WHO IS ON TOP? THE STARK DEMS "POLITICAL SPOILS" LIST

With the election of Republican John Kasich as governor of Ohio (as part of a nationwide Republican sweep) coupled with a local political tsunami fueled by the loss of $2.96 million from the Stark County treasury under the watch of former Stark County Treasurer Gary D. Zeigler (once a powerful "insider" Stark County Democrat), the Stark County Democratic Party is reeling this days.

While law enforcement officials cleared Zeigler of any criminal wrongdoing and laid the blame on former Chief Deputy Vince Frustaci, the SCPR believes that Stark County voters were out to remove any incumbent (elected or appointed) Democrats, whether or not it was fair to do so.  Hence Stark County Auditor Kim Perez (who had kept a number of Republicans on staff when he was first elected) got soundly beaten by neophyte Republican Alan Harold and, moreover, the character impeccable Ken Koher, running as a Democrat (not known to be a highly partisan Democrat) could not hold onto the treasury for Democrats.

Caught up in the Kasich aspect of the turnaround in political fortunes is former Stark County Commissioner Gayle Jackson.  She resigned her commissionership in 2007 to join the newly elected Democratic governor Ted Strickland and his "Turnaround Ohio" themed administration (which, of course, never happened) to become a sales manager with the Ohio Lottery Commission which is not a civil service protected job.

On Thursday she got fired from her "political spoils" job.

Jackson is the political darling of former Stark County Party chairman Johnnie A. Maier, Jr.  The SCPR has heard Maier frequently opine that Jackson is, perhaps, the greatest Stark County commissioner ever at Stark Democratic Party events.

Jackson and two of her children (Shane is political director of the Stark County Democratic Party and the chief deputy for Maier at the clerk of courts in Massillon whereas Lisa is the top administrator at Plain Township Hall) have done well in securing positions in Stark County political subdivision government.

Now it appears that Jackson herself is in need to have a new political appointment.

And it seems that an opportunity has opened.  All she has to do is to get Stark's organized Democrats to appoint her.

What opportunity?

Coincidently, an announcement emanating from the Stark County Board of Elections (BOE) revealed that Maier has resigned as a board member, effective yesterday.


This BOE seat has caused a turmoil within the Stark County Democratic organization when Maier (in the opinion of the SCPR) forced long time organized labor stalwart Billy Sherer (ironworker) off the BOE at the end of his term.

Maier made it appear that Sherer was all for the change.  While, Sherer being the class guy he is, would not insist on selfishly holding the seat, he undoubtedly agreed with his fellow Stark unionists that because Stark County's unions have always work - pretty much exclusively - to elect Democrats in Stark County, that as a part of "political spoils" the Sherer seat was a union perk and Maier's interloping was not acceptable.

To this day, Stark's organized labor has not forgotten about nor forgiven Maier for ripping away their political perk.

While the board seat does not pay that much (a little under $17,000), it is something and therefore the SCPR believes that there will be some internal Stark County Democratic bickering (especially from the unions) as to whom fills the Maier-created vacancy.

If she wants it, The Report believes it is Jackson's for the asking.  Even though Maier is no longer chairman, he is virtually indistinguishable from current Chairman Randy Gonzales in terms of party leadership and certainly the Jackson fiscal officer would endorse Jackson for the post if asked to do so.

Even Republicans fight over BOE seats.  It was a matter of months ago that former Stark County Commissioner Jane Vignos challenged Frank "Curt" Braden in his successful bid to retain his seat.

With long time Gonzalez friend and political confident Steve Meeks being out of a political job, look for him to surface somewhere in Stark County government.  The sames goes for defeated Auditor Kim Perez and one of his chief lieutenants Jimmy Babcock (who has taken out petitions to run for Canton Council - at large).

CAMPAIGN FINANCE: STARK AUDITOR RACE - HAROLD V. PEREZ

Former banker Alan Harold (Huntington Bank and FirstMerit Bank) who now works as the chief financial person for Coon Restorations & Sealants, Inc is running as the Republican candidate for Stark County auditor against incumbent Democratic Auditor Kim Perez.

