THE BACKGROUND OF THE FIGHT
Today, The Stark County Political Report begins an "in earnest" analysis of the political personages, the political "ties that bind," and the arguments (legal & political) that compose the controversy of whether or not Stark County Commissioner Thomas Bernabei (originally elected in 2010, re-elected in 2014 as a Democrat) should be certified by the Stark County Board of Elections as an "independent" candidate for mayor of Canton.
For those of you who have not done so, to get a full appreciation of the Bernabei side of things,
- at least until Bernabei's "reported to be" legal counsel; namely, Don McTigue,
- reputedly an Ohio elections law "expert" attorney based in Columbus] files his brief,
view this 30 minute plus video interview of Bernabei by the SCPR on May 6th.
Last Friday, the SCPR did a "breaking news" on the filing by the Stark County Democratic Party and the Ohio Democratic Party at the hand of prominent and premier Stark County attorney Lee Plakas assisted by firm member Edmond Mack who also happens to be a Canton city councilman and one of seven attorney objectors to Tom Bernabei's filing as an "independent" candidate for mayor of Canton against his old boss and current mayor of Canton William J. Healy, II.
Bernabei was chief-of-staff/service director from January, 2008 until Healy fired him in January, 2009 after a rocky 12 month ride in which Bernabei was known to sit the mayor down and read him the riot act on the do's and don'ts of being the chief executive of Ohio's eight largest city.
Anybody who knows Healy clearly understands that he is a man of immense ego who the SCPR thinks will say or do nearly anything to maintain himself as being the man in charge.
Personally The Report likes Healy and has had many, many enjoyable "political junky" conversations since meeting him in the early 2000s.
He had made his way from back to his hometown of Canton from New York City and what he says was a highly successful marketing business as an outgrowth of having graduated with an MBA from the renown New York University Stern School of Business.
His father William J. "Bill" Healy had been a state representative for 26 years and ran for mayor of Canton himself in 1999 in a losing effort before passing away in 2001.
Below is a YouTube video of Jamie Healy (as William J. Healy, II is referred to by his close friends) done by Metropolis Consulting LLC in February of this year.
As with the Bernabei video above, this interview is a valuable tool for each SCPR reader to make his/her assessment of Healy the man.
While he is not a party to the protest, make no mistake about it; the Stark Dems and the Ohio Democratic Party are de facto surrogates for him in their quest to keep Thomas Bernabei off this November's general election ballot.
For as the Healy/Metropolis video shows, being mayor of Canton is everything to William J. Healy, II.
As recently as two weeks ago, Healy got very ugly with the SCPR over the critical editorial blogs that yours truly has done on his performance as mayor since he took office on January 1, 2008.
Healy has used both the carrot and the stick with yours truly which of course shows that he does not understand where the SCPR is coming from.
It is never whether or not yours truly likes or dislikes a politician. The only question for The Report whether or not a given politician is doing good government.
The SCPR's take on Healy is that he is a master politician.
Perhaps the best that has ever tred the Cleveland Avenue, Market Avenue and Tuscarawas Avenue.
But an effective governor, he is not.
And The Report thinks that if Bernabei makes it to the ballot; he wins in a walk over Healy.
So it is desperation time for the mayor who - as he said in the Metropolis LLC interview: IS PASSIONATE about being mayor of Canton.
Accordingly, all the stops are being pulled out to derail the Bernabei as a political independent for mayor of Canton train.
Here is evidence of a person Plakas tie to Healy continuing as mayor of Canton.
The SCPR has a very high regard for Mack.
A common theme of the critical of the Healy administration blogs over nearly eight years has been the "I am a survivor" factor of William J. Healy, II.
A common theme of the critical of the Healy administration blogs over nearly eight years has been the "I am a survivor" factor of William J. Healy, II.
Given the numerous of self-engendered political crises that Mayor Healy has survived, he is truly the envy of the proverbial cat of nine lives.
STARTING TOMORROW WITH VOLUME 3
THE LEGAL & POLITICAL ARGUMENTS
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