The STARK COUNTY POLITICAL REPORT (The Report) has learned that Canton Safety Director Tom Nesbitt (coming to Canton from Nebraska a little over a year ago) after being informed that the interviewers of the Governance Committee of the Stark County Council of Governments (SCOG) would not be recommending that SCOG as a whole name him as 9-1-1 Project Manager went to City Hall to vent on Mayor Healy.
Reportedly, Nesbitt complained to the Mayor, "Randy Gonzales promised me this job" (paraphrase). Moreover, Nesbitt is reported to have slammed at least one door as an expression of anger at not being selected.
The Report has further learned that the interviewing committee reached a consensus that former Creighton administration Safety Director and Chief of Staff Joseph Concatto (most recently retired) would be the the recommendation to the full SCOG.
When the interviewing crew left the Stark County 9-1-1 Center (located at the Stark County Jail), Concatto was their man.
After the Nesbitt tirade and presumably a call being made to Gonzalez, it appears that Gonzales is determined to resume his push for Nesbitt before the full SCOG at an special meeting to be called for the near future.
The Report believes that the push by Gonzales for Nesbitt is the result of an intense lobbying effort by Healy to get Nesbitt out of his adminstration.
The Report has obtained documents from the Healy administration pursuant to a records request under Ohio's Sunshine Law which show The Report that Nesbitt has an acerbic relationship with Canton Police Chief Dean L. McKimm. Presumably, the Canton police force at large supports the Chief and therefore it seems reasonable to suppose that Safety Director (and derivatively Mayor Healy) does not have command of Canton's forces. Rather, McKimm appears, from The Report's reading of the obtained documents, to routinely "thumb his nose" at the Healyites.
So what is Healy to do?
Find Nesbitt a new job so he can get someone in place who can control McKimm or successfully dump him by negotiating through the Canton Civil Service maze.
The Report has learned from a source that Stark County Democratic chairman Johnnie A. Maier, Jr. has gotten in on the act.
Why?
Because he reportedly does not want Joseph Concatto.
But he does want Nesbiitt?
The Report is trying to make sense of this. Well, what's the problem? As far as The Report can determine both Concatto and Nesbitt are Republicans. Why would Maier care?
One possible explanation, if The Report's source on Maier's involvement is accurate is as follows: Maier is for Nesbitt because Gonzales (who The Report deems to be the de facto head of the Stark County Democratic Party) is and has been for Nesbitt.
Another possibility. It is thought by a number of Stark County political analysts (including yours truly) that Healy is bent on getting rid of Police Chief McKimm. Healy's expectation has very likely been that Nesbitt should get this done. But it hasn't happened. Healy may see his political survival and, indeed, his political future tied to whipping the Canton PD into a more effective policing unit and Healy probably sees McKimm as a barrier to this goal and therefore he needs a safety director who can handle the McKimm problem.
So where does Maier come in?
In previous blogs by The Report mention was made that Governor Strickland very much wanted to see Healy elected mayor of Canton. According to Jack DeSario (D&R Consulting), Governor Strickland prevailed on him to run the Healy campaign.
We all know that Johnnie A. Maier, Jr. is Governor Strickland's man in Stark County on the sentimental basis that Johnnie was the very first county chairman to endorse Strickland when Strickland had still political opposition within the Democratic party in his drive to be the party's nominee to be governor.
If it is important for Strickland that Healy be a successful mayor of Canton, then Maier is going to do everything within his power to help Healy weather the current political turmoil that is afflicting Canton City Hall. If Healy sees moving Nesbitt on to another job as being the solution to his problems, wouldn't Maier want to help him and thereby prove his continuing worth to Strickland in Stark County politics?
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