Dimora will continue to win ad infinitum. He’ll leave only if he gets tired of the job, the feds start to close in on him (like they did with Mike White), or he dies.

The Republicans don’t have anyone who can get even 35% of the vote against him, and the Dems certainly won’t certainly challenge him in the primary.

As I said, the job is his until he decides to step down, and when he does, he’ll retire early so that way his successor can be appointed (this is a favored tactic of political parties, especially in areas where there is one-party domination).

As for Sutherland, here’s a snippet of info:

http://www.westlifenews.com/2007/12-05/sutherland.html

She seems like a nice person, but I don’t agree with her optimism on the benefits of the Medical Mart.

I also don’t agree with her on the issue of a new I-90 interchange in Avon. No federal or state tax money is at stake in constructing the interchange, so I have no idea why NOACA is even sticking its nose into the matter.

http://www.chroniclet.com/2007/10/10/interchange-heads-toward-showdown/

Avon and Lorain County agreed to a revenue sharing plan with Cuyahoga County just to get the interchange approved. Cuyahoga County is such a gluttonous pig when it comes to resources, yet is such a poor steward of the lion’s share of regional resources it receives. I hate regionalism because I hate the lack of accountability in Cuyahoga County.

Though I disagree with Sutherland on the two matters I’ve mentioned, I also disagree with Peter Lawson Jones.

And I also disagree with Jimmy Dimora.

So I don’t see how Cuyahoga can right the ship, except incrementally, and as far as that’s concerned, anybody else would be at least incrementally an improvement over Dimora.

Before I answer – let me ask you this: do you actually find Sutherland to be a compelling candidate?

Before I would tell you that yes, I’d vote for Sutherland, I will tell you that I’d work my butt off to find a viable primary challenger to Dimora.

If this is a question that you can’t answer, then I know exactly why the ODP won’t toe the line.

But let me get back to my question:

“And you? Let me put it this way: If an election were approaching, and a scandal-plagued Democrat refused to step aside to let another Democrat run, and the only way to get rid of the scoundrel was to vote for the Republican, would you do it?”

Let me try to make the question easier to answer. Let’s assume that Debbie Sutherland loses to Peter Lawson Jones for Cuyahoga County Commissioner, but that she runs again in 2010 for Jimmy Dimora’s seat. Will you vote for Dimora or Sutherland?

I think that’s a very fair question but I don’t know what I would do – I cannot say for sure. But I can understand why you did and why I might. I have done that in local races I think – judicial – like Joan Synenberg over Christine Russo.

On this: “And Chris Redfern?

As ODP chair, I think Redfern is more concerned with electing candidates affiliated with his own party (the more, the better), and that weighs more heavily on his mind than turning the rascals out that are within his party.”

Okay – but there’s no point in getting Dems elected if they are corrupt or lack integrity. And if he has crappy judgment or is unwilling to ask the hard questions and demand the hard things, again – what good will it do if all the blue we bring in gets flushed out again so quickly, and justly?

As for what I mean by action – helping women run and win would be one thing. I’m not at liberty to say much, but I have heard complaints from female candidate about support or lack of support from the state level. The fact that the outreach for women just began, as a concerted effort with a person being paid to do it in 2008? That’s really shameful, in a state this size. I understand that there was a real air of patriarchy at the January event – which I did not attend – I was at RootsCamp.

So – the rumblings that I’ve heard haven’t been good.

On the other hand – and they know this – I have nothing but praise for the neighborhood leader person with whom I’ve been working. But that’s to get me to help GOTV. What if I were a candidate?