PART 1 - SCPR SERIES ON 2015 COUNCILPERSON AGENDA: TODAY, CANTON WARD 5 COUNCILMAN KEVIN FISHER

VIDEO

WARD 5 COUNCILMAN

KEVIN FISHER

ON HIS

2015 LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES

Readers of The Stark County Political Report know that more than any other Stark County media outlet, The Report makes public officials available to their constituents and the general Stark County public in their own words.

Today, the SCPR starts a series of interviews with councilpersons from Alliance, Canton, Massillon and North Canton, to the extent these elected officials are willing to go on camera, with Ward 5 Canton Councilman Kevin Fisher.

Kevin is one of four Canton councilmen that the SCPR has labeled "the four young Turks," an attribution (i.e. "young") that the dean of the group; namely, Ward 9 Councilman Frank Morris, III, takes exception to.

What can The Report say in the way of a rejoinder?

Maybe that "at the very least," Morris is young "in spirit and vigor."

We do have fun on from time-to-time on the SCPR blog.

Nonetheless, The Report takes politics and government very seriously as the quality of life that we have in Stark County is in large measure determined by our elected officials.

A primary mission of the SCPR is to keep Stark's elected officials accountable.

And, as the SCPR sees him,  Kevin Fisher ranks among the best councilpersons of all that sit on Stark County's village and city councils.

The SCPR has done a number of blogs on Fisher, most of which are complimentary but, of course, there is a sprinkling of critical ones, to wit:

• Ordinance 128/2012, October 4, 2013,
• A Fisher sponsored Ward 5 neighborhood meeting, October 18, 2013,
• Fisher backs Healy on Income Tax Credit, June 4, 2014
• Note:  A case where the Fisher departs from fellow "four young turks" Mack, Mariol and Morris in supporting the mayor's position

Fisher has a degree of maturity, which a number of seasoned Stark County politicos lack, which enables him to accept a critique for whatever it is worth.

An impressive quality shown by Fisher and his fellow "four young turks" is that, on occasion, they vote in disagreement with one another after having had a thoroughgoing discussion on a given issue.

They move on to the next matter often seeing eye-to-eye and unaffected by prior disagreements.

Such is why the SCPR think that Fisher and his fellows are deserving of being thought of as model councilpersons.

With this series, the SCPR is interviewing councilpersons across Stark's major municipalities inquiring as to what priorities the interviewee has for 2015.

Among Fisher's top priorities as a Canton councilman is:

• maintaining an attentive ear to his constituents and ensuring that they are heard loud and clear at Canton City Hall,
• Note:  Fisher has been a leader among Canton city council members in holding periodic townhall meetings.
• preserving Canton city streets by rerouting heavy vehicles (e.g. 40,000 trucks) off city streets,
• keeping Canton fiscally responsible by monitoring bond indebtedness that the city takes on to ensure that it does not hamper the fiscal flexibility of the city, and
• ensuring that that a proposed merger between the Canton Park System with the Canton Joint (the city and the Canton City School District) under the auspicious of a newly formed Canton Parks and Recreation Department is realized, and
• putting "the City Hall of the 21st Century" in the pocket of Cantonians (i.e. electronic access to city government).

Here is the Kevin Fisher interview with his "full"  explanation of his 2015 legislative priorities: