Friday, September 26, 2008

DISCUSSION: IS DORDEA CAMPAIGN TOO NARROWLY FOCUSED?


For being involved in an uphill battle to unseat a longterm incumbent, the Larry Dordea campaign for Stark County sheriff seems to be narrowly focused.

Dordea's website is filled with pictures of prominent Stark County Republicans who predictably endorse a fellow Republican for countywide office.

Some of the endorsers are of questionable value to Dordea. For instance, Judge David Stucki is not exactly the most popular person within the Republican side of the political divide.

State Representative John Hagan has his hands full running for county commissioner. Political insiders says he and his opponent, Democrat Doctor Peter Ferguson, are competing to see who can win despite conducting the laziest campaigns of all the campaigns going in Stark County this election cycle.

And then there is the battle between Dordea and Sheriff Swanson for police endorsements, as if Stark County's "finest" are, in and of themselves, elect the next Stark County sheriff.

Finally, there is the Dordea focus on the Steffy case. Readers will recall that there is some controversy on the procedures Swanson's deputies used in processing Steffy when she was arrested by deputies earlier this year. The matter is now in civil litigation.

The STARK COUNTY POLITICAL REPORT (The Report) talked with Dordea briefly at the Stark County fair in late August. Dordea went into a mini-diatribe on the failure of The Report to make the Steffy case a centerpiece of The Report's analysis of the Dordea/Swanson race.

It is surprising to The Report that Dordea, a police/government official for many years would want to pre-judge this matter until the legal processes have fully dealt with the matter.

Obviously, Dordea can run his campaign anyway he sees fit, but to The Report he is not running a style of campaign that is likely to appeal to political independents and Democrats.

Question: What do you think of the Dordea approach to campaigning?

No comments: