Mary Taylor.JPG

Mary Taylor cheers her election as Ohio's lieutenant governor in November 2010.

(Thomas Ondrey, The Plain Dealer)

CLEVELAND, Ohio – It's an election year, so the resignation of Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor's chief of staff – announced Friday afternoon in a time slot often reserved for the dumping of less-than-favorable news – will stir political consequences.

Each party has a card or two to play.

Republicans will argue that Taylor acted decisively and transparently. She discovered irregularities between Laura Johnson's time sheets and parking records as Taylor's office was gathering documents in response to a public-records request from the left-leaning blog Plunderbund. Taylor requested Johnson's resignation, then asked the state's inspector general and the Ohio Highway Patrol to review the findings.

Democrats will wonder why it took a public-records request for Taylor and Gov. John Kasich's administration to realize the lieutenant governor's top aide apparently wasn't at work when she said she was. The Johnson situation provides more fodder to Taylor critics who have long been convinced that she also keeps lean hours.

"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 Friday. "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."

It didn't take long for the campaign of Democratic gubernatorial nominee Ed FitzGerald to weigh in on social media Friday. Besides the big news of Johnson's resignation, the Kasich administration also disclosed that the chief of staff's administrative assistant resigned, citing an "unhealthy hostile work environment." Lauren Hitt, the press secretary for the FitzGerald campaign, emphasized that detail several times on Twitter.

Democrats might have to be careful in how they approach the issue of the time sheets and parking records. FitzGerald, who serves as Cuyahoga County executive, has refused to make public similar data that would show how often he's on county property. The former assistant county prosecutor cites security risks. The issue with Johnson, though, is precisely why these types of records matter – and you can be certain Republicans will emphasize that.

Yet the turmoil in Taylor's office could offer FitzGerald another angle. He had to part with his first running mate, State Sen. Eric Kearney, after the Northeast Ohio Media Group and other news organizations uncovered Kearney's large pile of unpaid taxes. Republicans often cite the blunder as sign of poor judgment.

For months FitzGerald has been looking for something – anything – to use against Taylor and neutralize the Kearney factor. This might not be it.

But you can bet he'll try.