Bennett Resigned Today! - Finally

As reported online from the PD Openers today - Bye Bye, Bob
he will be gone as of May 1, though he remains suspended from the CCBOE.
Secretary of State Brunner exchanged dropping her complaint against him for misfeasance and malfeasance while in office, for his resignation and his dropping his lawsuit against her.

That means that of course, will be no hearing next Monday.
It also means that
• she will be appointing the rest of the board very soon, so they can get started
• and a new Director and Deputy can be hired.
• that there will be a new board to have the mandated meetings for May 8's election
• and that they all will remain under the Brunner's Administrative Oversight until they are up and running on their own.

Is Bennett's resignation, rather than everyone being dragged through a hearing, a good thing?
Of course.

But Brunner dropped the complaint "without a finding of fault."
I'm sure that in many ways just to be able to move on, she needed to do that just to finally end the mess, as Bennett continues his ridiculous, baseless war cries of partisan motivation.

Also, had the due process hearing continued, the best result we could have gotten from it anyhow was Bennett's same "being gone". No criminal or civil indictments could have ensued.

But take a good look through this blog, and you'll find that Brunner's charges of mal- and misfeasance were hardly baseless. Anyone who's watched Bob Bennett for a few months understands that this "no fault" dropping of the complaint hardly equates to Bennett's innocence.

We cannot all get lost in "rah-rahing", and giving "the new" a chance, by not bringing up the old.
Now is the time to rout out the real sources of the long-impacted corruption at the Cuyahoga Board of Elections, identify it and show consequences to those sources.
Now is the time that Prosecutor Mason's investigation and possible indictments of the '06 and '04 elections MUST proceed- for the sakes of all of us in Cuyahoga, in Ohio, and the nation - who have been made unwitting and often unknowing victims to Bennett's using our money for his own political benefit; for running the management and operations of the Cuyahoga board into the ground; for flouting abuse of Ohio's open meeting and open records laws; for arrogantly bullying citizens asking questions and attacking anyone he perceived to possibly negatively impact his power; and mostly for replacing our very citizens' elections processes and even our "election results" with cover-up stories and shows of his board's "glory". Such follow-through is needed, even for the sakes of the two BOE employees now facing prison as they continued to cover for their superiors' actions.

Now is the time for Bennett, Vu and Dillingham NOT to walk away unscathed and forgiven - and some while still being paid more.

Now is the time to REALLY start anew, by identifying the sources of the corruption, and showing that we will not stand for it anymore.

Instead of more highly undeserved tens of millions to Diebold and friends, to aid ability to sway our elections from the inside, and even to track our voting identities and records, THAT investigation with indictments would finally be a good use of citizens' money - for citizens.
Justice would finally be done and possibly some deserved voter "confidence" in the process could begin.

No Longer Any "Gracious" Way Out for Bennett

Writers from opinion columnists at the Plain Dealer to blogging fair election advocates from around Ohio and the nation are talking about Bob Bennett's refusal to leave the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections.
Most are noting how useless, and "done and over" his stand is; and how isolated he has already made himself, even from some members of the Ohio GOP party that he has chaired for almost three decades.

Some mention that Bennett is probably looking for a "gracious" way out. To most onlookers that time has long passed.

As almost an aside, others state that also Prosecutor William Mason, plans to continue his investigations of Cuyahoga elections, referring the '04 and '06 elections again to Special Prosecutor Kevin Baxter, who in January and February '07, handled the state's fair election case that convicted two Cuyahoga board employees, under Bennett, of felonious recount rigging.

To people who've been following Bennett's actions in Cuyahoga, however, these two issues are not at all separate.
To the wisened Cuyahoga ear, "gracious" can easily translate, as Bennett's ability to wield a deal for immunity or investigation stoppage, regarding his own part in Cuyahoga's '04 and '06 election "irregularities" - and possibly for all others who might otherwise "roll over" on him, Vu, Dillingham, and even the two prison-sentenced former employees - and allow him to save whatever power he thinks he has left.

Secretary of State Brunner has acted wisely, objectively, professionally and professionally cooperatively as Bennett has raged on against Mason and Secretary Brunner. As has been his norm for the past three years I've experienced him, when in possible power trouble, he projects, deflects and spuriously attacks those who might "bring him down." He's raged against Mason for not dissolving the recount rigging case against his employees who lied to protect their superiors, the tipping point that finally began his house of cards falling in around him. He's sued the Secretary of State to try to keep his old power-by fear-of-attack straw house, though she has the power to summarily remove him.

