More on the Lucas County Republican Party and the Scotland saga…
In addition to the earlier coverage on Fox Toledo, this morning’s Blade article by Tom Troy yields the expected response, that Jon Stainbrook blamed the BOE.
As posted here in the comments over on WSPD this morning Fred spoke with Patrick Kriner of the BOE and Jon Stainbrook.
I’ll update later as the information comes in.
I do have one small issue to raise and that is “past practices” if the BOE were to start informing candidates or certain party chairs selectively or they were to waive the time requirement stated in the ORC it could open up future issues and anyone who filed late or missed a deadline would be able to state past practices as a reason why they should be waived for them as well. It’s why the rules are set and are supposed to be adhered to, so that it’s an equal field…
Lisa, this whole saga reeks of rats from more than one direction.
August 21st, 2008 at 10:37 amI agree Sepp.
August 21st, 2008 at 10:53 amI second Pam’s second. Clearly this spineless weasel couldn’t lead an army of ants to picnic with a map and a compass. Its clear that he was put in his position to provide the results that we are seeing from him. Who really put this guy in charge? Its clear that this goes well beyond a commissioner’s seat up for grabs. I want to see a big freaking spotlight shining in some dark, dirty corners downtown.
And what is he going to do if he takes this to court? Plead stupidity? I had said last night that the person responsible for this had to have brass clockweights for testicles and a brain half their size.
Well, I was right on the latter.
August 21st, 2008 at 11:02 amExactly HCP!!!!! It is all stated in the Ohio Revised Code. Stainbrook is the chair. He is head of the party. If he doesn’t know what he has to do, why is he in charge. I say the blade and John R. Block have a lot to do with this. The blade does not want the Republican Party to be viable to Lucas County politics. Stainbrook is a good friend of JRB. I think the bread crumbs will lead us to the inner sanctum of JRB.
August 21st, 2008 at 11:06 amStainbrook is a good friend of JRB? Well, THAT explains everything. Wozniak had no chance against Scotland and with Woz gone, there goes the 2/3 “majority” that pushes JRB’s agendas thru without fail everytime.
August 21st, 2008 at 11:51 amSomebody was afraid Scotland would tip the scales in the favor of common sense…can’t let THAT happen in Lucas county!
Sepp,
With all due respect, it is assinine to say that Wozniak had no chance against Scotland. However, it would be closer to the truth to reverse your statement as Scotland had a lot of catching up to do.
August 21st, 2008 at 12:04 pmPam,
I think you are exactly right, and anyone within a country mile of the LCRP should have seen this coming.
I can’t help but think that this mess with Scotland is a thinly veiled attempt to get Kriner and Olman out of the BOE. It really sucks that I would have to suspect that, but given the suspicious character of Stainbrook, his confidantes and his puppeteer I believe that anything rotten is possible. Scotland happened to be in the unfortunate position that he could be used as a tool by Stainbrook to attack Kriner and Olman.
Unbelievable that The Blade has the influence over the outcome of it’s opposition as much as it does over it’s own interests.
August 21st, 2008 at 12:04 pmGood point Voice of Reason. I think you are onto something with using this to get rid of Mr. Kriner and Mr. Olman. I hope that Stainbrook is the one chastized and told this was your responsibility, you are the chair and in charge. It is not the Boards duty to do your work for you.
I believe Ms. Skeldon Wozniak would have had a real challenge this election. People are sick of her lack of respect of taxpayer dollars and her thinking it’s the county’s money. It is not, it is the taxpayers. I’m so disgusted we do not have a choice. JERKin had no opponent, now Wozniak. Something stinks and I think a full investigation is in order. Gee do you think the blade will start a Tom Noe type expose on this? Not.
August 21st, 2008 at 12:13 pmCan voters still vote for Pellman? If so, it still could be an interesting election.
August 21st, 2008 at 12:24 pmNow we are talking some conspiracy, and the funny thing about conspiracies, is sometimes their true!
