hear him anymore. I will now; his show is very enjoyable. I have never really listened to Glenn Beck more than about ten times in approximately two minute increments, so no opinion on him. I haven't watched Headline News since sophomore year at Ohio State (1999-2000) so same for his television show – no opinion.

One unanswered question remains. What happens to my least favorite Cleveland talker of all-time, Kevin Keane, who currently runs "Sportsline?" I don't know, but looks like he will have one less outlet for his Charlie Manuel bashing. Jerk.

Of course, this will all be moot if Obama, Jeff Bingaman, and other Democrats get their wish and bring back the Fairness Doctrine. But don't fret. The Point will not be affected; we already operate under Democrat approved tactics with two different viewpoints.

Daily Ray of Sunshine: Strategic Vision polls – OH: M 48 O 45, PA: O 50 M 43, FL: M 48 O 46. I'll take them any day over the students at Quinnipiac University. Kind of right where I see things right now. Think I am crazy? Weigh in with our new poll in the sidebar.

(Note: I originally had one time slot messed up. That has now been fixed).

Last night, three of Akron biggest bands came together to play a benefit concert at Akron's Civic Theater for the Summit County Democratic Party and to support Barack Obama. Congressman Tim Ryan, Attorney General Candidate Richard Cordray, Akron City Council President Marco Summerville, Summit County Executive Russ Pry, and other prominent Democrats addressed the crowd in between musical sets. Best speech was given by Tim Ryan as he fired up the crowd. The theater was packed and people were excited to be there. It was a mix of people proud to be Democrats in Akron. These are my kind of people.

The Black Keys opened. They are really tight live and played a great set. In between songs they talked about their Akron roots. It was a perfect opening act. Chrissy Hynde played an acoustic set with another guitarist. She doesn't really need a band because her voice is so good. Chrissy got a little more political than The Black Keys and talked about the need to elect Barack. It wasn't any deep policy discussion, but was still an enthusiastic endorsement. I had no clue what to expect from Devo. They were really good and so energetic. They jumped all over, had coordinated costume changes, and sounded great. It was clear they were happy to be playing in their home town. The show ended with all the bands playing together. My sources tell me the show raised at least $60,000 and that number will go up as the final receipts are totaled.

Ray Horner was kind enough to have us back in studio this morning to discuss the state of the race. We discussed the Vice Presidential debate, tonight's presidential debate, and other topics related to the campaign. Here is the second segment of our interview where we focus on tonight's presidential debate. Additional segment: Watch part 1

Tonight: Come to Politics.Ohio.com to live blog tonight's Presidential Debate at 9:00pm EST

The facility was a large open room inside. In the middle of the room was a bullpen of about 40 computers and 20 workers processing the registrations and ballots. After filling out the paperwork to request my ballot, I waited in an area of about 200 folded metal chairs. There were about 50 people waiting for ballots. My name was called about five minutes later and I took my ballot over to one of the booths and filled out my ballot. After voting I turned my ballot in and walked out. The entire process took about 20 minutes and was very efficient. One of the volunteers I spoke with said that they were processing about 650 people a day and that things had been busiest when people come to vote after work. My hope is that many of those people were registering and voting.

I spoke with a couple of good friends who have been out canvassing this past week in Akron. The volunteers have been registering voters to vote absentee and encouraging them to go to the polls now. Volunteers are blanketing Summit County from Bath and Hudson to inner city Akron. Early voting is the first test of the Democrats ground game. So far, so good. Today is the last day to register to vote in Ohio.

Here is some interesting information for you. It regards Ohio House District 63. Likely not on the radar screen of too many our readers, but still too good not to print (or type in this case). The 63rd District includes part of Lake County. (map of Ohio House districts here)

The Democrats have found a candidate to face off against incumbent Republican Carol-Ann Schindel. He is Mark Schneider. Hmmm. That name sounds awfully familiar. Let me refresh your memory. In June of 2006, a child rape case was dismissed from Cuyahoga County Court when an assistant county prosecutor didn't show up for court. The prosecutor was Mark Schneider.

