Cuyahoga County Republicans call on Lawson Jones to ask Dimora to step down

The Republican Party of Cuyahoga County is calling on Cuyahoga County Commissioners board president Peter Lawson Jones to ask fellow commissioner Jimmy Dimora to step down.

Dimora, along with Cuyahoga County Auditor Frank Russo, both Democrats, were targeted last month as part of a federal corruption probe. No files have been charged. The probe came to light following raids of offices and homes of several Cuyahoga County officials in July by about 200 federal officers.

Cuyahoga Republican chair Rob Frost called Jones' inaction a "failure of leadership" and a "disservice to the people of this county."

Lawson Jones responded by saying that the Republicans' motivation is transparently political.

"They know as well as I that Jimmy has not even been indicted, certainly not been convicted," he said. "And he has made the decision that he is going to continue in his capacity as a member of the board of county commissioners. That is his call to make."

Frost compared the situation to that of former Ohio attorney general Marc Dann, who resigned in May amidst scandal after numerous state Democrats, including Gov. Ted Strickland, called for Dann's resignation and had even begun impeachment proceedings.

"The excuse being heard is that the cases are different; while Dann admitted wrongdoing, Dimora has not," said Frost. "The more telling similarity between Dimora and Dann is that the Democrats seem more concerned with the political fallout in each situation than with what best serves the public."

"The reason is pure party politics," Frost said. "By waiting out the calendar, Jones and his fellow Democrat insiders can ensure that their party gets to pick Dimora's replacement, rather than letting the people vote on a candidate this November."

Frost is referencing a statute that allows the party to pick a replacement for a seat that has been resigned after a certain point has been reached in the term of service. If resignation occurs before that point, a special election is required.

"By refusing to tell Commissioner Dimora that it's time to go, Board President Peter Lawson Jones is putting the interests of the Democratic Party ahead of the interests of the citizens of Cuyahoga County," Frost said.

Lawson Jones said he knows that people worry about the perception of impropriety because he continues to function.

"The bottom line with the county commissioners and the beauty of the county commissioner system is that it takes two county commissioners to make anything happen. Jimmy can't do it by himself. Tim Hagen can't do it by himself. I can't do it by myself."

Lawson Jones said that the suggestion from the Republicans was most premature.

"If this was a football game and the Republicans suggested that they would throw a flag for piling on," he said. "And they'd assess them a fifteen yard penalty. It's a personal foul here. The fact is [Dimora] has not been indicted. This is an early stage of investigation. There are many people in society who are investigated, and it is subsequently found that they didn't do anything wrong. So it's quite premature. Should Jimmy be indicted, one could ask me then, I might have a different perspective."