Brunner cannot back down now. She cannot offer him Bennett such "grace."
He has caused too much destruction internally to the staff and workings of Board of Elections, and externally to the finances, integrity, and to the very cornerstone of democracy in this county and state - fair, honest, transparent elections. She certainly has enough supported facts to justly remove him for his cover-ups instead of management, using the county's finances as his own instead of fiscal responsibility, his attacking instead of leading, his lack of understanding and care to objectively follow election law, and his frequent treatment of citizens with overriding disrespect. Though long impacted political arrogance is no reason for removal, it certainly has lead in Bennett's case to substantive reasons that are very good. She doesn't need to make deals to remove him for just causes. Everyone will benefit if he does not get them.

Not as revenge, but to help finally root out the sources of the diseases of political deal-making, patronage and corruption, instead of citizens' election deciding our joint futures, Brunner must continue on her path, and allow Mr. Bennett to take his due.

Maybe then, even the two sentenced women about whom he's claimed he's so concerned - supposedly for their sakes, can acquire some leniency, as their superiors more rightly take responsibility for the injustices done to this county's and state's election process and its citizens.

It is time for Mr. Bennett to offer some grace to others, not receive more deals. It is time for him to resign, to save this state more time and money, and let us all move on to building a far better election future here.

Bennett Removal Hearing Postponed to April 16

From a today's SoS release:

For Immediate Release:
BENNETT REMOVAL HEARING MOVED TO APRIL 16
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The public hearing in Cuyahoga County on the potential removal of Robert T. Bennett from the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections has been postponed from Monday to April 16.
William Owen, the hearing officer appointed in the case, recommended to Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner that the hearing be delayed. Bennett's lawyer requested the delay based in part on schedule conflicts.
The April 16 hearing will be held in Euclid City Hall, 585 E. 222nd St., Euclid, in the city council chambers, beginning at 9 a.m.
Bennett, a Republican and the only Cuyahoga County elections board member who hasn't resigned as requested by Secretary Brunner, faces a complaint alleging misfeasance and nonfeasance in office connected to the board's administration of elections over the last few years.
All elections boards are made up of two Democratic and two Republican members.

The complaint accuses Bennett of:
•Failure to adopt adequate procedures for election recounts resulting in the felony convictions of two board employees.
•Failure to competently manage the board's finances.
•Failure to ensure the efficient administration of elections in 2004 through 2006.

All this delay for truly naught, is besides the actions of a panicked human being, so very typical of Mr. Bennett.
Bennett's typical non-caring/ignoring/non-recognition of the effects on citizens, leading to:
• 5+hour "executive sessions", putting us out in the hall in the middle of meetings waiting for "executive results", while the board sat inside munching and talking, (instead of declaring before going into session that the open meeting would continue the next day at a specific time, for instance);
• or almost always delaying the start of open meetings from 20 minutes to up to an hour, while very apparently the board sat in back and talked ...in "illegal executive sessions" before the open ones;
• or at least in 1/3 of cases, changing the long-posted dates/times of regular meetings at the last minute, with less than 24 hours notice.

is oh, too typical of Bob Bennett, demonstrating his need to immediately leave.

Bennett vs. Brunner to Be Aired on ONN, Sunday & Monday

From PD online Openers yesterday:
Brunner vs. Bennett
Posted by Mark Naymik, April 05, 2007 17:57PM

CapitolSquare, a weekly public affairs talk show that airs across the state on the Ohio News Network, is touting a political match-up of the year: Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner vs. Cuyahoga County Board of Elections Chairman Bob Bennett.

Brunner, the state's chief elections officer, has suspended Bennett from the board for what she says is his poor oversight of elections and has promised to fire him. Bennett, the state Republican Party chairman, claims Brunner, a Democrat, is on a political witch hunt and vows to keep fighting. The two trade insults almost daily.

But the match-up, to air at 10 a.m., noon, and 7 p.m. on Sunday and again at 3 p.m. on Monday, will not offer much in the way of verbal sparring: Brunner and Bennett will be interviewed during separate segments.

Ohio News Network's local reporter on the Cuyahoga Elections Board scene, Brian MacIntyre (sp?) has been doing an excellent job of reporting.

They are a cable station, based in Columbus, with a Cleveland base in the WEWS building.

