THE BIG "POLITICAL" STORY IN HEALY RE-ELECTION BID? UNION ALL OUT SUPPORT!

William J. Healy, II has come a long way with Stark County's unions.

Yours truly can remember talking with one of Stark County's leading union leaders at a Stark County Democratic Party fundraiser discussing the re-arrival of Jamie (as called by those who know him well) Healy to Canton.

The essence of the conversation:  "How dare he!  He blows into Canton from NYC and comes wearing a suit trying to talk the lingo of the working men and women and Canton."

Healy had gone off to the greener pastures of New York City to obtain his MBA from the Stern School of Business and now was back in town (2003) to share his new gotten education with the home towners.  And he was not starting at the bottom.  No, Healy was going for the top spot.  He wanted to be mayor of the Hall of Fame City.

For his father (also William J. - a long-time Stark County state representative)  had run in 1999 and had been soundly defeated by Republican Dick Watkins and so an added element was redeeming the family's political fortunes.

Well, Jamie Healy has turned around the family's political fortunes in being elected mayor in 2007.

Now the question is:  can he overcome four years of controversy as mayor of Canton and get reelected?

At one time, yours truly thought - no way! - but now it just might be that Healy is the odds on favorite to win the Democratic primary on May 3rd and go on to be reelected mayor of Canton, unless, this is, the Republicans come up with more of Canton household familiar name than Gerig or Thomas (Republicans who have petitions out).

While the SCPR does not believe that Stark's unions are all out in love with Mayor Healy as they profess in the videos below, he is infinitely superior - in their view - to the alternative,  long time Canton Councilman William Smuckler; whom the unions are said to loathe in terms of political leadership.

What follows are videos of union support expressed at yesterday's Healy reelection bid coming out party.