Craig faced life because Ohio does have mandatories in this situation, but Judge Eileen Gallagher threw the case out, let Craig walk because prosecutor Mark Schneider was late for court. Mr. Schneider told us he was filing an emergency motion and informed the court about that.
(More from MSNBC, CNN)

Well that is not the point of the post. Schneider recently moved to Lake County (early 2007) after Schindel beat Tim Cassell in November of 2006. Now he is running in the 63rd District. According to a simple records search at the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, Mark Schneider never voted in Cuyahoga County. In his stump speech, Schneider says he has worked in the prosecutors office since getting out of law school, so that is 9 years. He might have voted in school at Michigan (during his undergrad – no records available that I could find), but not in Cuyahoga where he lived since he got out of law school at Ohio State.

Now he wants your vote.

Driving around Summit County the last few days, I have been left to wonder if any Republican is running county wide besides Bill Spicer. The signs that say "Re-elect Judge Spicer" are everywhere. Signs for others are non-existent. Why?

Are a great number of Summit County residents really that fired up about the race for probate court? Or is this the race the Summit County GOP has decided to focus on almost exclusively?

The race for probate court judge is a big one for both parties. It carries with it 50+ patronage positions. I would even say that this race is probably more important to Alex Arshinkoff than John McCain winning the White House. The current crew at probate are his core group of supporters. He needs them to keep their jobs.

I think I just answered my own question. I wonder how many local people got phone calls that probably went like this:

Caller: "Hi, this is so and so from the Summit County Republican Party! We would like to place signs of local candidates in your yard to help us to victory this November! If you'll let us, we will stop by and put up the signs for you."

Person at home: "Uhhh, sure I guess."

Then a couple of days later the signs are there, only the signs are just one sign for Bill Spicer, and the people look out in their yard and wonder who is this Judge Spicer. After the certain local bloodbath for Republicans this fall, all will be well at GOP HQ if the probate court remains in Republican hands I suppose. I wonder if other local Republicans will get money promised to them by Arshinkoff?

NSR has an update on some of the latest party news.

Note: I have never met Bill Spicer and wouldn't know him if he knocked on my door. He could be the world's greatest judge and/or one of the best guys around. I have no idea. This post is a comment on why his race is getting so much attention from the party while other candidates are being hung out to dry.

Monday night I had the chance to attend a fund raiser for State Representative Richard Nero. The even was held at Sarah's Vineyard in Cuyahoga Falls. Not being much of a wine guy, this was my first trip to this location. The event was well attended, and Team Nero was very pleased with the turnout.

Nero is facing off against Democratic Hudson Councilman Mike Moran in November. Nero won the March primary and was then appointed to the seat when John Widowfield resigned. Rich and his campaign team (good people) have been out working hard in the 42nd District meeting with residents to discuss the issues and help build his name recognition, which is important in such a localized race. The seat is one of the big Democratic targets this fall as they mount their effort to try and win back the Ohio House. The 42nd encompasses Cuyahoga Falls, Hudson, Munroe Falls, Silver Lake and Stow.

Rich spoke for a few minutes and told everyone why he felt he needed to step up and run. The main reason he gave was that he was tired of the lack of leadership in the 42nd. He detailed what he wants to do if he is sent back to Columbus for a first full-term. After he talked, Kevin DeWine, Deputy Chairman of the Ohio Republican Party, talked about the importance of this race and gave what I would call an "Ohio in general" update. He said that things have really changed over the last two weeks in the favor of the GOP. Interesting to note that DeWine shared that he was at the convention last week and mentioned Sarah Palin and people cheered like she just walked in the door. Underscoring how important this race is, DeWine made the trip from Greene County to attend.

All in all, it was a very enjoyable time and I really enjoyed talking with so many rank and file Summit County Republicans about Representative Nero's race and other national and state issues.

Some pictures I took from the event with my cut-rate camera are below the fold.

Back in June, I discussed the Ohio House race in the 41st District (PDF of the district location in Summit County). Republican Randy Cole is running to unseat Democrat Brian G. Williams, who was first elected in 2004. In that post, I described how Williams replaced similarly named Republican Bryan C. Williams for the seat, which is one of the big reasons he was selected by Democrats to run in the first place (name confusion). New Brian Williams won by 279 votes out of about 64,700 total votes. He has done next to nothing for the district since he was elected unless you count collecting a paycheck in addition to his retirement check from the state from his time in the Akron schools.

Since my initial writing, Cole has received the endorsement of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce Political Action Committee and the Ohio Society of CPAs. He was also recognized as one of Akron’s "30 for the Future" by the Greater Akron Chamber of Commerce. Cole was also the only candidate running against a two term incumbent who received the Ohio Chamber endorsement. Also since my first post on this race there has been no status change in the legislative accomplishments of Brian Williams; he has still just introduced 4 non-important bills, of which exactly 0 have passed.

