HAS STEVE OKEY DESTROYED THE ALLIANCE DEMOCRATIC PARTY?

UPDATED & REPUBLISHED MONDAY

ALSO

Angela Alexander
Coming Home to Stark County
as a Legal Professional

(LINK 1)
(LINK 2)
to
Guardado/Alexander Match Up
&
Stark Dems Leadership
Political Intrigue

OKEY/RYAN

It should be dawning on the leadership of the "organized" Stark County Democratic Party that they (the leaders themselves) need to look at themselves and at their close-in friends (e.g. for purposes of this blog, one, Steve Okey) to find out why the party is in a downward spiral that could one day soon make the party's candidates largely persona non-grata for a majority of Stark County voters.

The Steve Okey versus Sue Ryan Alliance City Council presidency appointment process by the Stark Dems' Alliance branch Central Committee is an indicative context of why things are likely to go South for Stark Dems more or less across Stark County unless a Stark Dems' leadership turnabout takes place in relative quick order.

Throughout the Alliance council presidency campaign itself (Okey v. Republican Arthur Garnes kickoff - the Alliance Martin Luther King annual parade [June, 2015, LINK] through November 3, 2015), The Report had been getting a steady flow of reports from the field that the man (Okey), who fought so hard with the likes of then Stark Dems' chairman Randy Gonzalez to undermine the popular choice among Alliance Democrats (Sue Ryan) in her first announced candidacy for the presidency in the wake of the death of highly respected and long term president John Benincasa, was doing virtually nothing to win in his challenge to remain council president at the hand of Republican Arthur Garnes, a highly respected former Alliance City Schools superintendent.

Alliance Republicans were left dumbfounded and were somewhat astonished when Okey narrowly lost to Garnes last Tuesday.

They seem to forget that Garnes while highly respected over and above Okey is a political neophyte who has not been in the public eye for some 10 years or so.

So it may have been the thing to do for Okey (although, admittedly, unlike him) to go low profile and thereby not accentuate the contrasted qualitative - in terms of perceived character -  factor between the two of them.

THE BACKGOUND OF THE RYAN/OKEY FIGHT

First, Ryan was faced with opposition from Derrick Loy - who the SCPR thinks of as being a political loyalist to Sheriff George T. Maier and who, The Report further thinks, was rewarded for his political loyalty with a taxpayer funded job in the sheriff's department.  (LINK)

Apparently, it did not take long for the likes of Gonzalez and his consorts that make up the Maier Massillon Political Machine (MMPM, directed by Massillon clerk of courts Johnnie A. Maier, Jr, which, Alliance resident Okey has close ties to) to determine that Loy did not have a snowball's chance in Hell of defeating Ryan.  (Note:  Ryan did not run for re-election as an Alliance councilwoman-at-large in the 2015 elections)

So it was no surprise when Okey issued this document on April 16, 2014, to wit:

Earlier in 2014, Okey (a former Alliance councilman who lost to Republican Alan Andreani in the 2011 mayoral election) had filed a lawsuit against his former colleagues on his allegation that they had violated Ohio's Sunshine Law in voting procedures on certain issues.

While at the SCPR at the time agreed with Okey that the procedures were unacceptable, it is to be noted what a hypocrite Okey was being in filing the lawsuit inasmuch as he himself had participated in his claimed illegally.

What that should mean to Stark Countians is that such is a clear indication that Steve Okey is pure and simple a political opportunist who will use such things as:  (a self-serving attempt to make himself appear to be high-minded)

• being for political/governmental Sunshine, or
• later on, after being appointed Benincasa's successor, ensuring that ordinances passed by Alliance Council are "constitutional" [as the Constitution is interpreted by the solitary, non-Judge Okey]

Of course the Stark Dems' leadership understand the political opportunistic/self-serving nature of Dem politico Okey.

That Gonzalez and who knows else probably from the MMPM did arm twisting on behalf of Okey on a couple of waffling Alliance Stark Dems' precinct committee persons to flip the wafflers into the Okey camp on the vote being taken on April 30th makes them a part of what is wrong with the priorities of Stark County Democratic Party leadership.

It obvious that Gonzalez, Maier, Jr., the sheriff, the Giavasis brothers and their allies within the Stark Dems' organization are mostly about self-serving politics over and beyond is good for the good of Stark County political subdivision government and the citizenry these government units.

THE KEY POINT OF THIS BLOG

To pick up on the theme introduced in the third paragraph of this blog, after engaging political skulduggery with the likes of Gonzalez:

• who, by the way, gets real uspset with the SCPR because The Report refuses to buy his claim that his government employment as been in the nature of self-sacrificial public service as a matter of a tradition of the Gonzalez family, 
• Note:  Isn't it unseemly for one to have tout their own alleged unselfishness?

