Over the weekend, people started to receive the Summit County Republican Party's first formal response to the challenge being led by Kevin Coughlin to take over the party.
The response and its attachment follow:
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November 21, 2007
We ask you to read and remember five simple facts!
Five simple facts to sweep away all the pessimism, distortion and worse being spread by a small but vocal band of ambitious agitators about your Summit County Republican Party.
Five simple facts needed to pull some in this party out of their negative, doom and gloom attitude. Facts to kick-start them back into the positive, optimistic frame of mind that wins elections and once again brings Republican values to the forefront of American life – here in Summit County and throughout the nation.
We have attached these facts for you to read, remember and pass along to your Republican friends. Over the coming weeks, we also plan to personally contact as many Central Committee members and other party faithful as possible. We want to further explain these facts and answer additional questions about your party’s future.
We want you to know, despite of all the misinformation you may hear, that your local Party has indeed been recruiting Republican candidates, supporting their campaigns, building a strong grassroots team and winning competitive races in Summit County. These are the facts, and we want you to know them!
That’s also why we have set up a Telephone Answer Line to address your questions as quickly and fully as possible. Details can be found on the fact sheet. You can also e-mail us at info@summitgop.org.
We understand why you and others would sincerely question where Republicans (here in Summit County, in Ohio and nationally) are headed after heartbreaking losses in 2006. We know why you fear for the party’s outlook for 2008. It’s hard not to feel disappointment and frustration at this point in the party’s history, when Republican values have never been more under siege.
Locally, statewide and across America, the party’s momentum is at its lowest ebb in a generation. That’s not just a Summit County phenomenon – it’s a nationwide problem that has upset Republicans everywhere. But it’s a problem that demands honest answers and decisive leadership – not a dishonest, reckless rehash of the past, or a clash of selfish personal agendas that can only lead to defeat. Rather it requires a fresh, optimistic call to action for the future!
Optimism and hope have been the keys to Republican success through the years – a spirit of enthusiasm and confidence best embodied by the great Ronald Reagan. That optimistic spirit must sustain us today.
That’s the real threat posed by this latest smear campaign to undermine your local party, sow even greater doubt about the party’s future and threaten any chance we’ll ever have to assure Summit County Republicans of greater gains in the years ahead.
That’s why we are asking you to stand today with your local party, stick with the vast majority of your fellow Republicans in Summit County and help us as we build a stronger, more successful and more hopeful party than ever before.
Sincerely,
Jonathan T. Pavloff, Chairman, Central Committee
Alex R. Arshinkoff, Chairman, Executive Committee
PS: Results of the recent November elections give us reason for thanks. We broke even in local races, despite a down year for Republicans elsewhere! With your help, we’ll continue to build on those successes -- recruiting strong candidates, giving major financial and operational support to their campaigns and keeping your Summit County Republican Party competitive in one of the most difficult political environments in America.
Five Facts
You Need to Know About
Your Summit County Republican Party
Fact 1
The Summit County Republican Party – with your help – contributed $5,909,356 to local and state candidates in hard-fought campaigns since 2000 ($1,016,750 in 2006 alone!) ¹. It’s a record of support matched by few, if any, other urban counties of similar size in America.
Fact 2
We’re winning elections! Not as much as we’d like, but it’s a far stronger record than naysayers claim. Like Republicans nationwide, we had a disappointing election in 2006. But this year in Summit County, we broke even in the November races – a result that other Republican county organizations would envy! No, it’s not perfect, but it’s called momentum, and it bears out the fact that Republicans hold a higher percentage of offices today in Summit County, compared to Democrats or Independents, based on our relative numbers of registered voters.²
Fact 3
Your Summit County party has successfully recruited and supported candidates for competitive races, year in and year out. A number have gone on to statewide office or federal positions. Yes, we’ve conserved our resources and targeted races where any fair observer would give us some chance of success. Our track record is strong – and getting stronger!
Fact 4
Perhaps most important of all, your party has provided vital grassroots support for our candidates – at levels unprecedented for Republicans in urban, historically labor-dominated counties. That means an amazing support system of Central Committee members, booth workers, phone-bank callers and campaign volunteers. Your Summit County organization is among the best of urban counties across the country and second to none in Ohio!
Fact 5
Akron and Summit County present one of the most difficult political environments that Republicans face anywhere! Yet, it’s a fact that your local party has raised record funds for candidate support; we’ve recruited and elected Republican officeholders at greater percentages, based on voter registration, when compared to the other party; and we’ve built grassroots support that’s the benchmark for local Republican parties nationwide.
Questions or comments? Call 330-253-6446 or email us at
info@summitgop.org. We’ll be back to you as soon possible.
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¹ Based upon campaign finance reports on file with the Summit County Board of Elections for the Summit County Republican Party, county, municipal, and state elected officials; campaign finance reports for federal candidates on file with the Federal Elections Commission; campaign finance reports for state elected officials on file with the Ohio Secretary of State; and records of the Summit County Republican Party.
² Out of about 390 elected positions [in Summit County], Democrats hold 50 percent of the seats, while Republicans have 39 percent. The political breakdown of the 374,594 registered county voters is 22 percent Democrat, 11 percent Republican and 67 percent nonaffiliated. Per Akron Beacon Journal 9/23/2007 Document ID: 11BE367240F8A840. 
Kevinus Primus?