Interesting enough, they raised similar amounts of money.  Perez:  $22,030.00; Harold:  $21010.00

As far as their individual campaign finance reports go (pre-general election), here is the SCPR take:

PEREZ

 

There are a couple notable things about the Perez report.

• the number of contributions coming out of Summit County, but the lack of contributions from Cuyahoga County (Several years ago Perez had numerous contributions on his report from Cuyahoga including contributions from legally troubled Jimmy Dimora (Cuyahoga County commissioner) and Frank Russo (former Cuyahoga County auditor who is now serving prison time for a public corruption conviction in federal court).
• the number of contributions he has received from employees who work for him in the Stark County auditor's office.

As indicated in the graphic above, Sheriff Drew Alexander, a Republican who runs the sheriff's department for Summit County is a Perez contributor as is John Donofrio who is the fiscal officer for Summit County.  Moreover, there are quite a number of contributions from Summit County residents on Perez's report.

Perez says he has 99 employees.   If the SCPR counted them correctly, 42 of them made contributions to Perez.  Such is legal as long as the employees do so on a completely voluntary basis.  A special form is set out by the campaign finance section of the Ohio secretary of state office for reporting such contributions.

Two of the better known employee names from the public's standpoint are those of Gary Zeigler, II (son of former Stark County Treasurer Gary D. Zeigler) and Jimmy Babcock (son of a former Canton mayor and a longtime Canton councilwoman).

HAROLD

Alan Harold has the distinction of have Stark County's most famous (currently) political personality supporting him in his effort to wrestle the auditor's post away from Perez.

Phil Davison, whom the SCPR filmed at the Stark County Republican Party executive committee meeting to select a Republican candidate for county treasurer to replace the commissioner removed Gary D. Zeigler, made a small contribution.  

Another note on the Harold campaign finance report is the fact that Republican county treasurer candidate Alexander Zumbar contributed to Harold.

So?

Not necessarily anything.  However, the Republicans and The Repository Editorial Board did make a big deal about the long term "political" relationship between Auditor Perez and Gary D. Zeigler while he was treasurer.  And the SCPR agree with the Republicans that the county treasurer and county auditor (since the auditor should be working as some sort of a "check and balance" on the treasurer) should keep a political distance.

Won't the same standard be applicable to the Republican tandem of Harold and Zumbar, should they be elected?

Finally, Alan Harold gets the SCPR award for being the most exacting of all the candidates filing campaign finance reports.

How so?

Harold, very meticulously, place in his "in-kind" section of his report that he contributed a self-photo valued at ten cents ($0.10) to the campaign.

Attaboy, Alan!!!

REVISION & UPDATE: STARK COUNTY'S TOP FOUR RACES - 2010

 

For Stark County only, the Stark County Political Report believes that the four listed in the graphic above will prove to be the most interesting and, perhaps, the most significant.

This blog is a revision of one published on February 18th.  Why a revision?  For a couple of reasons.

First, Richard Reinbold has made himself uncompetitve in the 29th Ohio Senate race by eschewing PAC money.  The saying is that "money is the mother's milk of politics."  Reinbold's action is admirable, but going up against the well-established Scott Oelslager is not a race one takes on without mucho, mucho campaign funds.

The SCPR is told that the Ohio Senate Democratic Caucus has no money to put into the Reinbold effort.  And, The Report has learned, Reinbold was not the first choice anyway.  Both county Auditor Kim Perez and Plain Township Trustee Louis Giavasis were preferred over Reinbold to make the run at Oelslager.

 

As if the Senate Democrats are in a position to prefer anyone.  The Caucus is a pathetic excuse for an organized political entity.  Senate minority leader Capri Cafaro has proved to be an ineffective leader.

Apparently, Reinbold is looking to surprise us all and defeat Oelslager by being the unconventional candidate and thereby appeal to an electorate that seems to be tiring of "politics as usual."

The SCPR wishes him well, but The Report does not think this gambit will work to generate interest among Stark County voters.  Moreover, Reinbold by force of his personality does not generate excitement.  Couple having no money with a dull personality and you have a contest that loses its place in the SCPR top four Stark County races for 2010.

Second, The Report's listing of the Meeks/Creighton face-off as the number one attention getter in Stark County politics this year needs a little more explanation.

