Mucci says its about time Ryder takes responsibility for his own actions

In response to a letter I wrote (in my role as Burton Township trustee) countering the derogatory comments made by county Auditor Frank Gliha regarding the Burton Volunteer Fire Department, Geauga County GOP Chairman Ed Ryder has resorted to name calling and fabrication. I would like to set the record straight.

First, I was not forced out of the chairmanship; I chose not to run for another term. That choice was made many months in advance and was told to the party's senior elected officials at the time.

I will put my record of achievement up against Chairman Ryder's record any day. My proudest moment was being able to secure, with the help of Congressman LaTourette, Senior White House Political Strategist Karl Rove as our Lincoln Day speaker. I was able to arrange almost two hours of one-on-one discussion and picture taking with our VIP members and Mr. Rove that night, something that those who were there still talk about.

The next year, with the help of state Rep. Matt Dolan, I followed up with Fox News analyst and current candidate for governor of Ohio, John Kasich.

The accusation the party was in financial disarray when Mr. Ryder took over is false. He does not take into account the ebb and flow of a political party's financials. A political party exists to promote the ideals of the party and to get candidates elected. If a party is performing its duty, it will spend the contributions of the members to elect candidates and get the message out to the public.

Mr. Ryder took office after an election cycle, where it is customary to have spent money on candidates and to have little money left in the treasury. I made sure all of the past expenses were paid in an attempt to make Mr. Ryder's transition as easy as possible.

In addition, I also made sure that there would be money coming into the party from our annual Lincoln Day sponsors. Several of my large sponsorship checks were targeted to be received after I left office, again, in order to make the transition easier. To prove my point, all one has to do is to look at the sponsors listed in the Lincoln Day program and match them to the names on the checks received after I left office.

Mr. Ryder, on the other hand, chose to use money earmarked for the presidential campaign to instead pay his wife to sit in the campaign office, an office that is never open, but still being paid for. When many of the regular campaign volunteers called to become active in the McCain campaign, they were told instead that their help wasn't needed and that volunteers were not worth the trouble. The results here in Geauga County tell the truth.

The most important duty of a party chairman is to get the vote out for our candidates. At the time Mr. Ryder took office, the GOP was a well-oiled, get-out-the-vote machine. Built primarily by Chairman Gary Coberly before me, the GOP get-out-the-vote effort increased the Republican vote count by almost 5,000 votes each and every presidential election year going back to 1996. Mr. Ryder's record was a decrease of 1,274 votes in 2008.

Instead of building on the positive momentum built up by his predecessors, he has engaged in a campaign of destruction of all that went before him. Many senior party members who made up the rank and file of the Geauga GOP for generations have been summarily dropped from the party ranks because they were not part of the Ryder clique. You do not have to take my word for it; the listing of the Central and Executive Committees of the political parties are public record. All one has to do is get the list from the Board of Elections and compare the names over the years.

Every leader has a style of leadership, and I am no different. Anyone that has ever worked with me in my many volunteer efforts around Geauga County will tell you I have a sharp tongue and no patience for incompetence. They will also tell you I do my homework and I carry out my responsibilities with integrity.

As chairman, one of those responsibilities was loyalty to the ideals of the party of Lincoln. I did not support any candidate or officeholder who was disloyal to the party or its ideals. I make no apologies for this. The American people are fed up with self-interested politicians of all political stripes. By looking at the decline of the GOP volunteer rolls in Geauga County it is clear that the people who have been the most negative and divisive have driven away the people who worked the hardest.

Mr. Ryder, it is about time you take responsibility for your own actions. You can continue to listen to rumors and gossip, or you can begin the work of rebuilding what you have spent the last year and a half tearing down. It is your legacy Mr. Chairman, are you up to the task?

Lou Mucci

Former Chairman Geauga County Republican Party