(ABOUT 1 HOUR OF VIDEO BROKEN DOWN BY TOPIC) AS EXPECTED, GEORGE MAIER PREVAILS IN CONTEST FOR SHERIFF APPOINTMENT - FOR NOW?

UPDATED:  11:00 AM

VIDEOS

DEMORA
The Final Vote Tally

GONZALEZ

"Woe is Me"

Deals with Interruptions

GONZALEZ

Tribute to Mike McDonald

DEMORA

Checks Gonzalez on Giving Pro-Maier Speech

DAVID KIRVEN
Motion to Table Meeting
(until all the candidates are qualified)

 ED DAVILA
Motion to Vote on Candidates on Forchione List

CENTRAL COMMITTEEPERSON
Actual Voting

 CHECK BACK FOR UPDATES & NEW VIDEOS

Not too bad.

That's how the SCPR sums up the quality of the Stark County Democratic Party Central Committee (SCDPCC) to pick a successor to Mike McDonald who on January 3, 2013 had to step down from being sheriff-elect due to unspecified health reasons.

Chairman Randy Gonzalez did an effective job of keeping the meeting moving despite frequent interruptions of callouts from the audience with points of order by one member in particular.

He did engage in a bit of a pity party for himself.  It is always interesting to see hardened political figures do a "woe is me" routine.



All-in-all the SCPR thinks the chairman conducted a fair meeting except the leadership of the Stark County Democratic Party was weighing-in heavily for Maier which certainly must have had an intimidating effect on the some of those voting.

Of course, far be that from the minds of these leaders.

Voting committee members had to sign their ballots.  So the party leaders know how each and every precinct committee person voted.

Knowing positioned politicians like yours truly does, there in no doubt in The Report's thinking that mental notes were made as to who voted which way.

Given the closeness of the vote, the SCPR believes that a secret ballot vote, which was brought up by Kirven only to have Gonzalez brush him aside may well have resulted in Darrow being selected over Maier.

Gonzalez did an entirely appropriate thing when he took a few minutes to acknowledge Mike McDonald.

Unfortunately, the chairman made as one of McDonald's good qualities the fact that he stepped forward in the October 31, 2011 SCDPCC meeting to replace Gary Zeigler as treasurer to support Gonzalez.

Wait a minute.  Who was this to be about?  McDonald or the chairman?

The SCPR will concede that Gonzalez has done some good things (especially his work on rehabbing 9-1-1) for Canton, Jackson Township and indeed all of Stark County in his public career.

But hasn't he been well paid for it?  Hasn't there been other multiple benefits to his personal interests? 

It is becoming more and more apparent to The Report that the chairman is be fast becoming his own best cheerleader.



The problem will come, if it comes at all, with the questionable (at least in the opinion of many of the participants) qualifications of victor George T. Maier and manner in which Gonzalez in his capacity as party chair and thereby head of the central committee determined the candidates to be qualified.

And guess what the meat of the meeting opened with?

Dave Kirven, who is business agent of Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 94, getting up and making a motion (quickly seconded) to table the matter of selecting a sheriff appointee "until such time that all the candidates are qualified."

Take at look at the motion and the ensuing discussion.



Well, the motion failed.  But reflect on the insistence of Gonzalez that the candidates were properly qualified. 

It was weak indeed that he cited attorneys Michael Thompson (selected by Gonzalez to represent him and the central committee in litigation filed Monday by appointment candidate Lou Darrow) and Steve Okey as authorities that the candidates are qualified.

And get this.

Thompson had the effrontery to accuse Ferrero of having bias as if he (Thompson) as legal counsel for the chairman was the personification of objectivity.

A classic case of "the pot calling the kettle black," no?

Ed Davila took command of the microphone to make a motion for a vote on candidates as qualified by Stark Court of Common Pleas judge Frank Forchione.

Fair enough?

Not really.

Forchione only dealt with the ministerial matters of the requirements of ORC 311.01, to wit:

1. be a U.S. citizen, 
2. be a resident of Stark County for one year,
3. be a qualified voter,
4. have a high school degree or its equivalent,
5. have no conviction record of a felony or first degree misdemeanor,
6. be finger printed under the direction Judge Forchione who is to have the finger prints compared to local, state and federal databases and  (a process that takes about 7 to 10 days according to Forchione) who turns submits the results to the Stark BOE,
7. residences going back 6 years, and places of employment going back 6 years,
8. have evidence of a basic peace officer certificate of training [by an approved issuing authority as specified in the statute],

He did not assess on:

• have been employed within the past four years as:a state highway patrolman,
• a full-time police officer, OR
• have been employed for the past three years as a full-time law enforcement officer, OR
• having two years of post-secondary education at an accredited Ohio institution

The tack of the pro-George Maier forces was to ignore "the elephant in the room,'

Ed Davila's motion appears to have been designed to avoid "the inconvenient truth" that there were unvetted standards of qualification that had been addressed by nobody except by attorneys who, while entitled to their opinions, are no better situated to make the assessment that "the proverbial man in the street,"

See the debate for yourself.