While the SCPR believes the Snitchler/Bosley match up will be the closest race this fall (likely to remain too close for the SCPR to call right up to election day), its intensity of interest will be for folks like yours truly, the pols in Columbus and, of course, the voters of the 50th Ohio House district.  Not as much in other parts of Stark County which also has the 51st district (Haines [Democrat] v. Schuring [Republican]) and the 52nd (Slesnick [Democrat] v. Secrest [Republican]).

The Meeks/Creighton square-off because the commissioner election will be on the ballot in every Stark County precinct.  

For the foregoing reasons, the SCPR thinks Meeks/Creighton is the top race.

MEEKS/CREIGHTON

Former Canton mayor Janet Creighton entering this field for the full-term commissioner seat being vacated by Commissioner Todd Bosley made this contest #1 on the SCPR's list.  Another factor in bringing this contest to the #1 ranking is that all of Stark County will be voting whereas on the Snitchler/Bosley match-up; only about 1/3rd of Stark County will be voting.

Steve Meeks was appointed by the Stark County Democratic Central Committee to the seat formerly held by Tom Harmon.  But Meeks wants no part of coming up for re-election in two years.  The next two years may be the most difficult that Stark County (in the government sense) has ever faced.  

Why?

Because there is no money and there is not going to be any new money for the foreseeable future. Maybe, and only maybe, there might be a renewal of the existing sales tax.  

How will this impact running for commissioner in 2012 for an incumbent?

This way.

The commissioners will have to make draconian cuts in county services to Stark Countians.  And the cuts are not going to set well.  The public really does expect the commissioners to take care of the entire county with a few fishes and loaves.  When the manna from Heaven stops raining, then the grumbling will start and in the end sitting commissioners will be the butt of citizen anger.

So 2012 is not a time to be running for re-election.  That's why Meeks ducked out of the two years left on his term for the four years that Commissioner Bosley would have stood for if he had not decided to run for state representative (the 50th).

Meeks might have made an unwise choice.  Had he stayed in the two-year term race, he would have won hands down as former Canton law director, city councilman, chief of staff and service director (Healy administration) will.  However, Bernabei likely just plans to be a commissioner for two years to do what he can to help straighten Stark County finances out and then move on with his life.

Another thing that Meeks had planned on was who his opponent would be on the full term.

Undoubtedly, his jaw dropped when he saw that former Canton mayor and countywide officeholder Janet Creighton had taken out a petition.

And so it should.

It is pretty clear to the SCPR that Meeks cannot defeat Creighton and that he will be giving up his commissioner's seat come December 31, 2010. 

A Creighton victory will be good for Stark County.  Democrats have had a stranglehold over countywide offices for a number of years now.  Such has turned out to be a bad trip for the county.

BOSLEY/SNITCHLER

Number 2 on the SCPR list.  

Why?

Because this seat is a Republican gerrymandered one designed to keep a "safe district" Republican in the Ohio House.  The gerrymandering sheltered the lazy, politically inept John Hagan for a full 8 years in the House.  Hagan proved his political ineptness when - notwithstanding his long run as a Stark County politician -  he lost to political novice Pete Ferguson over a 2008 commissioners position in a politically competitive environment.

However, with the entry of Todd Bosley into the 50th Ohio House district seat, there is a chance that the Republican "fix" will become unfixed.

Had he not been the leading architect for the imposing of a 0.50 of a percent countywide sales/use tax increase in December, 2008, Bosley likely would be a shoe-in to win the 50th.

Because he did the "politically" wrong thing to do, he is reduced in the SCPR's opinion to having a chance to win the 50th.

Bosley will be hammering away at Snitchler as being a "do-nothing," "right-wing ideologue" state representative. Moreover, Snitchler's political romance with the right wing of Stark County Republicans (the teabaggers) could end up costing him the election.  He spoke at the original teabagger event on April 15, 2009 and is scheduled to speak once again at a teabagger event in Navarre on June 27th.

Snitchler, on the other hand, will - one way or another - play to the imposed tax as indicating that Bosley will be a "tax and spend" Democrat if he were to be sent to Columbus.  The Report has been told that "Vote No Increased Taxes" member Tom Marcelli (Bethlehem Township - the home of Navarre) will be working on the Snitchler campaign.  