Pam and Brian are opening my eyes, people. Priding myself in not being a card carrying member of any party, I admit that I haven’t paid as close attention as I should to the inner workings of either prevailing corrupt organization, but you are on to something…
Noe put an already weak LCRP against the ropes a few years back, and with the lack of leadership stepping up it was prime for an internal takeover. Use a morally bankrupt, spineless incompetent twit to run the GOP, and not only do you create an open shot at the flank of a couple of the last ranking Republicans holding position, you create an aura of dissatisfaction and helplessness amongst the general public that has already grown weary of business as usual in this county, just in time for a critical national election.
But I will say this about JRB and the Blade, they’ve changed their tactics. All they used to need was the power of print to force their will on local politics. The crusty old man has gotten crafty with age.
August 21st, 2008 at 12:29 pmI don’t buy into the conspiracy theory. Stainbrook is not that bright.
This is simply a matter of an incompetent administrator trying to blame someone else for his own failures to develop the systems needed to run an organization. Instead of being an honest boss, who would step up and accept responsibility, Stainbrook chooses to act like a low-level flunky, trying to blame the BOE for the problems.
Of course, since Jon Stainbrook has never worked in any capacity in his life beyond that of low-level flunky and pool boy to the Toledo Yacht Club, we should not expect that he brings to the job anything but a lack of experience.
Any administrator worth his or her salt would stand up in front of the cameras and say: “We failed. As party chair, I accept responsibility, and we are fixing the system to make sure this never happens again.”
But honesty and integrity are foreign words to a guy like Stainbrook. He’d rather take his chances in court than to admit he and his cronies screwed up, since this gets to the core of the insecurity that lurks beneath the surface of the Stain: deep down, he knows that he has no business running an important organization, since he’s underqualified and inexperienced.
Experienced managers already know that – even if they took the heat for the snafu and got canned – they would still land on their feet, since their reputation as an honest leader would be intact.
August 21st, 2008 at 12:41 pmOops, I made a mistake in the above post, and I accept full responsibility for my errors.
I said that Jon Stainbrook was pool-boy at the Toledo Yacht Club, when in fact he was pool-bot at the Maumee River Yacht Club.
Again, my sincere apologies for this mistake, which was entirely of my own doing, and I hope that my error has not caused the readers of GCJ to lose faith in me.
(See? Not so hard, Jon!)
August 21st, 2008 at 12:45 pmThere were people that tried to bring Stainbrook’s background and who he associates with to light. I remember some posting here when the chairmenship of the LCRP was at stake. I still believe John R. Block has a role in this. I believe Stainbrook is taking marching orders from him.
August 21st, 2008 at 12:48 pmOops, once again, I apologize for not spell-checking o my previous correction. That should read that Jon Stainbrook was a “pool-boy,” not a “pool-bot.”
I know that readers of GCJ expect more from me as a professional writer and historian, and that I have let down people who have come to expect better of me. In the future, I will ensure that I run spell-check on posts to avoid such problems.
(See how this works, Jon?)
August 21st, 2008 at 12:48 pmI like you Mike! You crack me up!
I agree with you whole heartedly on everything you said, except your feelings on the conspiracy. There is no question that Stainbrook screwed up and did a vamp this morning that would make Ashley Simpson’s SNL appearance look like a smooth recovery. The conspiracy for me lies in the fact that somehow a guy with a resume that rivals that of Carl the assistant groundskeeper from Caddyshack ascend to a leadership position in the GOP?
As a kid I cleaned out pig barns that didn’t smell as bad as this!
August 21st, 2008 at 12:52 pm“The conspiracy for me lies in the fact that somehow a guy with a resume that rivals that of Carl the assistant groundskeeper from Caddyshack ascend to a leadership position in the GOP?”
Bark like a dog…….
August 21st, 2008 at 12:59 pmStainbrook on what JBR promised him:
“So I says to JBR, ‘hey, how about a little something, ya know, for the effort?’ And he says to me ‘they’ll be no money exchanged today, but on your deathbed, you will recieve total conciousness.’ So I got that going for me, which is nice.”
August 21st, 2008 at 1:05 pmJUST FOLLOW THE RULES!
There, I shouted it.
