Judge denies GOP chair's request for restraining order

Mr. Stainbrook filed the request to prevent a rival group headed by Toledo lawyer Jeffrey Simpson from claiming to be the legitimate county GOP.

In making his decision, Judge Jack Zouhary forwarded the dispute over who controls the power of the party to the Lucas County Board of Elections, which has a meeting on Tuesday.

In his petition filed Thursday morning, Mr. Stainbrook accused the Simpson group of infringing on the Lucas County Republican Party's trademark, using its post office box, confusing the public and party members, and submitting fraudulent documents.

Mr. Stainbrook, who battled the party's old guard to take power in June, 2008, was the target of a hostile coup attempt on Dec. 21 during a central committee meeting.

Mr. Simpson claimed he was elected chairman and that Holland resident Paul Hoag was elected central committee during that meeting.

The group claimed it successfully voted out Mr. Stainbrook and his chairman of the party's central committee, Meghan Gallagher.

Mr. Stainbrook claims the vote was not valid, and that Mr. Simpson is falsely presenting himself as the party chairman.

From previous versions of The Blade and toledoblade.com

Two warring factions of the Lucas County Republican Party reached a tentative truce yesterday in meetings overseen by a federal judge, but the dispute over who controls the power of the party will resume today.

And last night, the would-be new leaders of the party - Toledo lawyer Jeffrey Simpson and Holland resident Paul Hoag - oversaw meetings of their versions of the party's executive and central committees, hoping to nail down their claim to party leadership.

The incumbent chairman, Jon Stainbrook, filed a petition in U.S. District Court yesterday to prohibit Mr. Simpson and Mr. Hoag from any further self-representation as the executive committee and central committee chairmen.

His suit described their election as "imaginary," and their claims as fraudulent.

U.S. District Judge Jack Zouhary held closed door meetings on Mr. Stainbrook's petition for a temporary restraining order, and got the two sides to reach a temporary agreement.

The hearing resumes today at 1:30 p.m. on the question of whether Mr. Simpson's and Mr. Hoag's list of committee members is valid.

The terms of the temporary agreement were:

• The Simpson/Hoag organization could hold its meeting last night at Holland Gardens banquet hall in Springfield Township, which it did.

•Both sides must support the sale of tickets to the Lincoln Day Dinner set for Jan. 21 to feature national Republican political strategist Karl Rove. The event is a fund-raiser for party operations.

•A mutually agreed-upon trustee would ensure that funds raised by the Rove event would be preserved and spent for legitimate purposes.

They also agreed to a gag order on talking to the media.

The 60 people who signed in and voted at last night's central committee meeting appeared to be unanimously in support of Mr. Simpson and Mr. Hoag, but they fell far short of a majority of the 208 members shown on the list of committee members.

The central committee is elected by party voters every two years to elect the leadership.

The central committee members in attendance elected a secretary, an apparent attempt to fix a flaw that has prevented the Simpson/Hoag group from getting certification from the Lucas County Board of Elections. The Lucas County Prosecutor's Office ruled yesterday that the party's list of central committee members must be signed by a secretary.

Also last night, the would-be executive committee nominated David Dmytryka of Toledo to replace Lynn Olman on the Lucas County Board of Elections when his term ends Feb. 28.

The move appeared to be aimed at undermining Mr. Stainbrook's claim that Mr. Olman helped instigate the coup attempt to preserve his paying part-time job on the elections board, which also provides pension and health benefits.

Mr. Stainbrook's executive committee is to meet tomorrow to make its own nomination for the board of elections. Each party has two seats on the board and the secretary of state breaks any ties.

In its petition filed yesterday morning, the Lucas County Republican Party headed by Mr. Stainbrook accused the Simpson group of illegally using the party's trademark and post office box on its envelopes, sowing confusion in the public and the party, and submitting fraudulent documents to the Board of Elections.

The petition also accuses the defendants of attempting to disrupt the Lincoln Day Dinner.

"The fund-raiser … with Karl Rove is absolutely critical to the financial future of the LCRP. If the defendants are permitted to continue to destroy the good will associated with the LCRP then the fund-raiser will likely be a failure. And the financial ruin of the LCRP will follow close on its heals," the suit alleges.

Mr. Simpson and Mr. Hoag say they were elected during a central committee meeting Dec. 21, replacing Mr. Stainbrook and his central committee chairman, Meghan Gallagher.

Mr. Stainbrook, who battled the party's old guard to take power in June, 2008, said the Dec. 21 vote was illegal, and the group that turned out to vote him out of office was "drunk and disorderly."

Mr. Simpson denied anyone was inebriated, and said that, as far as he knew, there were no such citations issued by police, which turned out to quell disturbances in the meeting held at the party's headquarters at 10 South Superior St. He also said his group denies the allegation of trademark infringement.

The battle for control of the Lucas County GOP heats up at the start of an election year for a U.S. Senate seat and governor, both of which Republicans have hopes of winning.

A disunited party would undermine chances for a strong Republican showing on election day.

Contact Tom Troy at:

tomtroy@theblade.com

or 419-724-6058.