This could be a good development for Snitchler.  He could appear to be taking the "above it all" road while letting the likes of Marcelli and his "Vote No" friends hammer Bosley on the imposed tax.  If the Vote Nos can turn a substantial portion of the 60 plus percent of "no" voting Stark Countians on the retention of the tax into Snitchler voters,  such could be a difference-maker positive for Snitchler.

One other important note about the outcome of Bosley/Snitchler.

Could a loss by either be the end of a a Stark County political career?

BOCCIERI/RENACCI

This race will be won or lost in Stark County, Although the 16th congressional district includes Wayne County and parts of Medina and Ashland, Stark will dominate.

Jim Renacci has made a huge blunder in his campaign.  He has drifted to the right of the Republican Party.  In order to win in the 16th, one needs to be at least "right, center."  

The reason that three (Stark, Medina and Wayne) of the four county Republican chairmen endorsed Renacci in the Republican primary was that he was perceived to be the most moderate and therefore the most capable of winning in November.  Otherwise, the person to get behind would have been Matt Miller of Ashland County who gave Ralph Regula and Kirk Schuring (2008) all they wanted in terms of competition for the Republican nomination.

The SCPR expected Renacci to be way more moderate in his views than Miller, Smith and Schiffer.  But he wasn't.  Everything that The Report saw coming out of the Renacci camp was:  "How can I appeal to the Miller and Schiffer" crowd.  

Jim Rennaci should be going nowhere near the Navarre teabagger event scheduled for June 27th.  But he is.  And his doing so will help solidify in the mind of Stark Countians that Renacci is a Republican right type candidate.

Very few, if any, right wing voters are going to vote for incumbent Congressman John Boccieri (Democrat - Alliance).  However, Boccieri is a conservative Democrat who will play well in the district.  Especially well in the Stark County part of the district.

So for Reanacci to court the teabaggers is like preaching to the choir.  And the choir will vote for him.  There are just not enough of them in the 16th to elect him.

There is plenty for Renacci to go after Boccieri on:  Flip-flopping just to name one (cap and trade as well as healthcare).  However, he will be so hung up on the right wing lunacy that he, in critiquing Boccieri, will sound likes Michele Bachman of Minnesota.  The right wing message will not play in most of Stark County.

Also, in this election for Stark Countians, Renacci is the outsider.  Boccieri is a Stark Countian for two years now.  Rennacci is not even a native Ohioan.  Rather a Pennsylvainian.  So he will not be able to whip up the winds of discontent on Boccieri being a capetbagger.  No much of a loss for Renacci, as we all saw how much of a non-issue that was with voters for Schuring in 2008.

By the way, if Kirk Schuring were running this time around, he would do much better in Stark County and, perhaps, be able to eke out a narrow victory.

Even so (Renacci drifting to the political right), Boccieri/Renacci will be a competitive race.  Boccieri will not win by the roughly 10% (as predicted early on by the SCPR) he won by against Stark Countian Kirk Schuring.  More like about three or four percentage points this time around.

This is not a Democratic year for congressional races.  That Boccieri wins in an off year for Democrats means that he could be on his way to being a long-term congressman from Ohio's 16th congressional district.

 PEREZ/HAROLD

The main question here is:  Will Alan Harold stay in this race?

Two years ago he was slated to run against the now-beleaguered Gary Zeigler (Stark County treasurer).  But he didn't.  The "story on the street" is that Harold's employer asked him to step aside after high-level state Democrats complained about Harold's candidacy to Huntington.

The SCPR asked Harold about this story.  His response:  "No comment."

Harold's whole handing of the Zeigler thing leads The Report to believe that Harold has no stomach for "down and dirty" politics.

And if he gets queasy about roughhouse politics, taking on Stark County auditor Kim Perez is not the place to be in a run for political office.

Although somewhat of a maverick in Stark County Democratic politics with his own political base (much like Commissioner Todd Bosley), he is a political power broker and likely will teach Harold a political lesson that Harold will not forget for years.