The number one focus for Randy continues to be the economy – as it has been from the start. He is still stressing the importance of dealing with our lagging economy throughout his campaign and his plan to use our regional strengths to our advantage. At the event on Sunday I heard him repeat that he is frustrated by the fact that when knocking on doors people in this area constantly tell him they have to get on a plane to see their children and/or grandchildren because they have gone elsewhere looking for better employment. He thinks this can change with the right leadership. Currently the 41st is without such a leader in the Ohio House.

This past weekend, the Cole campaign had an ice cream social and family get together at the Bath Community Center that attracted a good number of local residents. The picture above is Randy briefly addressing the crowd as they enjoyed the food. Below the fold are a few of the other pictures I took.

Part II of my interview with Congressman Ralph Regula. Here he discusses the current energy situation. As you will see, Regula is in favor of more drilling here at home and off our coasts and he explains why. In my opinion, he makes a very strong case. The clip runs just over three minutes.

Once again, a big thank you to Congressman Regula for the interview. As someone mentioned in the comments on the first half of the video, he is not running for reelection so he wasn't doing this for any political gain. Regula is legendary for his constituent service, and now I see why.

Yesterday morning I had the privilege of sitting down with Congressman Ralph Regula, the Republican who represents the 16th District. Regula is currently the second longest serving Republican in the House and the longest continuous term of anyone ever from Ohio. He was first elected in 1972 and will be wrapping up his 18th and final term this year. In October, he announced he would not be running for reelection.

In Part I of the video (just under 5 minutes), Regula reflects on his career and discusses why he decided now was the time to step aside. Specifically, he talks about funding medical facilities and working with John Seiberling to establish the CVNP.

Part II (posted tomorrow) focuses on energy and gas prices and the current situation on the House floor. Regula also discusses the Ohio political landscape and Mt. McKinley.

Thanks again to Congressman Regula for the time yesterday.

Ohio.com has the story:

Summit County Republicans unanimously picked Gloria Rodgers — a nurse and party stalwart who lives in Stow — to run for County Council this November.

Rodgers replaces John Widowfield, who dropped out of the District 3 race in May after resigning from the state legislature amid allegations that he used campaign money to buy OSU football tickets and resold the tickets for a profit on eBay.

The two other applicants were Louise Heydorn, who holds the council seat, and Gene Haas, a retired colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserve and Akron schoolteacher and administrator.

Rodgers will be a "top-flight candidate," he (Arshinkoff) said.

That last line is a kiss of death.

Louise Heydorn is the incumbent – the only Republican on Summit County Council. She was defeated by John Widowfield in the March primary. Widowfield ran against Heydorn per the wishes of Party Chairman Alex Arshinkoff. The grand plan kind of hit a snag when Widowfield resigned from his Ohio House seat in May due to an Ohio State ticket problem and subsequently withdrew from the race for council.

Fourteen members of Arshinkoff's Executive Committee managed to show up for the meeting last night and they proceeded to elect Gloria Rogers on the recommendation of Arshinkoff. Big shock. Heydorn had a majority of the Summit County Republican Central Committee members that reside within her district sign a petition supporting her. Didn't matter. Towards the end of Monday's meeting, Heydorn tried to address the Executive Committee. Arshinkoff refused to allow her to speak and immediately adjourned the meeting. Leadership on display.

Actually the best part of the story might be this: Summit County GOP central and executive committee officers met Saturday to review applicants. Monday night, they recommended Rodgers to a committee made up of executive committee members who live in District 3.

Yeah, I am sure there was a lot of "reviewing" of the applicants.

I just want to reiterate one thing: LOUISE HEYDORN IS THE INCUMBENT!!!!!!!!! I almost never use caps lock – I hate when people do it – but this warranted usage. Seriously. They passed on the only elected Republican on Council (11 members). Common sense you tells you Heydorn would have the best chance of keeping the seat, but that isn't how decisions are made . Heydorn didn't back Arshinkoff that fateful night at Tangier (and really why would she have) so she had no chance Monday evening. Arshinkoff and team picked someone loyal to him rather than the best candidate. Standard procedure.

Let me be clear – I wouldn't know Gloria Rodgers if she walked up to me tomorrow and slapped me. So this is nothing against her. The article said she is a nurse, so Gloria, if I am ever in an accident and you are attending to me, this is not personal against you. Louise Heydorn is just the better candidate.

