Coughlin: Morrison's a "tenacious lawyer"

TO FOLLOW UP: Kevin Coughlin, one of two Akron area state senators who are calling for the ouster of Jack Morrison (see previous post), says Morrison has a reputation of being a "tenacious lawyer" who is unlikely to gives seats on the University of Akron Board of Trustees and the Summit County Board of Elections without a fight all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Here's how Coughlin viewed the political ramifications of the issue when I spoke to him:

Summit County Republican Chairman Alex Arshinkoff (never any love lost between Coughlin and Alex) has convinced others in his grasp that if Democrats take over the majority of the trustees, "everybody gets fired - including Ted Mallo [UA vice president and general counsel] and Ted Curtis [vice president of capital planning, architect]. Coughlin further maintains that if the full Senate votes on it, Morrison loses. His prediction: The issue will be resolved by Dec. 1.

Although Morrison is Arshinkoff's lawyer, Alex has repeatedly told me that he is a mere bystander in the Morrison case, but he has acknowledged that it would be a setback for the party if Republican Morrison left a vacancy that would permit the governor to appoint a Democrat. Coughlin agrees that Arshinkoff isn't in the driver's seat on this one. On the other hand, Coughlin sees a greater setback for the party if the issue drags on. "The Democrats will have a big issue to use against the Republicans, just as they did with Tom Noe." Noe, you may remember, was the powerhouse Ohio Republican fund-raiser who was convicted in the so-called coin-gate scandal of several corruption charges in 2006 and sent off to prison.

Unlike old soldiers, funny how these matters neither die NOR fade away at election time.