Harold will learn that taking on Perez is not like showing up at a Congressman John Boccieri campaign event (at the Sunoco station on Tuscarawas) with a sign in hand and yelling at the top of one's lungs.

Perhaps, in the light of the BP Gulf of Mexico massive oil leak, Harold would like to do an encore performance of his "drill, baby, drill" chant at the Sunoco station?

And it is not like running for a place on the Stark County Educational Service Center (formerly known as the Stark County Board of Education).

Apparently, the board candidacy was a "dry run" for taking on Perez.  Well, if Harold duplicates that effort in his vying with Perez, he will be looking wistfully at his numbers achieved in the board race (he narrowly lost).

Another campaign like that one will leave him a distant, distant second in a two-man race!

SCPR POST-PRIMARY ANALYSIS ON COUNTYWIDE RACES: PEREZ OVER HAROLD, CREIGHTON OVER MEEKS & BERNABEI OVER WALTERS

The Stark County Political Report has created a Candidate Political Strength Index for the competitive countywide races this coming November.

By comparing indexes, The Report has come up with a statistical formula which when coupled with substantive factors, serve as a basis for projecting the likely outcome of countywide races for commissioner (2) and auditor.

For instance, statistically Auditor Kim Perez sets the benchmark for countywide running Democrats whereas former Canton mayor Janet Weir Creighton sets the standard for Republicans.

In pairing of actual candidates, the index provides quantitative guidance to which The Report adds subjective analysis in order to come up with a call as to whom is likely to win s particular match up.

First, the auditor's race:  Perez versus Harold.

This is a race that Republicans think they can win.

The Report expects Republican Harold and his Republican campaign force to invoke a strategy (already in evidence) of trying to tie Perez to Stark County treasurer Gary Zeigler and the troubles in the Stark treasury on the basis that both work with county finances and therefore by virtue of their responsibilities are somehow connected.

For this strategy to work, it will take "a smoking gun" revelation to turn a majority of the Stark County voting public against Perez on the apparent Harold strategy.

Perez is the strongest vote getting Democrat in all of Stark County.  The Report has heard him criticized by one leading Stark County Democrat on his lack of energy demonstrated in campaigning.  But The Report does not agree.  All Perez has done as a politician is to win and win with relative ease for each of he has run for.

The is a silver lining in this race for Harold.  He will get a lot of experience in what it is like to run against the wily politico Kim Perez.

The experience will put him in good stead to run for Stark County treasurer in 2012.  If Zeigler makes it to the end of his term, The Report cannot see any scenario that he can be re-elected should he decide to try.

If or some reason Zeigler does not serve out his full term, The Report sees the Stark County Democratic Party filling out his term with Steven Meeks who will likely be ex-commissioner Steven Meeks after his race against Republican Janet Creighton in November.

With the experience of having countywide twice, the Harold index will improve significantly and he will be in a position to actually win against either Zeigler or Meeks in 2012.

Second, the four year term commissioner race:  Meeks versus Creighton.

This is a race that Democrats hope against hope that they can win.

This is a corollary contest to the Perez v. Harold race.  Except this time it is the Republican who is the proven candidate.  Although Creighton did lose as a incumbent with a record to defend against Healy in 2007, that happened because Canton is a Democratic bastion on the slide (set in motion by Creighton's predecessors) and her normal "holding her own" with Democrats ebbed enough for Healy to win, but he had to work very hard to do so.

If Creighton had chosen to wait to 2011 and run against Healy, she would easily reverse that loss.

In running against former Jackson trustee Steven M. Meeks, Creighton is running in a highly competitive Stark County.  But Creighton has a strong track record of running and winning several times as county recorder and county auditor.

Moreover, she will run competitively in Alliance, Canton and Massillon whereas Meeks (being a suburbanite) will run weakly for being a Democrat.

Good luck to Meeks campaign advisers in coming up with a political strategy for defeating Creighton.

The former Canton mayor will run on having governed two county offices and the City of Canton.  Her never having had to co-govern on a board like the three member county commissioner board, could be the one question that Meeks could inject to question her suitability for the office of county commissioner.

