Republican Party Chair Steve Minarik has resigned, at the request of County Executive Maggie Brooks.

"I was elected on a platform of collaboration," Brooks said in a statement released today, "and I need party leadership that reflects that."

Minarik's resignation raises some tantalizing questions. For instance: Many people have considered Minarik to be the power behind Brooks. Has she gained enough personal strength to force him out?

Why, after his years of service to the party, was he publicly asked to resign, rather than being given a way to gracefully exit?

Did the conflicts of the past few months - particularly the selection of a public defender, the chaos surrounding the selection of a new MCC president - bring such criticism down on the local Republican Party that Minarik needed to be forced out?

Is Minarik's very public force-out a way to let Brooks distance herself from the controversies? Or had Brooks been fighting Minarik all along, and had finally had enough?

And finally: will anything change? We may find out on Monday, when the MCC trustees name an interim president for the college.