For those with cable, and in Ohio, you can find your ONN channel here:
http://www.ohionewsnow.com/?sec=viewerservices&story=sites/ONN/content/pool/200702/1978415858.html

For those without cable, like me since I have so little time to watch, I hope that someone tapes one of the above shows.

Also, I have called ONN to check on the possibility of web-streaming at least some of the clips. I urge you to do the same. They are open to the idea. Call them at 614-280-3601.

It should be interesting.

The Wisdom, Not Politics, of Brunner's Administrative Oversight

Especially in light of some of the false verbal and attempted spurious legal attacks by past Board Chair,Bob Bennett on Secretary of State Brunner, claiming purely partisan interest as she removes the past Cuyahoga elections board, and puts the newly arriving staff and board under the Ohio Secretary's Administrative Oversight, it's important to note the non-partisan wisdom of her actions.
Mr. Bennett, in his panic of losing his own and partisan control from fear, is only projecting himself on to Brunner's wise actions.

Brunner, as a past elections law attorney, and with broad experience, intelligence and insight about
• management;
• true leadership that develops people rather than questionably and confusingly demands, with fear as consequence;
• and about the importance of fair, transparent, verifiable citizens' elections to all our futures, is determined to develop Ohio's elections system as one of professional knowledge and qualified merit, (instead of closed political patronage and dealmaking) on the inside, and transparent, accurate, and fair even to citizens who must depend on the fair system we need, expect and pay for.

In another post I will outline the little-seen dangers we've endured to democracy and to we, the majority - consequences of Mr. Bennett's and others', old political hackery method of running past Cuyahoga (s)elections.

Here, I will deal mostly with the false charges that by removing the board and putting Cuyahoga under oversight, Dem Brunner is moving to have government control the people's elections; and/or particularly, from the old traditional dualistic way of thinking, to have blindly partisan Democrats take over the larger power. Neither is true. Again those are merely fearful, false projections from an immediate and hopefully soon past reality, into what can potentially become a far healthier and truer election system for us all - the kind of election system that from 6th grade democracy classes and with the help of alot of false pictures painted for us with our own dollars, most have mistakenly been assuming has been producing "election results" thus, choosing our future leaders.

Not only have such false charges come from some Republicans trying to ward off Democrats now getting to use blind partisanship to run our societies forevermore, instead of themselves, but some concerns have come from well-respected election integrity activists as well.

Respected election attorney, Paul Lehto said in one communique with his first reaction to the Administrative Oversight:

The conflicts of interest when government runs elections essentially by itself are rife, and will not be solved until the public's active and direct role in public oversight of elections is created and restored.

Below is a paraphrasing of my reply to Paul.

I absolutely agree with your above statement on its face.

In this case, however, SoS Brunner has demonstrated NO plans to run Cuyahoga's elections by her office alone. In fact she has demonstrated the opposite.

Soon after taking office, as one her first steps, she developed professional means for wide and serious inclusion of individual citizens, groups and election officials from across the state to truly work together and closely with her office, to bring Ohio's election systems and processes to model fairness, transparency, accuracy, and integrity.

Her visionary Voting Rights Institute, comprised of members of both parties and Independents; election integrity advocates and election officials; and group representatives and individuals whose common goal is passion to better Ohio's election systems is one example. Because of great interest expressed by people not among the first core VRI group, a core group originally designed to change and spread each year, she has also developed means to include all those interested in helping get the work of change done.

In the case of Cuyahoga, you may have missed the point. Even the statutory requirements to conduct elections demand a board of elections, and often a director and deputy to take ultimate and legal responsibility.

Currently we have

• no board, (only the one person who has refused to resign and is, still for his own devolving political reasons is suing the SoS... and letting taxpayers pick up the tab for his legal bills,)
• an interim director,
• and no deputy, with only a joint committee having reviewed applications for the above two and ready to suggest how to fill those positions.

The new board cannot be completely chosen and seated until Bennett's war cries and legal circus is done. The new director and deputy cannot be chosen, nor can those applying for top staff, feel comfortable accepting the positions until the new board is seated.

So at very base, someone needs to take the legal responsibility and give guidance for the current staff's day to day actions right now. There is currently a fast upcoming May election that is being prepared right now, that demands, by law, even such things as some legally valid superior's approval of such things as purchases of supplies and vendors, additional staff and pay, etc.