If such a point were to influence voters,  the SCPR believes it will be lost in light of the fact that currently the board of commissioners in totally controlled by Democrats.  The Report thinks that if any such concern gets legs, it will be more than offset by voter desire to put come political balance into the staffing of the commissioner board by electing a Republican.  Not just any Republican.  Rather a Republican of the stature of Janet Creighton.

Another Creighton advantage will be the Creighton personality.  Some made light of her for being a cheerleader for the well-being of Canton.  But most Cantonians like the cheerfulness of Creighton and this personality trait will play well across the county.

Third, the two year term commissioner race:  Bernabei versus Walters.


Although the relative index appears close, the SCPR doesn't think it really is.  A factor here is that Jamie Walters (a sitting Jackson Township trustee) had a relatively close race against Lake Township Republican, an largely politically unknown, Dean Windham.

The SCPR termed the Walters/Windham contest as a flip-of-a-coin type decision for Republican voters.  The Report proved to be prophetic on this score.  And it appears that flipping a coin is exactly what voters outside of Jackson and Lake Township did.

Democrat Tom Bernabei (a former city councilman, law director and chief of staff/service director [Healy administration]) will roll up a huge majority in Canton for sure and very likely in Alliance and Massillon.

Walters' only hope is for him to run substantially ahead of Bernabei in the rest of Stark County.  This will not happen.  Why?  Because James N. Walters in no Janet Creighton. Bernabei will do in the rest Stark County (hold his own) as the reverse of what Creighton will do in Canton in her contest.

Walters is a rather obscure Stark County politician who has not distinguished himself as a Jackson trustee.  The Report believes he would never have become a Jackson trustee but for the audacity of Steve Meeks (when he left Jackson to serve in Democrat Governor Ted Strickland's administration) to try and keep the trusteeship in the family by having his wife Patty run.

Bernabei, on the other hand, is a well known Canton based political figure who Republicans and Democrats alike believe served Canton effectively and with distinction in the offices he has held.

Moreover, he has gotten tons of favorable press in the pages of the Canton Repository (like Janet Creighton) over many years and so he has very good voter i.d. notwithstanding the fact that he has never run countywide before.

Contrast the Bernabei public relations advantage to Walters sitting on his duff during the primary running (a time he could have been working on his low voter identity) a "front porch-esque" campaign.  Yours truly did not see one Walters political sign.  Did he send out any campaign literature? Hmm?

The election is about six months away, but the SCPR is confident that The Report countywide office Candidate Political Strength Index will be borne out come November.

AN INTERESTING REVELATION IN CHICAGO ABOUT RICHARD REINBOLD NOT BEING THE TOP CHOICE OF THE OHIO DEMOCRATIC SENATE CAUCUS FOR THE 29TH

The SCPR is writing from Chicago today.

The Report, until today, has not revealed that periodically yours truly writes the Stark County Political Report while traveling across the country.

Why make the "traveling while still writing" point today?

Because there was the strangest confluence of events that clearly makes underscores that "it is a small, small world we live in," at least - sometimes.

As The Report got settled in to take a bus ride from the hotel in Chicago to McCormick Place (the convention center in the Windy City), a fellow-rider started talking with another Stark Countian in the Stark County traveling group about Stark County politics.  The fellow-rider was from a nearby northeast Ohio county.

Obviously, the conversation caught the attention of the SCPR.

Yours truly sort of interrupted to ask the fellow-rider about whether or not he knew certain Stark County politicos or politically connected persons.

Answer?  Indeed!

Just to name a few: Congressman John Boccieri, William J. Healy, II (Mayor of Canton),  David Held (Mayor of North Canton) and former Stark County Democratic Party chairman Johnnie A. Maier, Jr.  And it became clear to The Report that Fellow-rider (his anonymous name for purposes of this blog) had/has extensive Columbus political connections, too.

It was Fellow-rider's Columbus connection which was the basis of the conversation becoming very interesting.

The Report made an observation to Fellow-rider about the significance of Ohio House Speaker Armond Budish having made a trip to Stark County to talk Stark County Commissioner Todd Bosley into making a run against incumbent Republican Todd Snitchler (Ohio House - 50th).  Fellow-rider retorted:  "But you know, Bosley was  not Budish's first choice."

"Really?" The Report retorted.