August 21st, 2008 at 1:11 pmHairclub – you have me totally cracking up. Caddyshack is my all time favorite movie.
For JRB –
It’s easy to grin when your ship comes in and you you’ve got the stock market beat. But the man worthwhile is the man who can smile when his shorts are too tight in the seat.
August 21st, 2008 at 1:23 pmYeah, I have to say to all those “why won’t Stainbrook admit his mistake” people, that’s B*llSh*t!
One only has to peruse this blog for a few minutes to find that anyone who admits a mistake or accepts responsibility for failure is pilloried, and flayed for it.
Certainly the two most famous republicans on this page are “convicted felon” Joanne Wack, and “admitted theif” Matthew Bartow.
While Wack enjoys only slightly more sympathy on this page, you have to agree that Bartow taking responsibility for his mistake, and making restitution has not raised his esteem beyond that of a galley rat.
There is no absolution in admitting failure, in today’s culture. No one “respects more” the contrition-ist. Instead we simply heap on more blame and scorn. If you’re wrong, and admit it, there is no forgiveness, just ridicule.
So, I say to Jon Stainbrook, admit nothing! And avoid the lifetime tag of “admitted screw-up Jon Stainbrook”.
And I still say Bartow hates cats!
August 21st, 2008 at 1:41 pmI never trust anyone that hates a cute widdle puddy tat.
August 21st, 2008 at 1:44 pmPam, I am rolling!!!
I don’t know that your entirely right, rogue. I don’t know that you are entirely wrong, either. Sometimes I feel like I still pay for the mistakes I’ve made. Like those 4 semesters too long I stayed in college to get a degree, I pay for that every month! People might say you’re a screw up, especially in this town if there is an (R) behind your name, but at least they can’t say that you’re a screw up in denial. I screw crap up all the time, but at least I have the integrity to admit it. I’d rather put blame squarely on my shoulders so I can move on and fix the problems I made or at least learn from them.
If Bartow hates cats, lets see if the United Way building could be used as a cat sanctuary, to prevent the alley cat population of downtown to be further terrorized by he and others like him. Wait, no. Lets move JFS to the United Way building, and then we can put the cats in the Monroe St. facility – yeah, that’s the ticket! Oh wait! Lets find another privately owned building, Ben can hijack that, move JFS in there, move the cats to the United Way building, and we lock Bartow up in the Monroe St. facility! Ben, get the county checkbook!
August 21st, 2008 at 2:06 pmrogue… oh I mean Jon. You are a complete F*ck. You are a failed musician, a failed campaign guy, the only thing you have done in your simple life was to get yourself elected to something no one else wanted. You first act as GOP Chair was to put some one on the ballot against Ms. Skeldon. You have failed. Google Jon Stainbrook name once and all you see is your failures and your lawsuits. It is quite impressive. You befriended someone even more socially awkward than you in JRB, and now you have an even more distorted view of yourself. Congrats, way to let Jan down. What a great message to send to your party.. I am incompetent and a moron.
August 21st, 2008 at 2:13 pmI failed to put a “r” at the end of your… I am also incompetent and a moron.
August 21st, 2008 at 2:16 pmWe all know that Stainbrook is reading this thread. C’mon Jon, speak up! No spinning, no blaming, just tell the truth. Integrity is a very important characteristic of leadership – will you take responsibility for this mistake?
Making an excuse for missing the filing deadline does not mean that you have a good reason, but you will recieve more respect from the community if you candidly discuss the matter.
August 21st, 2008 at 2:26 pmThis is all very interesting but I think the only ones who can do anything about this joke of a chairman is the Ohio Republican Party. On the original Jan Scotland post I found this message and thought it may be helpful if anyone is interested in righting this ship;
# # 89 emily Says:
August 21st, 2008 at 12:34 pm
You should call the Ohio Republican Party to complain about this issue, the # is 614-228-2481. I suppose you should ask for Bob Bennett, the website lists him as the Chairman.
August 21st, 2008 at 3:01 pmRight on, Brian. As an alum, I can tell you the priests at St. John’s certainly didn’t instill in us that leadership is pointing the finger when things go badly. They taught us to be men, including admitting when we’re wrong, and accepting responsibility for it. I still remember that Jon, shame on you for not.
As a side note, how did someone so intellectually challenged and cowardly have the foresight to copyright his band name, and then have the intestinal fortitude to sue two major acts for intellectual property infringment?
Every dog has his day, I guess. Beats having a real job, right Jon?
August 21st, 2008 at 3:01 pmIn essence, we can sit and complain and criticize or we can do something about it!
August 21st, 2008 at 3:02 pmOh, and rogue, if Bartow deserves another chance why didn’t wack? Just curious…….
August 21st, 2008 at 3:04 pmHCP – Personal responsibility – AMEN!!!!! That is so lacking in our world today.
Meghan, I say we do something about it. First Stainbrook needs to resign and we need to get quality people that care about the need for a Republican Party of substance. I just think Lucas County will continue to suffer with Larry, Moe and Curly as county commissioners.
August 21st, 2008 at 3:17 pmOur county will continue the same old, same old. Our votes do not matter. When a levy is voted down, it will be put on the ballot again and again until it passes. We will have the same names running this county into the ground. When we get the chance for a quality candidate to be put on the ballot and give the voters a choice, something like this happens.
Since Jan Scotland wasn’t even quoted and this whole kerfuffle revolves around the new party chair-does that mean that Scotland, like Pellman, is just a directionless placeholder?
I would be surprised if no opposition appears against Skeldon-Wozniak’s, even a write in campaign. Write in candidates have worked for Republicans in the past. There is Mark Foley’s replacement for one. They even got George Bush down there explaining to people how to vote…oh wait, that guy lost the election.
August 21st, 2008 at 3:19 pmFrom what I hear before Mr. Scotland makes a public statement, he wanted to find out what exactly happened.
August 21st, 2008 at 3:38 pmThe Lucas County Republican Party is DOA. Whether Stainbrook or Reichert is in charge there is a dearth of candidates who want to come forward. If Scotland was up on his game, he would have made sure the papers were filed in a timely manner. That would fall into the coursework of Politics 101.
Don’t blame Stainbrook, Scotland, Olman, Kriner or others. The fact is that no one of quality is inclined to become involved with the local GOP. Peace out GOP’ers.
August 21st, 2008 at 3:38 pmOh and the Lucas County democratic party has the market cornered on quality. I’ve noticed they haven’t had any golf outings lately.
Stainbrook is to blame. He wanted the job of chairman.
August 21st, 2008 at 3:59 pm#29 Meghan,
I could give a hoot, if Bartow get’s a second chance. Or Wack for that matter.
My point was that all these “just admit your wrong” folks, have no intention of following through with forgiveness or added respect. They will simply use the admission against Stainbrook for the test of his life.
I used Wack, and Bartow as an example of the duplicity of all these “forgivers”.
If you’re wrong, confess to a priest, not a pajama-blogger.
August 21st, 2008 at 4:04 pmPam,
The Dems just had one in July at Spuyton Duyval golf course. A bit boring perhaps, but they made a boatload of money. Enough to win all the uncontested county races they have to run this fall. Looks like one more uncontested race with the Scotland fiasco.
Whereas the Dems may not have the quality you are looking for, they sure make up for it with the victories they win!
Great job GOP!
August 21st, 2008 at 4:18 pmThe dems wouldn’t even need to campaign in Lucas County. Dems have been running this county into the ground for years.
I just hope they didn’t make all that money off body shots.
August 21st, 2008 at 4:20 pmRogue said – “So, I say to Jon Stainbrook, admit nothing! And avoid the lifetime tag of “admitted screw-up Jon Stainbrook”.”
Don’t worry, we plan on calling Jon a screw up forever regardless if he admits it or not.
He is the most incompetent chairman the Republican Party has ever had. His “leadership” is anything but, he is nothing but a jobless idiot that wanted the chairmanship so he could appoint himself to the BOE and get a paycheck. Totally pathetic.