Even when all the above positions are filled, the above new leaders to the CCBOE will be just that - new. Some may have absolutely no elections experience, or partially skewed elections or political experience.

• They will all need some compass point "north" in Ohio election guidance and continuity, as well as skills training, but from ones who won't do their actual decision making for them.
• They will need someone(s) there to rely upon for practices and procedures, where there are currently none - or only a lists of disjointed tasks often developed by a staff person who was left to somehow wade their way out of some non understood overwhelming task...and on time.
• They will need guideposts of betterment and possibilities, to move from what the staff has collected from the long-past, closed culture of indifference, cover-up, and top management by fear.
• They will need modeling of the dynamics of sound management in a legally and ethically bound agency that is there to serve the people, but which currently has in every major department only an interim manager - a previous staff person of the above culture, taken from another department to "temporarily" fill a management void through recent years of people leaving or being forced out of the culture, and was just left there.
Those departments, without guidance and confidence themselves, could only continue to feel it's right and safest and best to keep citizens from seeing in.

The SoS/Cuyahoga Oversight agreement,for the above sound management and support reasons, is being developed with the current interim director who has herself shown herself responsive and open to citizens input and oversight, and who is doing an amazing job, with literally the entire agency suddenly on her shoulders.

So far the Oversight, has also been generally laid out fluidly, allowing the Oversight to end before the stated 2008 time, should the CCBOE be able to begin operating and operating well and newly, as an agency there to serve citizens with fair, accurate, transparent elections, while allowing citizen oversight, before that time.

Just as citizen oversight in a democratic (small "d") process, is not citizen "takeover, SoS oversight also does not mean government TAKEOVER!

Your comparison to the concept of Blackwell taking over the Cuyahoga board is hardly apt.
Even when there was a full complement of board and top management in Cuyahoga's BOE, Blackwell's authoritarian style was one of making big decisions for the locals, often ones that seemed quite politically beneficial for himself and his party- but often taking NO responsibility for those decisions especially when what he told boards to do was legally, financially or operationally questionable; nor any responsibility for making his directives clear and implementable.
Bob Bennett followed along, however (or "helped" Blackwell) and pressed his man Vu and the agency into service - usually and worse, with no one quite understanding even what they were doing, let alone why.

Brunner's, already widely demonstrated style and idea of what good management and good elections must be, on the other hand, actually seems aligned with your statement :

"The conflicts of interest when government runs elections essentially by itself are rife, and will not be solved until the public's active and direct role in public oversight of elections is created and restored."

She, unlike Blackwell, has never demonstrated that she wants government to run elections, only that we all have the ability to oversight, and make elections better - ones that truly deserve our real confidence. She unlike many "leaders" we've experienced, is a leader, not a ruler. She is in her own life a parent, and recognizes when she can offer help and a necessary fall-back, until a fledgling gets off the ground, confident enough itself to open the confidence of the many.

This Cuyahoga election oversight, just like citizen oversight, and like the every huge issue before the nation today is NOT a partisan issue. To reduce it to one is to again fall far short of the real question of what do we need to make things better for the most number of people - black, white, purple or green; Republican, Democrat, Independent, or Other.
To reduce it to one, or to accept such dualistic perception, just continues to demonstrate (thank you Mr. Einstein) the level of actual consciousness that got Cuyahoga's system and the nation's election system into the mess originally.

If the Republicans are shaky about it, let them come and help, and work for a fair system, one with NO partisan agenda, that can then hold the partisan conflicts of campaigns with a fair hand.

Another of your statements in your email disturbs me even more, however:

"But government has numerous levels of conflict of interest. They ALL get all their money and power from elections, yet are counting the votes if not personally on their own race, it is still for their "company" the government. They have conflicts because they are self protective like all human beings and don't fall on their swords the moment a problem comes up, they instead engage in CYA. EVen long time activists pull punches to as to preserve some form of relationship with certain politicians, and this so-called "Collegiality" is much strong between most government agencies. Bureaucracy itself is a force to slow down the truth and defeat its progress in its general slow pace."

I agree in some part with your last sentence, though I think it's also far too great an oversimplification in this context.

As to your blithe acceptance of government and activists "leaders" engaging in CYA - instead of defining the real systemic problems, and truly calling upon others, to work with others as peers, not overlords or gurus, to solve them - I strongly disagree.

Such blithe acceptance is exactly the cop-out that some "integrity" activists also use to salve their souls when they too have sold them for their own good over the whole, just like the "leaders" they say are so "bad" and are working against.

It's only non-blithe-non-acceptance of such behavior, to really model and help one another in the human evolvement of which we are all capable, despite the fact that we see it so little, to the next step of recognizing and honoring everyone as much as ourselves, that we can begin to crawl out of this mess. Yesterday's tsunami in the Solomon Islands is a tragedy to and of each of us. And maybe, just maybe with real fair and tansparent elections in the US we can eventually lead the end of killing the living earth on which we all live, instead of continuing for the "good" of a few CYA'ers.

Brunner's oversight is for just that reason. In Cuyahoga we've had devolved CYA to blatant , impacted, and incompetent cover-ups for so long, she wants to make sure that as "we we're getting back to good" (as they say is first step in the mold removal business,as they remove all the fungus infested wood) that a supported "health" of the CCBOE can emerge into its own system - so THAT can take over, with citizens on board, on it's own.

Without the Oversight, all we get is the fast track of CYA to incompetence and corruption all over again.

Brunner Suspended Bennett Today

According to a Secretary of State News release today:

Brunner Suspends Remaining Cuyahoga County Board Member
Columbus, OH - April 3, 2007 - The state's chief election officer, Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, announced today that she is suspending the remaining Cuyahoga County Board Member Robert Bennett from his service on the board.

Secretary Brunner notified Bennett in writing on Tuesday afternoon.

"The Secretary of State's office will be working with the current and emerging leadership of the board to develop a plan improving, with the assistance of the Secretary of State's office, the boards operations and service to the citizens of Cuyahoga County. To further these efforts, I believe it to be in the best interests of all involved to suspend your participation as a member of the board," said Brunner. The notice of suspension pointed to the reasons addressed in the complaint filed against the Cuyahoga Board of Elections members by Brunner on March 23, 2007.

Brunner cites an additional reason for the suspension involving instructions to former Executive Director Michael Vu to award a contract to a consultant without Board approval.

Bennett instructed Vu to award a second contract to David Hopcraft in the amount of $14,750 on or about February 26, 2007, for public relations services to be paid for by public dollars by the board of elections. The Dayton Daily News on March 26, 2007 reported Mr. Hopcraft to be a "GOP spokesperson." According to board policy no contract for services may be awarded without board approval if it exceeds $15,000. The extension of Hopcraft's contract with a second contract for just under $15,000, without board approval, violates board policy.

Under this suspension, Bennett is ordered to not attend any board meetings, or be present at the offices of the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections. Any authority that Bennett had as the chair of the board is suspended.

Secretary Brunner sent a letter to interim board director Jane Platten on Monday explaining the move to put the board on administrative oversight, indicating that the Secretary of State would work with Platten in developing a specific plan of oversight.

Bennett's suspension is indefinite in duration and will terminate upon the later of his removal or the final resolution of any litigation contesting his removal.

--30--

Media contacts:

Patrick Gallaway, Director of Communications (614) 752-2450

Jeff Ortega, Assistant Director of Communications-Media (614) 466-0473.

The Hopcraft matter came to light when at the February 27, 2007 meeting, as soon as the meeting began, then-board member, Ed Coaxum stated that the board had received an email from former Director Vu, who, though already having resigned as of the following week, sent the message in his expected absence for the beginning of this meeting. Also, with Sally Florkewiecz's absence at that meeting, leaving Bennett without his rubberstamp vote, Mr. Coaxum grabbed the opportunity to stop Hopcraft's contract without the possibility of another 2-2 public partisan fight, over this issue. Coaxum's eagerness is unmistakable.

Though he may have known what Hopcraft actually did, and obviously didn't approve of the expenditure, no one I know observing the meetings with the ever-present Hopcraft in back, did.
Hopcraft who's demeanor resembles that of an ex-policeman, could be observed however, driving Bennett, coming out of executive sessions (!), listening to and at times joining conversations in a rather steering way among those waiting out in the hall, gathering up Bennett after meetings, etc. Not a good use of public funds, this GOP bodyguard, driver, "communicator".

And per Brunner's release citing of the Dayton Daily News calling Hopcraft a GOP spokesman, today, their AP article called him Bennett's spokesman. Maybe the GOP is dumping Bennett too.
http://www.daytondailynews.com/search/content/shared-gen/ap/National/Ohio_Voting.html

Ohio County Election Board Chair Booted
By JOHN McCARTHY
Associated Press Writer
COLUMBUS, Ohio —
...

