Thursday, December 30, 2010

Arshinkoff, Robart gang up on Coughlin

AS ANYBODY who has given no more than cursory attention to this blog could safely assume, outgoing State Sen. Kevin Coughlin, a conservative Republican, and I were seldom on the same page politically. Still, in the years that I've known him, I always found him to be accessible. articulate and willing to go the mat to defend his positions. So it was of particular interest to see a couple of longtime Republican opponents gang up on him in the Beacon Journal's front-page report on his exodus from the Ohio Senate.

The comment that shot from the page was issued by Cuyahoga Falls Mayor Don Robart, whose room and board at City Hall have gotten convenient long-term shelter from county GOP chairman Alex Arshinkoff. "He [Coughlin] is a very vindictive person He tried to hurt us...", the mayor opined.

Given the fact that his partner Arshinkoff has a long history of vindictiveness that was once aimed at one of Robart's top cabinet members, I do think that the mayor could have found a more plausible account of his displeasure with Coughlin. Alex has spent most of his career spreading ugly rumors about his opponents, even taking on a major Akron law firm - Roetzel and Andress - as being nothing more than a Democratic cell. The same is true of his whispering campaign against Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic. Or his harsh treatment of some of the workers at the Summit County Board of Elections. Don't' get me started.

And please, let's hear of no more boasts by the chairman that he led the county to sweeping victories in November, a Republican day in which Donald Duck could have been elected across the state.

Alas. In some cases, he was.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Arshinkoff and Robart are trailer park trash. I'd love to see Coughlin run against Robart and kick that guy out of city hall. He's killing Cuyahoga Falls.

Honestly I thought the whole article was terrible and has very little insight into the work Coughlin has done as an elected official. Just a rehash of one small fight.

Unknown said...

Thanks for all your work Abe and I've enjoyed the few times we've had to interact.

I was a bit disappointed that the Beacon allowed what was supposed to be an exit profile become a gang rape by two people who obviously don't like me much.

If Don and Alex feel I've slammed a door on them they are correct. I make a habit of cutting the negative out of my life and I did that long ago with those two. Life has been much more pleasant since then.

Success breeds enemies. And a few enemies are ok as long as they are well earned. I earned Don and Alex the right way and that's fine by me. I take comfort in the thousands of friends of all political persuasions I have made around the world during my time in office.

Best wishes to you for a happy and peaceful New Year.

Anonymous said...

Kevin should run a primary challenge for mayor against Don Robart. Don Robart is one of the biggest phonies in Summit County politics along with with the notoriously classless and vindictive Alex Arshinkoff. People in Cuyahoga Falls are getting increasingly tired of King Don Robart's strong arm tactics. Its time for new leadership in Cuyahoga Falls.

Elena LaVictoire said...

Kevin Coughlin is a class act. I really hope we see him in public office again soon.

Thanks for writing about this Abe- once again, we agree on something!

Anonymous said...

Robart is a weasel, a classless bully and a Arshinkoff stooge. I, too, would like to see Coughlin run for mayor of CF. Even though I'm a registered Dem, I would vote for him. He's an ethical guy, unlike the corrupt Robart whose main concern are his pals.