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| Gina Kaczala being sworn in as the new executive director of the Lucas County Board of Elections. Her first act: fire one of the temporary employees in the office. (Toledo Blade photo) |
The Blade has the story about Republican booth official Melissa Brogan being fired by the new Republican executive director, Gina Kaczala, and Democrat deputy director Dan DeAngelis.
She was a temporary employee, subject to employment "at will," so she could be let go without any cause or reason.
Jon Stainbrook, Lucas County Republican Party Chairman and one of three members of the BOE, strongly objected, as the news story reported:
“The only reason they did it is because they don’t like it, and they don’t like her,” Mr. Stainbrook said. “She did an exemplary job for more than two years and was an intricate part of the election process. They are abusing their new-found authority right off the bat.”
But public records tell a different story.
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| Brogan's time sheet |
That's not an unusual event, but that's only part of the story.
On Feb. 5th, nominating petitions for five candidates were turned in to the BOE. The circulator was Melissa Brogan.
In total, she collected 25 signatures on the petitions - all on Feb. 3rd.
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| One of the petitions Brogan turned in. |
Now, it is conceivable that she gathered these signatures after she was feeling better, but if you're going to take a sick day and then turn in petitions all signed on the day you call off sick, you should expect questions to be raised.
In fact, I'm surprised that no one asked about it at the time the petitions were filed.
Certainly others in the office would have known she'd gone home sick. At the very least, the director and deputy director should have asked for an explanation.
Perhaps, though, such 'oversights' in managing the staff are what contributed to the Board deciding to fire Meghan Gallagher and replace her with Kaczala? Who knows?
One insider commented that they wouldn't be surprised if the whole thing had been coordinated by Gallagher. But that speculation is probably more indicative of the lack of trust in Gallagher and Stainbrook, than of the truth.
Regardless, the existence of the questionable circumstances definitely belie Stainbrook's comment that she did an "exemplary job."
4 comments:
There has been so much turmoil at the BOE for so many years, now, that it is totally embarassing to all good honest politicos from every side of the political spectrum.
No Silas - BOE employees are NOT supposed to do political activity during work hours. Just like any other non-classified employee in Ohio, what they do on their own time is their own business. (Classified employees are prohibited from certain partisan activities like running for office, etc...)
Yes - when you call off sick, you're supposed to be sick. And to have done political activity and then turned it in to your boss with the dates the same as you called off sick, the boss should have said 'whoa!'
That's wrong in any office, not just the BOE.
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What about Matthew Toepfer who under Gallagher's "watch" was charged illegal drug charges..nothing was done...until now.
http://www.toledoblade.com/Politics/2014/04/17/Lucas-County-Board-of-Elections-votes-to-fire-Republican-booth-official.html
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