OH MY OHIO: Cuyahoga County Election Director Resigns! New SoS Requests Audit of Blackwell, Shredded Documents!

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Blogged by Brad from the road…

As is too often the case, the proverbial shit seems most likely to hit the erstwhile fan whenever we’re on the road and unable to cover the splatter sufficiently. This week has been no exception.

There is much movement in Ohio today as Michael Vu, the Election Director for Cuyahoga County, where two Election Officials were convicted two weeks ago of having rigged the 2004 Presidential recount, has now finally resigned from the Board of Elections after what is hopefully his last failed election.

The official BoE statement generously says: “Michael Vu has chosen to pursue future career growth and will resign as director of the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections March 1 of this year.”

In related news — and speaking of failed elections and “future career growth” — the office of the new Ohio Secretary of State, Jennifer Brunner, has now officially requested an audit of the SoS’s office over the last two years as it was led by the corrupt former SoS and democracy-hater J. Kenneth Blackwell.

In addition to the $80,000 in bonuses given to employees on the way out the door, and the $250,000 settlement Blackwell agreed to concerning the 2004 Election last December (as we reported two weeks ago), Brunner expressed a new concern in her hand-delivered letter to the Republican State Auditor Mary Taylor: Shredded documents.

As reported today by the Columbus Dispatch:

Brunner cites five major concerns that prompted her request, including the revelation that a member of her transition team witnessed “many shredding machines in operation” while Blackwell was in office “” and those machines are no longer in the office.

“We hope that this does not affect your ability to perform the complete and thorough audit that we request,” Brunner wrote.

Blackwell shredding documents?! We’re shocked! Shocked!

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OH MY OHIO: Cuyahoga County Election Director Resigns! New SoS Requests Audit of Blackwell, Shredded Documents!

14 Comments

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14 Responses

  1. 1)
    big dan said on 2/6/2007 @ 5:01pm PT: [Permalink]

    …he better check out the “future career growth” opportunities….IN THE SLAMMER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  2. 3)
    big dan said on 2/6/2007 @ 5:09pm PT: [Permalink]

    …it says there’s great future growth opportunities in the slammer in: License Plate Making, Chef (tossing salads), and Laundry.

  3. 4)
    allie said on 2/6/2007 @ 5:16pm PT: [Permalink]

    Kenneth Blackwell has always been at the base of the stolen election of ’04 and now people are realizing it – big time! He had an obvious ‘conflict of interest’ in being State SOS as well as the State Director of the Bush/Cheney ’04 campaign. The handwriting should have been on the wall in that it was Ohio (where infamous Diebold of the touch-screen corrupt voting machines are manufactured) that swung the election from Kerry to Bush. Anyone with more than a room temperature IQ knew something smelled rotten in Ohio. And that “something smelling rotten” is none other than the illustrious and soon-to-be-indicted Kenneth Blackwell. Dirty deeds produce prison time and Blackwell’s time is right around the corner.

  4. 5)
    Grizzly Bear Dancer said on 2/6/2007 @ 6:46pm PT: [Permalink]

    scum of the earth.

    These tumors on American Democracy cannot go to jail soon enough for stealing 2004?

  5. 6)
    Botany said on 2/6/2007 @ 7:20pm PT: [Permalink]

    @ 1:09 AM on 11/3/04 the exit polls showed
    female voters 53 to 47 % Kerry to bush
    male voters 51 to 49 % Kerry to bush

    Jennifer Brunner will not continue to cover up the
    theft of the 04 election. She was a judge w/ a specialty
    in election law.

    Very soon all of us “conspiracy freaks” will look a
    whole lot smarter.

  6. 8)
    Ambercat said on 2/7/2007 @ 10:39am PT: [Permalink]

    The Vu story is irrelevant. Until Chairman of the board of directors of the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections Bob Bennet, not coincidentally the chairman of the state Republican Party, resigns, he’ll just find himself another Michael Vu, an obedient bureaucrat afraid not to do his bidding.

    On the other hand, Ken Blackwell….oh where does one begin? Investigate, Jennifer, investigate! Let’s make those Kenny-in-the-slammer dreams come true! Yeah, I was SOOOOO surprised that he was shredding documents following his humiliating defeat in the governors’ race in November. That must be why he was too busy to call Jennifer and work with her on the transition process.

    I will be interested to see what auditor Mary Taylor’s response is. She was the only Republican to survive the wipeout of the GOP from statewide offices “” and just barely. She can keep her nose clean, do her job and come out smelling like a rose. Or she can continue to follow the Republican game plan of ignoring corruption while stretching rules to enrich herself and provide an easy target in 2010. So far, she seems to be leaning toward the latter – go figure!

  7. 10)
    Former Buckeye said on 2/7/2007 @ 12:43pm PT: [Permalink]

    Political corruption in Republican-dominated Ohio is as American as apple pie and the 4th of July. Think Grant, Hayes, McKinley & Harding.

  8. 11)
    Larry Bergan said on 2/8/2007 @ 1:15am PT: [Permalink]

    Let me guess.

    Michael Vu has been offered his old job in Salt Lake City.

    Don’t worry Michael, just cause you couldn’t make it in Ohio doesn’t mean you can’t be safe here.

  9. 14)
    alans said on 2/11/2007 @ 3:35am PT: [Permalink]

    The convicted morons were democrats not republicans stop the kool-aid go round. You ass wipes wouldn’t know the thruth if it hit you in the head. Start the crying now when a republican wins again in 2008 maybe then by the election you’ll stop the whining. But I doubt it!!!

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