WILL IT BE CATAZARO-PERRY VERSUS FRANCIS H. CICCHINELLI, JR. COME MAY, 2011? AND WHOM CAN THEY COUNT ON TO BE AMONG THEIR FINANCIAL SUPPORTERS? SEE A LIKELY LIST GATHERED BY THE SCPR FROM THEIR CAMPAIGN FINANCE REPORTS

REVISED AT 2:37 PM

Mayor Francis H. Cicchinelli, Jr. has told the SCPR that he will announce this summer as to whether or not he will seek another term as mayor of Massillon.

If he chooses to run and is re-elected, Cicchinelli will have, by the end of his term on December 31, 2015 have been a fixture in Massillon government for 41 years:  27 of them as mayor and the rest in Massillon City Council.


The irony of the prospect of a Catazaro-Perry race is that Cicchinelli was among the first to urge Catazaro-Perry to run for the 3rd Ward seat held by a Republican.  In fact, the photo appearing above is a picture that is posted on Catazaro-Perry's website featuring guests at her fundraiser event in 2006.

Catazaro-Perry (who the SCPR believes under the marked influence of former Stark County Democratic Party chairman Johnnie A. Maier, Jr. who is Massillon's clerk of courts and a member of the Stark County Board of Elections) has become the arch political enemy of Cicchinelli.

If the Cicchinelli does get officially challenged in the Democratic primary in 2011, it will likely be one of three Stark County mayoralty races in which the incumbent gets taken on by a party insider in the primary with the winner having a cake walk in the general election.


There is a likelihood of Smuckler v. Healy (Democrats - Canton), Davies v. Held (Republicans - North Canton, and, of course, Catazaro-Perry v. Cicchinelli (Democrats - Massillon).

The SCPR believes that these races will fracture both of Stark's main political parties, but moreso the Democrats than the Republicans.

The Report has analyzed the recent campaign finance reports of both Cichinnelli and Catazaro-Perry in order to determine whom (among Stark Democrats) will be "financially" supporting them between now and May, 2011:

In general, it appears to be a line up of the Johnnie A. Maier, Jr. wing (Jackson, Elum, et al) of the Stark County Democratic Party versus the anti-Maier wing of the party. 


The Report had received information to the effect that Cicchinelli and Elum were in the process of patching up their differences.  However, The Report spoke to Cicchinelli on Thursday and Friday of last week and the Mayor said that such was not the case.  Moreover, the Mayor said he hardly ever talks with Johnnie A. Maier, Jr.

First, here is a list of Cicchinelli's supporters:

Now Kathy Catazaro-Perry: