A public-records request from a liberal blogger led to Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor realizing that her chief of staff wasn't doing her job.

A public-records request from a liberal blogger led to Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor realizing that her chief of staff wasn�t doing her job.

Laura Johnson, 33, the only chief of staff Taylor has had in 3 1/2 years as lieutenant governor, resigned on Thursday at Taylor�s request. Heather Brandt, 30, executive assistant to Johnson, also resigned, citing an �unhealthy hostile work environment� in her resignation letter.

The resignations came after it was noticed that the amount of time the two women�s cars were parked in the Riffe Center garage under the Statehouse was �significantly less� than the amount of time they said they had worked on their time sheets. The �irregularities� � according to Taylor�s office � only came to light because the liberal-leaning Plunderbund blog requested payroll records, time sheets and parking records for Johnson and Brandt since Jan. 1. The request was made on April 29.

Multiple spokesmen within the Kasich administration said it wouldn�t be unusual for Taylor not to have known where Johnson was or whether she was working throughout the day. But Taylor, a Republican, and her spokesman seemed to offer conflicting statements on whether the work Johnson was responsible for was completed.

Taylor, who lives in suburban Akron and commutes to Columbus, is also director of the Department of Insurance.

�The lieutenant governor works out of multiple offices and travels the state; she is often in contact with staff through cellphones,� said Chris Brock, Taylor�s spokesman. �As long as the work is getting done, that�s what�s important. It wasn�t until we started looking through the records when we found these irregularities.�

Taylor referred the matter to the state inspector general�s office and to the state Highway Patrol for further investigation. In her referral memo, Taylor wrote that �due to certain personal issues� both Johnson and Brandt were facing, she allowed them �some flexibility in their work schedules.�

�As a working mom, I know it�s hard to juggle both family and a job, so I�ve tried to be supportive of my own staff as they juggle those demands,� Taylor said in a statement released to the media. �Unfortunately, the flexibility I�ve tried to show the chief of staff of my personal office hasn�t been appropriately respected and the workings of the office have suffered.�

Taylor also said that �in any workplace, especially a public workplace, responsibility and trust come with accountability, and in this case I think I�ve been let down.�

In 2011, The Dispatch found that Taylor had either been picked up or dropped off by a state-owned airplane three times at Akron-Canton Airport � about 6 miles from her home � and Republican Gov. John Kasich ordered her to repay the state $1,039.50 for those flights.

Neither Johnson nor Brandt immediately responded to messages seeking comment. Johnson was a deputy campaign manager for the Kasich-Taylor campaign in 2010. She was paid about $125,000 last year; Brandt made $58,300.

Rob Nichols, a spokesman for Kasich, said �the governor was aware� of the situation and � supports the lieutenant governor�s decision.�

Kasich�s political opponent this fall, Democratic Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald, is taking heat in Cleveland for refusing to release records showing when he is in his county office, citing security concerns.

jvardon@dispatch.com

@joevardon