There you go. The Summit County Republican Party. Hey, at least we are running someone, right? But I do want to genuinely thank Mr. Arshinkoff – all day I have been working on an Electoral College update and just can't get the wording right. One of those "writer's block" things. Then this story came along and you solved my problem at least for one night. Thanks Chairman.

To be fair, I reported in June that the pick was likely to be Den Robart. That was the name being tossed around, confirmed by a few people, and it turned out not to be correct. I apologize. Though I did know it there was no chance in hell it would be Heydorn. That was the easy one to get right, however.

"Guess what? I got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell." I don't think there will be any objections to working that classic reference into a post here. Anyhow….

I'm not sure that anyone was shocked (or even remotely surprised) by Monday's joint FBI and IRS raid in Cleveland. How could you be? Everyone has known for a long, long time how the game is played in Cuyahoga County. The top two targets are County Auditor Frank Russo and County Commissioner and Chairman of the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party Jimmy Dimora. The FBI served search warrants at the Cuyahoga County administration building, the data center, the county engineer's office and the homes of the two gents named above. The federal investigation revolves around on allegations that Dimora and Russo, among other things, traded jobs and county contracts for improvements to their own homes and properties.

Jill at Writes Likes She Talks has PDF's of the search warrant and items taken during the raids.

Cleveland Scene (who recently merged with the Free Times) ran an absolutely great piece on Jimmy Dimora back in January of 2007. This excerpt from the piece summed it up pretty well: But this is how things work in Jimmy's county, where a check with enough zeroes can take care of anything. He's an old-time political boss in the truest sense of the word. Yet while the urban bosses of old made sure to care for the people before fattening up themselves, Jimmy forgot the part about the people.

Typically when the FBI swarms on your office and house, that is not a good sign. They just don't do it to do it.

And on all top of this, the morning the story comes out, the house of Cleveland Councilman Joe Cimperman goes up in flames early that same morning. Ruled arson. Not even going to speculate on that.

"Probably just a Republican attempt to (fill in the blank)," is the line we might hear from a few Democrats. Sometimes that works. It won't this time. Not when basically every elected official in the county is a Democrat. But it won't matter politically. A new batch of Democrats will rise to power in the county and the same story will be written on a blog by someone in approximately 20 years.

On a side note, I was in Cleveland for the first time since October yesterday. It is about as bad I remembered it.

However, Republicans have their own problems to worry about in Alaska………..

Then Tuesday, the long awaited indictment of Ted Stevens (R-his house and bank account) in Alaska finally came down while I was participating in lunch activities with some former co-workers.

Facts on the case in a brief summary: The facts are these: In 2000, Stevens ordered an extensive home-improvement project that nearly doubled the size of his house. The contractors who did the work were told to send the invoices first to VECO Corp., an oil-field-services company whose two top executives have pleaded guilty to bribing Alaska state legislators. VECO then sent the bills to Stevens, which he paid out of a separate account set up for the project. Even if VECO sent Stevens all the invoices it received (and that remains an open question), there is no question that Stevens involved himself in a shadowy financial arrangement with a company known for its corrupt practices.

This is one seat that should stay in Republican hands forever, but maybe not now. For too long Ted Stevens has used his office to benefit Ted Stevens. It's about time he left the political scene. May as well do so now, before he is forced to do so. Republicans should try to force Stevens out and rally around whoever wins the GOP Primary August 26nd if it isn't Stevens (David Cuddy looks like the best GOP alternative right now). And if Stevens wins the primary, well, this seat is as good as gone. He sure isn't stepping aside then because he will think he can win – the man has an ego the size of the state he represents (term used loosely). He will lose the seat and lose a safe Republican seat in the process. Job well done.

Hopefully after 2006 the people that make the critical decisions within the GOP have learned their lesson. Stevens is a symbol of everything that voters perceive is wrong with our party. If he is somehow found "not guilty" of the criminal charges, he is still guilty of being ethically challenged. Only 100 lucky people in this entire country can be United States Senators. Ted Stevens should not be one of them. Hard working GOP Senators (like John Sununu, John Cornyn, and others) don't deserve to be lumped together with Stevens. Now they will.

I've have often criticized Stevens in the past, so I am not doing any bandwagon jumping: Here, here, here, and here.