Republican challenger P. S. Hamilton. Democrats had won just 37 of the 99 seats in the Ohio House, and Pokorny immediately launched a bid to be elected Minority Leader. Pokorny was narrowly elected Minority Leader on November 22 over incumbent Minority leader A. G. Lancione, 19 to 18. Cuyahoga County commission On January 10, 1968, Cuyahoga County Commissioner Henry Speeth (a Democrat) died at the age of 60 from a heart attack. Under state law, Speeth's political party was empowered to choose his successor to fill the remainder of his term. On January 19, 1968, the Cuyahoga County Democratic Committee chose Frank R. Pokorny as Speeth's successor. Pokorny resigned from the Ohio House on January 30, receiving a standing ovation. He took the oath of office as Cuyahoga County Commissioner on February 2, 1968. Joseph S. Cloonan was appointed Pokorny's successor. Cloonan lost to fellow Democrat Walter A. Rutkowski in the general election in November 1968. On November 5, 1968, Pokorny easily won election as Cuyahoga County Commissioner with 63,366 votes. His nearest competitor, Republican Paul W. Cassidy, had just 50,295 votes. Congressional campaigns Pokorny entered the 1970 Democratic primary to challenge Rep. William Edwin Minshall, Jr. in Ohio's 23rd congressional district, but withdrew in order to give fellow Democrat Ronald M. Mottl a clear run against Minshall. Pokorny ran for two offices in the May 1972 Democratic primary. He ran for the Democratic nomination for Ohio Senate District 24, but lost to Mottl, 20,199 to 12,188. However, Pokorny also ran for re-election as Cuyahoga County Commissioner. He was unopposed in the primary. Corrigan easily won re-election on November 7, 1972, beating Republican challenger Nicholas Daria by a wide margin (246,868 to 66,661). In 1974, Ohio Governor John J. Gilligan asked Pokorny to run for Ohio Secretary of State, but Pokorny declined. Pokorny considered running for Lieutenant Governor and for Congress in the 23rd congressional district the same year, but decided against it. Resignation In 1975, a Cuyahoga County grand jury began probing whether Pokorny had committed ethical improprieties while county commissioner. The Plain Dealer broke news of the investigation on February 27, 1976. On April 13, the grand jury indicted Pokorny on a single charge of misconduct in office. Prosecutors alleged that Pokorny had owned stock in Personal Transportation, Inc., a school bus company which won a county busing contract that lasted from 1971 to 1975. Pokorny then sold