For the most part on any given matter, attorney opinions are all over the ballpark.  Only court decisions will do in terms of being authoritative.  So it was a particularly painful process for anyone familiar with the law to watch.

The SCPR believes that properly applied (ORC 311.02 and 302.05 in pari materia), Ohio statutory law was not followed in qualifying any of the candidates.

Although The Report in an overall sense believes the meeting was fairly conducted (see qualification of assessment above), it is rather obvious that Gonzalez as chairman was pushing his "more than equal" voice in his apparent alliance with Johnnie A. Maier, Jr to guide George T. Maier's appointment through, even if by a narrow margin and even if doing so left him open to "possible" post-selection challenge.

Isn't this a political version of "getting one's foot in the door" or "possession of the office is 9/10ths of the law?

You have to understand that in dealing with the likes of Gonzalez and Maier (Johnnie), one is dealing with folks who practice politics every day of the lives and fully understand that they are thereby a mismatch for everyday citizens.

If Lou Darrow stays with his writ of prohibition lawsuit (LINK) on the matter or possibly takes a new or additional approach to challenge the vote, it could be that ultimately Maier will have to relinquish his SCDPCC victory should the Ohio Supreme Court find that proper procedures were not employed to determine his and other candidates' qualifications or that he is not qualified.

It is hard for the SCPR to see Darrow maintaining or initiating new litigation in the face of having to work (as one of the top administrators in the sheriff's department) for Maier.

Yesterday's meeting reeked of resentment by Gonzalez and Thompson at Darrow's lawsuit now pending in the Ohio Supreme Court.

Thompson to the central committee members;  "He sued you!" (paraphrase)

Gonzalez about Ferrero:  "How can he make that argument when he signed an affidavit supporting the [Darrow] lawsuit." (paraphrase)

Gonzalez brought up the mess that Stark County went through with the troubles in the Stark County treasury during the period April 1, 2009 through October 31, 2011 and his hope that by appointing a sheriff at the meeting Stark could avoid a repeat.

John Ferrero did too.

Strangely enough and the SCPR agree with one another.

Because of the questionable procedures employed by Stark officials in coordination with the Ohio secretary of state's office on the qualification issue, The Report thinks that the SCDPCC put itself at greater risk in proceeding.

We shall see.

Gonzalez kept his cool in the face of frequent outbursts from committee members (though concentrated to relatively few) and in the light of audio problems in the speakers being heard.

Bill Demora, a consultant to the Ohio Democratic Party who bills himself as being knowledgeable on parliamentary procedures, seemed to the SCPR to be a stabilizing factor in not letting things get out of hand.

He was particularly impressive in stepping in and stopping Gonzalez as it appeared that he was about to begin an endorsement speech in favor of Maier.



To his credit, Gonzalez heeded the Demora admonition.  To his discredit, it was bad judgement to make the attempt unless he was going to allow the supporters of other candidates to take to the lectern to making their supporting statements.

It did not appear that such was his intention.

Demora also intervened and stopped one of two other persons interested in being appointed sheriff from taking the floor inasmuch as that person was not a central committee member.

Gonzalez was just okay.  At least better than his performance in Massillon (January 29th) when Massillon precinct committee persons selected a city treasurer and city council president.

It is good that he demonstrated that he could learn from the tough Massillon experience.

Demora was effective and perhaps the saving grace for an orderly meeting.

At the end of the day, the SCPR's take is that the Gonzalez/Maier political juggernaut was going to win over the largely unsophisticated pro-Darrow forces and that it was amazing that the vote turned out as it did.

If, it turns out, that the Maier choice turns out:

• to have been a poor choice in terms of his performance in office, or
• to have been a poor choice in terms of being sucessfully challenged in the court and thereby puts Stark County into a policing state of crisis,

the SCPR thinks it will be only fair for the blame to be on the shoulders of Chairman Randy Gonzalez for his "rush to judgment" in the face of contested qualification issues.

It is The Report's assessment that "Gonzalez committed to the cause" was the tipping point that the Maier camp needed to make George Stark County's sheriff in the face of no secret ballot.

You can be sure that if the Maier appointment sticks and he turns out to be an effective sheriff, Gonzalez will be quick to take the credit notwithstanding him being the modest, serving the public interest guy that he says he is.

 Here is a video of the actual voting that took place last night.

BREAKING NEWS: DARROW FILES "WRIT OF PROHIBITION" AGAINST STARK DEMS IN OHIO SUPREME COURT TODAY!

 

TODAY'S UPDATE

LATEST UPDATE:  6:13 AM

The Report learned last night that the complaint for Writ of Prohibition centers on sheriff candidate George T. Maier qualification for the office under Ohio Revised Code Section (ORC) 311.01.

Under ORC 311.01(B)(9), candidates/appointees for sheriff have two paths, to wit:

(a) Has at least two years of supervisory experience as a peace officer at the rank of corporal or above, or has been appointed pursuant to section 5503.01 of the Revised Code and served at the rank of sergeant or above, in the five-year period ending immediately prior to the qualification date;

(b) Has completed satisfactorily at least two years of post-secondary education or the equivalent in semester or quarter hours in a college or university authorized to confer degrees by the Ohio board of regents or the comparable agency of another state in which the college or university is located or in a school that holds a certificate of registration issued by the state board of career colleges and schools under Chapter 3332. of the Revised Code.

In his writ, Darrow asserts:

 and

Among the interesting tidbits that have come out in recent hours present a picture of Maier scurrying since McDonald's vacating on January 3rd of his position as sheriff-elect to meeting the criteria listed in subsection a listed above.

Intriguing along these lines is a statement made by Maier early on in the speculation as to whether or not he was going to pursue becoming sheriff is the following:

• Maier said Thursday [January 10, 2012] that since he hasn’t applied for the position, he was not prepared to talk about the requirements for the job. He refuted rumors that he does not meet all of the qualifications. He said he’s confident that he does.
• “I guarantee I’ll be qualified for the position or I won’t apply for it,” Maier said.

Reports indicate that Maier approached Sheriff Tim Swanson (who is supporting Lou Darrow as his candidate) about deputizing which the SCPR is told refused him.

Readers will recall that the SCPR reported on the day of his swearing in as interim sheriff to the media including yours truly that he had questions as to Maier's qualifications.  But he did say at the time that he thought that Maier would make a good sheriff if he was qualified.

Failing the Stark County-based effort of the criteria of ORC 311.01(B)(9)(a), The Report has learned that Maier then turned to an out-of-county sheriff who is reported to have accommodated him in putting him on, get this, "full-time, but inactive" status.

Hmm?

Regarding subsection (b) of ORC 311.01(B):   The Report has received information alleging that Maier has been working with Stark State College officials to meet the post-secondary education standard on the basis of getting college credit for past professional training and enrolling at Stark State for the 2013 spring semester for 12 credit hours as a route to qualification.

Hmm?

From the writ:

The Report has learned that Stark County Democratic Party chairman Randy Gonzalez plans to go forward with tonight's (5:30 PM at the Mayfield Senior Center) unless and until he gets a court order to the contrary.

A bone of contention in the writ disputation zeros in on his having endorsed Maier:

The concern on the part of the Darrow forces, one would think, is that as chairman and conducting the meeting and potentially making rulings on motions for this action or that action that Gonzalez, if in fact he is committed to the Maier candidacy, might not make fair rulings.

Self-style Massillon parliamentarian Scott Graber of Massillon has been in the thick of things on the conduct of tonight's meeting and is part of a movement that is pushing for the central committeepersons to be permitted by the chair of the meeting to have a secret ballot vote.

In his activity in this regard, he has received an e-mail from one Bill Demora, consultant to the  Ohio Democratic Party and until recently secretary of the state Democratic executive committee.

In his email, he declared his intention to be at the Mayfield Center meeting to ensure:

that the process tomorrow is done according to the rules of the Ohio Democratic Party.

Moreover, he states:

The ODP oversees each of the 88 local county parties and when circumstances arise that warrant, may and will make sure that all rules are followed. 

Interesting, no?

The SCPR was at Canton City Council's meeting last night and had a moment to talk with Canton's safety director Tom Ream about developments at the Ohio Supreme Court earlier in the day and more specifically his thoughts on the quality of politically viable candidates Darrow and Maier.

Ream, who is a central committeeman himself, said that he knows both well and that he is satisfied that either would make a good sheriff.

Ream himself considered applying for the appointment.  However, he told The Report, after talking with Chairman Gonzalez and learning that other qualified candidates were on board in seeking the office, he decided not to apply.

Who will Ream support as between Darrow and Maier?

He says that he has not decided.  He plans on listening to the presentations by both candidates tonight and make up his mind after mulling over what they had to say.

One final SCPR thought.

As laid out in Monday's blog (LINK) on this topic, given the responses to SCPR inquiries to the Stark County Board of Elections (Jeanette Mullane) and the board's attorney (Debbie Dawson), one has to wonder whether or not Ohio elections officials and local election officials have properly implemented the law in terms of "all" of the candidates' qualifications being vetted?

Hopefully, this process has been or will be put at issue in Darrow's writ.

ORIGINAL BLOG - 02/04/2012

The Stark County Political Report has learned from a highly reliable source (confirmed by the Ohio Supreme Court's online docket listing) that Louis A. Darrow, who is a lieutenant with the Stark County Sheriff Department, sent legal counsel to Columbus today to file an action in the Ohio Supreme Court to stop proceedings scheduled for tomorrow night (5:30 p.m. at the Mayfield Senior Center) to select a successor to Mike McDonald who after being elected in November had to step aside on January 3rd from taking office on the 7th due to an unspecified illness.

The Report does not yet have a copy of the Writ of Prohibition which was  filed late today.

Darrow is one of three applicants to the Stark County Democratic Party Central Committee for appointment to the sheriff vacancy.

Massillon Safety Director George T. Maier and Hartville Police Chief Larry Dordea (the Republican candidate who lost to McDonald) are also applicants.