UPDATE - 06/18/2011 12:45 PM
The SCPR has been hearing for some time persistent reports that Jackson Township Chief of Police David Zink is considering a run for sheriff of Stark County as a Democrat.
He tells that he is being encourage to run by a number of Stark Countians.
Moreover, he tells The Report that he hasn't even approached Stark County Democratic Chairman Randy Gonzalez (who also happens to be Jackson Township's fiscal officer) because he is sifting through a number of criteria in coming to a decision of whether or not he will be running to replace long time Sheriff Tim Swanson (who has all but declared he will not be running for another term).
Swanson's preference as his replacement is Chief Deputy Rick Perez. However, the political landscape seems to have turned against Perez because he appears to be perceived by many in the Stark County public to be a "card carrying member" of the Stark County "organized" Democratic Party's "good old boy" network.
Alternatively, Swanson seems to gone to an alternative. That would Chief Deputy Mike McDonald who has taken out petitions to run.
Zink, who was appointed Jackson chief on March 26, 2010 and who has been a member fo the Jackson police force for about 27 years, says that in coming to a decision, he is:
- consulting with his family (wife and four children),
- surveying the receptivity of his running with the Jackson citizenry, and
- assessing whether or not he can raise sufficient campaign funds to be able to get his message out to the Stark County public.
Stark County needs to have more coordination and collaboration among the county's considerable number of police districts (township, villages, cities, and, of course, the sheriff's department). Moreover, he looks to take measures to empower and enhance countywide law enforcement in the context of county financial stresses by pushing for the deputizing of all political subdivision police.
He sees the current countywide police function (i.e. the sheriff's department) to being too isolated - in terms of relationships - from the political subdivision policing units and, if he chooses to run and is elected, he would focus on changing the current model into one in which Stark's various police departments share services and equipment so as to eliminate duplicative efforts and redundant costly equipment.
He says that Mike McDonald cannot win because he is too closely tied to Sheriff Swanson and the inefficiencies and deficient collaborative modeling that has been exemplified by the Swanson run sheriff's department.
2012 may see to be far off. However, unless the Ohio General Assembly decides to move the 2012 primary to May from its current March setting, candidates for the primary will have to file petitions in early December.
Accordingly, Zink only as about five months to make up his mind.
Stay tuned folks. The 2012 primaries could get real interesting!
Anothe possiblity for the Democrats - according to information The Report has been getting is Canton Safety Director Thomas Ream.
On the Republican side look for Hartville Chief of Police Larry Dordea to run for a second time for sheriff. He lost to Swanson in 2008.
Dordea, a former Alliance police chief, is an Alliance city council member and is rnnning for re-election.
He to could have primary oppositon - The Report hears - from Canal Fulton Mayor John Grogan who is a lieutenant with the Summit County sheriff's office.
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