The only decent thing he can do at this point is resign, but we all know he has too big of an ego for that. He will continue to blame everyone but himself and cling to the chairmanship like the rat on a sinking ship, which means he will lose even more respect. Unfortunately I don’t think he ever earned any respect to lose.
Jon, you wouldn’t know the definition of a true leader if it hit you in the face! A true leader takes responsibility for their actions and gets to be a leader by earning the respect of others, not stuffing the ballot box with circus freaks that you call “good Republicans”.
August 21st, 2008 at 4:27 pmFunny how everybody else knows protocol and have been successful in dealing with the BOE until Skid Mark® came along.
Now, not only is it the BOE’s fault for not doing Jon’s job, but the state-mandated deadline is now 6:31 pm.
riiiiiiiiight
August 21st, 2008 at 4:51 pmIf the Stain spent less time in cars giving the police a hard time and more time actually finding out about his duties, he would have learned that Ohio law clearly states that you CANNOT rely on advice that you allegedly receive from a board of elections.
Stain and his so-called associate are the most dangerous kind of people-they are not as nearly as smart as they think they are.
August 21st, 2008 at 8:02 pmChairman Stainbrook either screwed up by missing the deadline or purposely screwed up to force his GOP colleagues on the Bd. of Elections to resign. I don’t think Stainbrook is that bright, so I believe he simply missed the deadline. Very Incompetent.
August 21st, 2008 at 8:31 pmChairman Stainbrook is a joke and I am still waiting for the punchline. When will this pathetic display end?
August 21st, 2008 at 10:01 pmMeghan,
when people take the Blah for what it is:
As to who is responsible for this sad state of affairs, voters have only to look in the direction of Lynn Olman and Pat Kriner, the Republican members of the elections board, who have been in vendetta mode ever since Mr. Stainbrook ousted the local party establishment in June.
Even the Blade editorial staff is too stupid to know protocol.
let the pathetic display of spin begin! LOL
August 22nd, 2008 at 5:19 amRead the op ed piece this morning, what a hoot! Blame, blame, blame.
“As to who is responsible for this sad state of affairs, voters have only to look in the direction of Lynn Olman and Pat Kriner, the Republican members of the elections board, who have been in vendetta mode ever since Mr. Stainbrook ousted the local party establishment in June.”
So the obvious conclusion is Chairman Jon Stainbrook is too stupid to read, as are Kelly Bensman, Meghan Gallagher, and Matthew Bartow. Keep calling the Ohio R Party @ 614-228-2481 and tell them although it is sad they are illiterate the Republican’s of Lucas County deserve better!
August 22nd, 2008 at 8:30 amYou may want to add that our candidates should not have to concern themselves with someone like Larry “Matt” Bartow pilfering their campaign funds. He may have admitted 1 and paid restitution but there are many others who also believe he ripped them off. Here is a sampling; Ken Blackwell, Dave Schulz, Chris Myers, George Sarantou, DeeDee Liedel, Pam Hanley, all Sylvania R Candidates from 05……….
Just to name a few. Oh, but his defense was something like this; But they won, didn’t they? Yes LMB, that may be true but with “friends” like you who needs an opponent?
Judging by the the blade’s piece today, could this be John R. Block using Stainbrook to try and make Mr. Olman and Mr. Kriner look incompetent? The blade fails to realize the Stainbrook is the chair and he is responsible for what the party does. The Board of Elections is in a Catch 22 with the blade. If they would have notified Stainbrook about the deadline, the blade and democrats would have been up in arms about that. The blade would have went all Tom Noe on the Board. John R. Block shut the hell up. Hearing from people that know you and your brother, Allen, and how strange you both act, you are in no position to be telling people what to do or how they should act.
August 22nd, 2008 at 9:10 amPam,
Settle down about the Blocks. If you don’t like journalism in this town, do something about. Or continue to whine incessantly. That will surely help. Heresay about the Blocks is just that. How do they act? Are you spreading unsubstantiated rumors about these gentlemen? Libel and slander are serious charges. Make sure you don’t get caught up in this with your temper tantrums.
Peace out and have a nice day.