Fellow-rider than went on to explain that Stark County Auditor Kim Perez was Budish's first choice.

Well, this assertion swung the SCPR into action, to wit:  making a serious of phone calls:

First to Bosley and then to Perez.  For yours truly knew that Perez is about as Canton-based (living outside the 50th) as one can get.

Bosley protested that Perez could not have been a candidate preferred over him.  For he had seen the names on the list of possible contenders to vie for the Snitchler-held seat and Perez's was nowhere to be seen.  Bosley speculated that the Perez as "top choice" was the Ohio Senate - 29th race.

Well, Bosley suggestion made sense to the SCPR inasmuch as The Report was astounded to learn of the Ohio Senate Caucus' interest in former Stark Common Pleas judge Richard Reinbold as a candidate.

As far as The Report is concerned, a Reinbold selection is about as close as one can get to running nobody as one could get (which happened last time when "musical chair" candidate and incumbent Scott Oelslager ran for his final term in Ohio's 51st Ohio House District).

Why is The Report so negative on Reinbold?  Because he has no political pizzaz, no legislative experience and no real experience in running for "competitive" political office.

The Report believes that Oelslager has been largely unproductive over much of his 25 years in the Ohio General Assembly.  Moreover,  the Democrats, under former chairmen Maier and Ferrero, have pretty much given him an "undeserved" pass in terms of meaningful opposition and is concerned.  Apparently, the Oelslager charm on the Democrats will continue under current chairman Randy Gonzalez - as a Reinbold choice seems to indicate.

Back to the Chicago story.

Next up on the "to call" list:   Kim Perez himself.

Perez, indeed, confirmed that the he had been approached by the Ohio Senate Democratic Caucus to run against Oelslager.

Aha!  The Report was vindicated in believing that the Ohio Senate Caucus had to know - one would think - that there were better choices - in terms of electability - than Reinbold

But Perez declined Caucus entreaty out-of-hand because he is in the midst of revamping and reconfiguring computer operations within the Stark County auditor's office.  However, he did not rule out a run against Oelslager in 2014.

The moral of this story?  No matter where The Report finds himself, readers can be assured that the SCPR is working to bring them the latest on the inside story of Stark County politics.

From Chicago, this is the SCPR signing off.

Have a good day!

And thanks for reading the Stark County Political Report!

IF TOM MARCELLI FOLLOWS THROUGH ON FILING HIS PETITION TO RUN AGAINST COUNTY AUDITOR KIM PEREZ, HE WILL ENSURE PEREZ'S RE-ELECTION.

Alan Harold, the putative Republican nominee; if he actually runs against county auditor and Democrat Kim Perez, will have no chance at all to defeat Perez if Bethlehem Township political gadfly Thomas Marcelli makes good on filing his petition to run, also.

Why does the SCPR make this observation?

Because any votes that Marcelli gets would be from the right wing of Stark County Republicans and from Democrats and non-partisans who fancy themselves as political teabaggers a la the Canton Tea Party.

None of these votes would ever, ever go to Kim Perez.  Only possible other person they might otherwise (other than Marcelli)?  Indeed, Alan Harold.

The SCPR does not believe that Marcelli understands political lineups and therefore has miscalculated if he thinks his being in the auditor race is going to be a significant factor.

Unless Kim Perez does something incredibly stupd - which is certainly plausible - between now and November 4th, the SCPR is calling this race for Perez on January 30, 2010; especially if Marcelli is in the race.  If not, then Harold has a outside shot.

One further point:  Is Alan Harold going to do a "deja vu, all over again" and pull out of the race like he did when he feigned running against Gary Zeigler for county treasurer in 2008?

The SCPR has been told and has asked Harold to confirm or deny (he refused to comment) that pressure was put on Harold's employer - Huntington Bank - to suggest to Harold that he not run against Zeigler.  


And Harold did not run.

He did run for a slot on the Stark County Educational Service Center (SCESC)and came pretty close to winning one of the two seats that were up for grabs.


The SCPR takes the SCESC run as an exercise in building up countywide I.D.

However, it will take a lot more than running in a "non-partisan" race to take out a powerful Stark County political figure like Kim Perez.