"Republican Bob Bennett, chairman of the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, has sued Brunner to stop her from kicking him off the board. Three other board members, two Democrats and a Republican, earlier resigned under pressure from Brunner.

A hearing in the lawsuit was scheduled for Wednesday. A spokesman for Bennett, David Hopcraft, said Brunner's action amounted to political harassment and was intended to help the Democrats in the 2008 presidential election.

"Everything she does furthers the conclusion that it's a very partisan approach," he said.

Brunner denied her actions have been political.

"It's unfortunate that in this whole series of events that Mr. Bennett has chosen to take a partisan tack," Brunner said. "I called all four board members and asked all four of them to resign. The remaining member happens to be the chairman of the Ohio GOP."

April 3, 2007 - 9:39 p.m. EDT

Links to SoS Brunner's letter to Bennett and Vu's email can be found at the top link to Brunner's news release.

Brunner Makes Right Move

Secretary of State Brunner should be commended for her bold and progressive request that the Cuyahoga Board of Elections resign.

The Cuyahoga County Board of Elections has repeatedly demonstrated its inability to operate a large county election system fairly, openly and cost efficiently. Recent nationally visible election problems in Cuyahoga have reflected badly on the great state of Ohio, its citizens, and all of its public officials. It is time to face Cuyahoga's election challenges with an honest, forthright, and can-do attitude. Successfully meeting these challenges will take enormous energy, talent and cooperation amongst all stakeholders, including public officials, private election equipment companies, the media and the public.

Secretary of State Brunner has demonstrated with this initial step that she is willing to make difficult decisions in order to establish the best possible environment for meeting these challenges, thereby starting down the road toward an election system all Ohioans can be proud of.

________________________________
Steven Hertzberg, former Project Director
Election Science Institute

In the Plain Dealer Today

Secretary of State tightens screws on Elections Board
Friday, March 23, 2007
Joan Mazzolini
http://www.cleveland.com/plaindealer/stories/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1174639719208580.xml&coll=2

Exerpt:
Florkiewicz could not be reached for comment Thursday. Bennett, however, remained defiant, saying his attorney was standing by.
"How can she make a judgment? She wasn't here," Bennett said.

I wonder if his attorney is none other than...Roger Synenberg! ( A joke, I hope for Bennett's sake.)
And Mr. Bennett, there were many other citizens who WERE there... and watching....

and

Get out of the way
Board of Elections members should drop their fight, quit their posts and let the critical task of rebuilding begin
http://www.cleveland.com/plaindealer/stories/index.ssf?/base/opinion/1174640382208580.xml&coll=2

My hastily written letter to editor re: above "opinion", which article you have to read to understand:

Re: “Get out of the way; Board of Elections members should...quit their posts...” (3/23), the PD person who wrote this, and I suspect it's Bennett's apparent friend, Mr. Larkin, is another who should do same.
Of course Mr. Bennett and Ms. Florkiewicz should resign now, to allow timely quality, not nepotism and political appointment, rebuilding of this county’s election process from the hackery and unlawful cover-up mess they've left.
But for our city’s newspaper to attempt to minimize an internal election rigging, done in ways that could easily have covered more results, and they thought could deceive citizens and the paying recount volunteer witnesses, as (just) “gaming a recount” is absurd.
Had you looked, Mr. Coaxum was the only board member who treated citizen-owners decently, and asked intelligent questions about CCBOE management, soaring spending, and riggable electronic machines.
Mr. Mason must continue his investigation, so all impacted election problem sources - people from top to bottom – can be publicly revealed, so we can finally get a clean, transparent, process for democracy.
This PD writer should also get out for democracy. You don’t deserve the constitutional privileges and the ink your position hands you.

(It was signed.)

Looking for a new director, deputy director & the 90 days in between

It's official. After a few five+ hour executive sessions with their lawyers, former CCBOE Director, Michael Vu's is now a CCBOE consultant, through June 30 at about $11,000/month. Gwen Dillingham, per the agreement she worked out on her very last day, 2/28, with her lawyer Roger Synenberg (yes the same former board member, and lawyer for Kathy Dreamer in the trial article below) representing her (yes, it's probably exactly what you're thinking...) will be a "consultant" until the end of August, at approximately $9,000+/month.