August 22nd, 2008 at 9:47 amIt appears Mr. Scotland is playing the blame game as well after reading the local daily. I was under the impression that republicans were the party of personal responsibility.
August 22nd, 2008 at 10:04 amAbe – You need to stop your rants against me. If you don’t like what I post, that is your problem. I have every right to state my opinion. Just like you state yours.
I know people that have had business doings with both blocks and I have know some blade employees. Their behavior is very strange, kind of eccentric.
August 22nd, 2008 at 10:05 amAny of you watch Spongebob Squarepants? These characters remind me of Plankton, he too wants to rule the world.
August 22nd, 2008 at 10:33 amI just love Patrick and Gary.
August 22nd, 2008 at 10:55 amPam, I assume you’re referring to the Spongebob characters, not Kriner and Johnson at the BOE?
August 22nd, 2008 at 12:39 pmLOL #51!!!!!!
August 22nd, 2008 at 12:47 pmI wrote this when Olman was telling everyone why he needed to stay on at the BOE:
# 12 rogue Says:
July 1st, 2008 at 8:50 am
This letter explains EXACTLY why Olman has to Go!!
The BOE is set up specifically as a BI-partisan entity with exactly as many Republicans as Democrats so each side can manage the election, and be an advocate for their party.
When one side goes in as a “non-partisan” representative, then the other side has already won. This is the very core of the operation of elections in Ohio. Bi-partisan, not non-partisan! I understand cooperation with your co-workers, but not at the expense of your duty.
I realize some of my pithy comments can be somewhat acerbic, but if I were a Republican candidate for office, this year I’d be very afraid to think that Lynn Olman was my advocate on the BOE.
———————
Kinda prophetic for Scotland, huh?
August 23rd, 2008 at 4:29 pmYeah, that pesky Olman raising funds for Scotland was way over the top.
Seriously though, while I understand where you are trying to go with this, it’s pretty clear that unless you really believe that it’s the job of the BOE to remind candidates or party chairs of what the ORC requires it’s not their fault that the filing was late. If it is? Then there are quite a few places in Ohio where candidates or political entities have not met deadlines that should have been calling for resignations…
Olman purposely sabotaging Scotland just to get even with Stainbrook might make a great conspiracy theory, but to me this situation demonstrates why it’s important for a party chair to have staff/volunteers that are experienced when it comes to election rules and knowledge of the ORC. Which frankly, it surprises me given the knowledge a few of them have when it comes to election issues, having debated the ORC with one in particular, that this happened.
August 23rd, 2008 at 4:59 pmDid Olman raise funds for Scotland, or just “promise” to?
Intentionally sabotage Scotland? No, I think the absentee Republican board members were lead around, by the nose, by the Democrats, as usual.
I mean when you miss 25 BOE meetings in two years, it’s sometimes difficult to keep up with the workings of the office, isn’t it?
I think Olman/Kriner were truthful when they said they didn’t know about the deadline. I’m guessing there is no campaign calendar posted on the back-nine at Inverness. But I bristle at the expectation that we’re suppose to buy the talking points provided to Chairman Kriner by Democrat Howe, that the BOE has no requirement to give a correct answer to a direct question .
And my point still stands. As a Republican candidate in Lucas County, you cannot count on anyone in the BOE to look out for your interests, and that’s a shame.
August 23rd, 2008 at 5:18 pmYou can’t count on the BOE no matter who or were you are to look out for one selected candidates interest…
If you could, then no candidate or levy issue would miss a deadline. The BOE would hold everyone’s hand and walk them all through it. Which means I guess I should really be mad that the Democratic Party let me down by not telling all of us who were running for precinct positions that the General Assembly screwed up the date for this last primary, or that they didn’t tell me that I didn’t have the traditional time frame to contest.
OMG! They kept me off the ballot on purpose!
I know you don’t take any responsibility for this, or seem to feel that Jon has any, but when I didn’t get on the ballot? It was my fault…I didn’t do my due diligence and I learned the hard way that it’s up to me to know what I am supposed to do. Granted it was only a precinct seat, but it would have been the only time my name would have appeared on a ballot.
August 23rd, 2008 at 5:28 pm