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On Saturday I attended a meeting of the Executive Committee of the Republican Party of Cuyahoga County at which a new member of the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections would be nominated. This individual is to replace Ohio GOP Chairman Bob Bennett (who recently resigned) and serve out the balance of Bennett’s original term. To rehash the saga at the CuyCo BOE, click here.

I must admit I wasn’t exactly well received by those in attendance - perhaps it was because I wasn’t invited (even though I am a member of the committee, my invitation by mail, email, phone or FAX was strangely neglected…) or maybe it’s because this page has been a very vocal critic of my fellow Republicans throughout this process (gee what ever happened to free speech). Nonetheless thanks to the attentiveness of those who frequent this site I was made aware that such a meeting would indeed occur and as is my right as a member of the committee, I attended. As I said the greeting from my fellow party members was rather chilled. Folks that I’ve known for years turned their backs on me and avoided eye contact. If there were a CuyCo GOP dictionary, under the word “pariah” you would likely find my name and photo.

Even before the meeting began, I knew its outcome. County chairman Rob Frost would receive the unopposed nomination for Bennett’s vacated seat. This is something he’s been angling for since he became party chairman and with the recent deal made between Bennett and Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner for Bennett’s departure, the Frost appointment was a done deal. Ironic since Frost had recently indicated in an interview that he had no interest in a seat on the BOE.

With that as the outcome, I attended the meeting for one specific reason: to demonstrate that there are a few of us (many not nearly as vocal as I) who are not pleased with the direction that Frost is leading this party.

As the meeting (with a very limited quorum) progressed, I waited until Frost’s name was placed into nomination and made one simple statement from the floor:

“Would the chairman upon nomination and appointment consider foregoing an equivalent portion of his salary and compensation as party chairman in lieu of what he would now receive as a member of the Board of Elections?”

I believe it was my old friend Bob Bennett who quickly reminded the presiding chairman of the meeting, Dave Harbarger (another old friend), that I was out of order. To which Harbarger quickly agreed, and then followed by telling me,

“Wendell, If you don’t understand the rules, I’ll be happy to go over them with you later.”

Bob and Dave were correct, I was out of order - but so is the state of the county party. Rather than following proper parliamentary procedure through a floor fight that I had no chance of winning, I simply wanted to express that the chairman should re-consider his compensation package.

The meeting proceeded with a voice vote on the nomination with mine being the only one in dissent (If I was disliked before the meeting, I was now hated). Frost received the appointment and will be sworn in this morning by Brunner as the fourth and final member of the CuyCo BOE.

With this in mind, I’m sending the following communication to Chairman Frost.

Dear Chairman Frost:

As a member of the Cuyahoga County Republican Party and it’s Central and Executive Committees I wanted to express congratulations on your recent appointment to the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections.

I also wanted to get some clarification from you about a few matters that seem to be in doubt since your original selection as the leader of our county party.

My recollection is that at the time you were chosen to serve as the party’s chairman, you indicated that you would serve as a true “full-time” chairman and would conclude your legal practice so that you could devote all of your energies to running and growing our county party. Further, it was my understanding from conversations with you that one of the reasons you chose to move from Rocky River and resign your seat on the Rocky River city council was so that you could keep this commitment. Recently it’s been noted that you have continued to actively pursue your legal practice (something that you alluded to in your remarks on Saturday). How is it with your continued legal practice and now your appointment to the county Board of Elections that you consider yourself a full-time chairman?

I beg to differ on the perception that you have been effective in your efforts as the party chairman. While the party’s budget and administration have grown, I have seen little to indicate an equivalent improvement in the actual results that such an investment should garner. No additional offices in county government have been won. We’ve actually lost state legislative seats and the local candidate that you chose to so blatantly support for the Republican nomination for governor in the last election cycle barely won a majority of votes in our local primary. Perhaps if you were to operate as a “full-time” chairman, the results would be different. How is it that the Democrats in this county hold ALL of the county elective offices, yet their chairman is an unpaid volunteer, their staff is smaller and their overall budget is significantly lower than ours? How does your current record demonstrate effective leadership?

My understanding is that when you accepted the “full-time” chairmanship the salary was set at $106,000. Considering that you’ve already admitted that you’re not operating in a “full-time” capacity, how is it that you justify receiving the entire $106,000? I would suggest that it’s in the best interest of our party that you at least forgo the portion of your salary that is offset by the $22,000 and additional benefits you will now receive from the taxpayers of Cuyahoga County (especially since you received this appointment through the mechanism of our party).

Finally, I’d like to ask that if you decide to continue working three jobs and receiving compensation for each, that you consider refunding my $100 Executive Committee dues. Normally I would be happy to pay my fair share, but since I cannot trust you to do yours I think it’s only right that I (and anybody else who’s required to pay) get a refund.

Sincerely,

Wendell Robinson

I’ll be curious to see if I get a response.