Seems change is hard to come by
Consider. The local incarnation of the Grand Old Party is hardly grand these days, as the Repuglicans have trouble brandishing candidates for local offices with both oars in the water. Not to mention, both Party representatives on the Bored of Elections have been ousted by the Repuglican Secretary of State.
That latter hit includes scathing fire blasted at Repuglican Party Chair Jon Stainbrook as he was bounced from the five-figure-with-bennies post. The former punk rock drummer Stainbrook has used the BoE as a source of patronage jobs, having secured the hiring of such stalwarts as his femme fatale Meghan Gallagher, multiple election loser Hans Schnapp, and his own bad self to positions overseeing Lucas County elections.
Stain remover
In the last few months Gallagher was removed from her position as Director and Stainbrook was removed by Secretary Jon Husted from his post as a Bored member. Stainbrook-endorsed candidate Ernest McCarthy is being pressured to get the puck out of the way so real men can challenge the Democrat incumbent Edna Brown, and most of the rest of the Stainbrook slate is so forgettable that we’ve forgotten ‘em.
Yes, it’s definitely not the best of days to be in the Stainbrook camp. The recent meeting to elect new leadership for the less-than-grand GOP in Lucas County devolved into a shouting match. Former Bored employee Dennis Lange was ejected from the meeting after a well-documented confrontation with security hired for the event. Sitting Toledo Councilman Rob Ludeman, visibly upset by the course of the fracas, exited early.
The song remains insane
But it’s all over now, as the Party decided to plow more fertile fields. New leadership was elected, calmer heads prevailed, and the GOP is newly grand. Well-respected candidates will likely be developed to provide substantive challenge to the dominant Democrats and a thorough house cleaning is under way.
Just kidding. After complete repudiation and embarrassment, the Stain was re-elected to the post of Party Chairman in a landslide. He has carefully filled the crucial seats on the Central Committee with his own supporters who voted for him in droves. His only opposition was bat guano loopy Bill Delaney, he of the five-figure fines for refusing to enforce the state smoking ban passed by the will of Ohio voters. Doesn’t trust the voters, sez Delaney. Perhaps then he shouldn’t have a say on who runs the Bored of Elections, yo.
The combination of savvy organizing and nuthatch opposition earns Stainbrook two more years at the helm.
His faction now has control over his own replacement on the Bored, plus other positions at the Bored recently purged by Secretary Husted.
You can bet the Same Old Party will get full bore behind judicial candidate Mark Davis, loser of several previous elections and owner of multiple personalities. Davis is the Stain’s personal lawyer, having replaced
Anthony DeGidio.
DeGidio was placed on the Bored while in Stainbrook’s good graces. Those graces have since turned sour and DeGidio has been sent packing back to his Mahoning County abode.
All of this is great news if you favor a dysfunctional Same Old Party peopled with silly folks flopping all over themselves in ridiculousness, as we do. If you believe in a robust two party system of government, well, sorry about your luck.
Piling on
In other news, the leadership of the Democratic Party was discredited by losses at the polls last year, inability to develop new and credible candidates, and the removal of Party Chair Ron Rothenbuhler from the BoE. Current Toledo Councilman Steven Steel was elected to replace Rothenbuhler in an orderly meeting by unanimous voice vote.
Rothenbuhler had earlier announced that he was seeking re-election, then removed himself as a candidate at the eleventh hour. Former union boss Jim Martin then publicly announced his candidacy, only to remove himself on the eve of the election. That left the Dems backing Steel without acrimony or intrigue. He pledged a unified Party after the vote, or what he called a “well-oiled, well-trained machine.”
All of this is great news if you favor a Democratic Party that can simply swat opposition out of the way like so many annoying gnats. If you believe in a robust two party system of government, well, see above.