Okey laid low in terms of campaign profile apparently thinking - and the SCPR thinks if "laying low" was purposeful, correctly so - almost did the seemingly impossible of winning in the context of his having:

• invoked political skulduggery, and 
• created self-serving pretextual turmoil within Alliance City Council

THE PROOF IS IN THE PUDDING?

So what makes the SCPR think that the low-key Okey is not a changed Steve Okey but a continuing political conniving Steve Okey which seems to be the mirror image of the Stark County Democratic Party leadership as it currently exists?

Take a look at this e-mail shared with the SCPR by Sue Ryan:

Sue Ryan <...@aol.com>  Nov 6 at 3:16 PM

To:  tramols@att.net

Martin - 

I have no idea what Okey is actually up to.  

[SCPR Note:  there has been speculation that Okey is considering a challenge to Stark County prosecutor John Ferrero who of course opposed Okey political pal George T. Maier in his - in the end successful bid to become Stark County sheriff or becoming the Stark Dems' appointee to succeed Thomas Bernabei as Stark County commissioner]

...

On Wednesday he [Okey] sent out a reminder about the Dem Club meeting last night, and that they would be discussing the future of the club after the losses on Tuesday.  

I responded that I was unable to attend and he probably wouldn't want to hear what I had to say, anyway.  

His answer:  "Ha! I really don't give a $#!t what you have to say."  

I should have said nothing else, but answered that "I didn't think so".  

Then came:  "Please come and regale the club with your advice on how to be a Republican puppet."  

He went on to say that at least he has the "courage to publicly stand by Democratic principles." 

My response:

"Don't you EVER question my Democratic principles!!!  Because I have the respect of members of both parties doesn't mean I compromise my beliefs.  Unwillingness and inability to get along with the other side is what turns people away from politics.  Now shut up and leave me alone."  (It took all of my self-control to keep from calling him a few choice names.)  

He ended by calling me Josie Lieberman.  Real funny guy.

...

Sue Ryan ... aol.com>  Nov 6 at 7:15 PM

To:  Martin Olson

Martin -

Here's another tidbit for you:  

at the Dem meeting last night, Steve said it was my fault that Brian lost.  Since I knew I wasn't going to run for re-election, the"right" thing for me to do was resign mid-term.  Then Brian would be appointed by the party, and he could have run as an incumbent, upping his chances.  

Really?  I would assume the right thing to do would be to finish the job I was elected to do.  

The Democratic Club in Alliance is on it's last legs, and there is no one to blame except one Steven Okey.  [large print emphasis added]

Sue 

The SCPR thinks that Steve Okey is one the most self-serving members of the "organized" Stark County Democratic Party who immerses himself in the good political graces of the "let's emphasize political party well-being over the public interest" group that now controls the Stark County Democratic Party.

In today's climate of growing public disenchantment with party-first politicos, it is hard to see the Stark Dems and candidates perceived to be party loyalist candidates going anywhere but "due South" in upcoming local elections.

GUARDADO/ALEXANDER & STARK DEMS LEADERSHIP

Kristen Guardado last Tuesday the SCPR thinks was a victim of such an association.  The Stark Dem leadership had treated her opponent in the May, 2015 Democratic Party dastardly and therefore Guardado became joined at the hip with pols who many in the general Stark County (Canton Municipal Court District) do not have a high regard for.

In an interesting bit of news, the SCPR has learned that Angela Alexander is moving her professional legal career to Stark County.

On November 23rd she is set to start as a Stark County prosecutor and reportedly is doing so at a pay cut.

Now that is sacrifice folks!

And, let's trust that the professional move results in this woman Alexander with her outstanding legal credentials being one day soon in a position to challenge for a Stark County Court of Common Pleas judge seat to sit aside the highly qualified Chryssa Harnett who had to defeat the politically connected Republican Curtis Werren.

Think that Ira Turpin wouldn't be smiling from above at such a development.

CONSEQUENCES OF RYAN/OKEY

Stark County voters should be wary indeed of the Curt Werrens, the Gonzalezes and the Steve Okeys of Stark County politics who The Report thinks put party politics and self-interest over the public interest.

And they always try to disguise the ugly side of politics with high sounding appeals.

None is better at the political phony-baloney than is Steve Okey!

Sue Ryan on the other hand is perceived as being an everyday citizen who through her heightened integrity and character thinks first of the well-being of Alliance citizens over what the folks headquartered at Oakwood Square want.

One can only hope that Steve Okey is finished as an Alliance area/Stark County electable politician.

In is process of running for president of Alliance City Council, he may have obliterated a viable Alliance Area Democratic Party.