WENDELL ROBINSON . COM

Man oh man I hate when I’m right - especially when it comes to politics and bad decisions for our governance. Such is the case today with this piece of news from our friends at Right Angle Blog…

I’m not sure which makes me angrier, the fact that Cuyahoga County Republican Party Chairman Rob Frost could be diluting his already less than effective responsibilities as county party chairman by moonlighting as a litigator, or that he did a quick about face on his pledge not to seek a vacant seat on the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections.

As RAB reports the first offense is a violation of party statutes and the second is just plain political subterfuge (which is becoming a Frost trademark).

I cannot really speak to the first (as no evidence other than circumstance exists), but as for the second…

Last week we posted another in our chain of CuyCo BOE updates in which we referenced a recent interview in which Frost claimed he would not seek the seat at the CuyCo BOE. Many of us were relieved to hear that the consolidation of the county’s minimal GOP power base to Frost would not include the BOE, but then Ohio GOP Chairman Bob Bennett and Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner could not come to agreement on Bennett’s exit terms from the Board.

Bennett who finally stepped down last week was only able to get half of his wish list from the Secretary of State (a public statement of no malfeasance on his part in the never-ending debacle that is CuyCo elections). When she wouldn’t roll over on the second item (a censure of CuyCo Prosecutor Bill Mason’s office for bungling the legalese of oversite in the 2004 elections) Bennett asked for something else - an unobstructed route to the CuyCo BOE for his handmaiden Frost. Which in hindsight may have been Bennett’s fall back all along.

Here’s why:

Upon closer listening to the interview that Frost did on WCPN, one hears Frost say “THIS seat” (emphasis mine) not “a” seat on the CuyCo BOE (of course the seat he was referring to was that of recently departed Board member Sally Florkiewicz which has now been filled by Jeff Hastings). Many of us hoped that Frost meant to take the high road with the fragility of the situation at the county board and move to appoint quality candidates to fill the vacancies (Hastings is such an individual), but then Bennett didn’t get what he wanted and now apparently Frost will.

I’m sure someone out there will say - this is good, Frost is sticking up for the party.

As a member of the party I say it’s bad because it’s based on a lie - and the last thing our failing party needs is a liar for our leader.