With current HR Director and Administrator, Jane Platten taking over the Interim Director duties, through the May election, there may be a chance for the atmosphere at the board to become far more competent, and far less fearfully toxic.


Also, at least temporarily, there need be no change in the Chairmanship of the election board. Platten is a Dem, as was Vu declared, so the Ohio GOP head, Bob Bennett, (Robert T.) can remain as Chair, per the split prescribed in Ohio law. There have been more than a few conjectures that his desire to remain Chair might ultimately limit the board's choices for director to only Dems who apply, though he denies that to be true.


Also to be noted is that there has been public wrangling about forcing the ouster of Dillingham and Vu since July, '06, when the Cuyahoga Review Panel report was released about the CCBOE and the debacle May'06 election, http://bocc.cuyahogacounty.us/GSC/pdf/elections/CERP_Final_Report_20060720.pdf
It showed often scathing revelations about Vu and Dillingham's lack of "integrity" and competence.
The board then had at least two such wrangling meetings ( a bit refreshing when usually things are just decided ahead of time) with a 2-2 split across party lines, about the forcing out. Bennett and fellow R, Sally Flourkewicz, who ALWAYS goes along with Bennett, said they stay; the two Dems, Ed Coaxum and Loree Soggs, were adamant about their leaving even then - "stopping the hemorhaging" as they say.

However, there were "problems" with Bennett sending the tie down to Columbus, for Blackwell's office to break; then the board got together and seemed to "make up" to get the Commissioners to appropriate another more than $5 million for 900 more Diebold machines and Diebold "extras" (to cover the number of breakdowns in the first 5,000+, only months-old Diebold machines!!! Makes one wonder if anyone promised Diebold a minimum millions in orders); and eventually the public was just waiting for the "other shoe to drop" while it appears the board was waiting to see what happened at the recount rigging trial- maybe if any wrong doing finally fell into the lap of Vu, Dillingham, or even themselves.

That the shoe dropped now, right after the recount trial is telling. If everything were on the up and up, and if none of them had "goods"on the others, the trial would be a completely separate issue. However, now that some lower managers got convicted to show the public that "justice was done" (and while they are all now dealing in all ways possible to keep THEM out of jail, thus quiet;) while the higher ups all stayed free of prison threat and reputation stain - says a lot.

In fact, that Dillingham waited until the last day of her resignation to negotiate her "buy out" consultancy - which in a normal world would have left her little leverage, as the board could have just fired her if they could not agree to her terms, (albeit with another 2-2 tie taken to the SoS office.) This seems to point to the fact that she has a lot of personal knowledge leverage (and I don't mean about the election process.)

And that Bennett, in the PD article linked below, was quoted as saying that Gwen got a longer consultancy- months of pay - than Vu ( though they equal to about the same total amount) because of her 17 years of service to the board, when all facts show that at least the last few years have been years of spreading lack of integrity into our election process, and that her head was on the line a few times before - shows that nothing is really as it's made to look here in Cuyahoga.

SoS Brunner's Directive 2007-01
New Secretary of State Brunner, a breath of fresh air, in this matter too, while probably also speaking off the record, weighed into this whole dynamic publicly with her very first, very objective SoS directive:
Minimum Qualifications of Directors and Deputy Directors of BOE's
http://www.sos.state.oh.us:80/sos/electionsvoter/directives/2007/Dir2007-01.pdf

One sad and almost funny thing about it is that she had to specify that to qualify, the director and deputy of our Ohio boards must have at least a GED. That demonstrates the level to which political hackery and nepotism have devolved Ohio's boards of elections, supposedly "leading" democracy's most sacred trust.
Near the end of the directive she spells out that a local board must vote to break a tie in their selection process at least 5 times in one meeting, to try to break their partisan conflict, before sending the decision to her office to break.

The Search Committee
Also, the board named an 8 member director search committee on Feb. 6 to find candidates. It is headed by Captain William Wilkins a former CCBOE director, '95 - 2000, and former Coast Guard captain. It contains the heads of both county parties, others to partisanly balance, and the most acquiescent of local election activists. Their applications process has been extended through 3/7.
The big joke goes - Who would want that job? (Wilkins himself, it appears was set up by others' non-responsibility taking, and forced out in 2000.)

For more details about this, see Joan Mazzolini's Plain Dealer article from yesterday.
http://www.cleveland.com/plaindealer/stories/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/117274210873470.xml&coll=2