Frank LaRose’s Political Gamble Once Again Backfires
April 28, 2021
In Case You Missed It, the GOP-led Ohio Supreme Court embarrassed Frank LaRose today as his attempts to once again overexert himself for his own political purposes backfired. LaRose has a long record of overstepping and harming Ohioans in the process, like when he arbitrarily decided ballot dropboxes would be limited to one location per county and when he waited until the last minute to postpone Ohio’s primary last year, causing confusion for voters and local Boards of Elections alike. Keeping with that theme, the Ohio Supreme Court wrote in its rejection of LaRose’s latest move that he “abused his discretion.”
“Even his fellow Republicans are calling out Frank LaRose for playing politics rather than doing the job he was elected to do. LaRose isn’t just embarrassing himself, his laser-like focus on his own political interests comes at the expense of Ohioans who are paying him a generous salary while he spends his time planning his next political run. LaRose should get back to the job at hand, and he can start by rejecting the anti-voter legislation his fellow Republicans are circulating now,” said Matt Keyes, spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party.
Read more about the Ohio Supreme Court’s decision from Cleveland.com HERE and below:
- The Ohio Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered Secretary of State Frank LaRose to reappoint Summit County GOP Chair Bryan Williams to the Summit County Board of Elections.
- “The committee has met its burden of proof to show that LaRose’s reasons for rejecting Williams’ appointment were not valid and that he abused his discretion,” the court order reads. “We therefore grant a writ of mandamus ordering LaRose to reappoint Williams to the Summit County Board of Elections.”
- Justices O’Connor and Kennedy penned the court order, with Justices Fischer, DeWine, Stewart and Brunner concurring and Donnelly concurring with an opinion.
- At issue was LaRose’s March 3 letter rejecting the reappointment of Summit GOP Chair Bryan Williams to the Summit County Board of Elections. The same day, Elections Director Amanda Grandjean wrote a letter notifying the board it was placed under “administrative oversight.”
- The court’s opinion Tuesday states that “LaRose’s concerns about a dysfunctional board culture remain the product of rumors and suspicions,” since the claims were based partially on a years-old complaint that was not investigated or confirmed by LaRose’s office.
- The party claimed that LaRose’s motivations were “based on improper, political reasons that are unrelated to whether Williams has the qualifications to serve.”