A FEROCIOUS CAMPAIGN IN THE OFFING FOR MASSILLON - IF FRANK RUNS FOR MAYOR. REPUBLICAN LEWIS WILL NOT RUN FOR MAYOR. BRUNCKHART TO BE GOP CANDIDATE

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Provider:  Gavin Bell

UPDATE:  09:36 AM

A clarification from Milan Chovan

Good morning, Martin.  Thank you for the kind comments about me in today's blog.  I'm not sure who thinks I'm close to Johnnie Maier because of music, but I want to tell you about it.

I play guitar in a classic rock band called ReUNITED.  My bass guitar player is Ron Frailly.  Ron also plays bass for Maier's polka band, Visinata.  That's the connection, plain and simple.  When Visinata first started several years ago, they played at a bar in Massillon called Sideliners.  My cousins and I were at the bar and I got up to sing an Italian song with the band.  I've never appeared again with them and, in fact, haven't heard them since they played for a Massillon Community event two summers ago.

This doesn't mean that I don't like Maier as a person.  I do.  I just don't agree with him, politically.

Just wanted to clear that up.

ORIGINAL BLOG

Most Massillonians know who the true and original Massillon Tiger is when it comes to politics and government in Tigerland.

If an open-ended (i.e. not to suggest a desired answer) survey were to be made of typical Massillonians, the SCPR dare says the overwhelming answer would be:  Francis H. Cicchinelli, Jr.

Cicchinelli had been mayor of Massillon for the better part of 28 years when he was uprooted by former Perry Township resident Kathy Catazaro-Perry in the Democratic Party primary of 2011.

Sponsored and tutored by long time Cicchnelli political nemesis:

• and - for a number of years  now - Tuscarawas Township resident Johnnie A.Maier, Jr. (a former Stark Dems' chairman)
• and his clerk of courts sidekick - Perry Township resident R. Shane Jackson (also Stark Dems' political director);

current mayor Kathy Catzaro-Perry may find out that, should Cicchinelli decide to attempt reclaiming the mayoralty, she is facing a different version of tiger in the upcoming 2015 primary.

In 2011, Cicchinelli proved to be a political "kitty-cat" as he sat on his laurels and played the role of "statesman-mayor" and thereby succumbed to the "rough house" political style of the Johnnie A. Maier, Jr. Massillon Political Machine (MMPM).

Should he decide to run (which the SCPR thinks he will not); every indication is that he will play the role of a roaring tiger and wage a ferocious campaign.

A second match up, if it occurs, will likely be the meanest, the vilest and the most belligerent campaign that Massillon has ever seen.

There would be a lot at stake.

For Cicchinelli, there is, among other interests, a basic need for vindication for all that he has done over three decades of public service for the well-being of Massillon.

For Catazaro-Perry, there is, among other interests, a basic need to look after extending the continued employment well-being of all those loyalists that she brought into her administration on assuming office.

Cicchinelli has less than 30 days to decide.

You can bet your bottom dollar that Catazaro-Perry supporters are "on pins and needles" in anticipation of Cicchinelli's final decision.

To say it again.  The SCPR does not think a rematch will take place.

But if it does, "Katy bar the door" on the political rumble-tumble in the history of Massillon  that is likely to take place.

If Cicchinelli's posturing about running proves to be just that, then Catazaro-Perry, the SCPR has learned will have a virtual free ride into a second term as mayor.

The Report has learned that Ward 6 Republican councilman Ed Lewis will not be running as the Republican candidate for mayor.

The SCPR is disappointed to learn such.

Ideally, the "come and let us reason together" Lewis style of government and politics, is the most productive model of governance ensuring that government is the province of the many and not the baliwick of the few.

While Cicchinelli as mayor was much more approachable and democratic-friendly than anybody connected to the MMPM, he has been through many wars and therefore cannot possibly have the fresh view of an Ed Lewis.

The SCPR thinks the MMPM power politics style does a lot of destroying and as a consequence is highly erosive of citizen participation in our democratic-republican processes.

Of course, the primary goal of power politics is the aggrandizement of personal political interests, "the public interest be damned!"  If any public interest is served by the likes of the MMPM, it is mere happenstance.

The SCPR has learned the 2011 Republican candidate Lee Brunckhart is to be the 2015 Massillon GOP standard bearer.

Brunkhart is a well meaning and caring of the public interest guy who presents himself as a work-a-day person. But he is no match for the MMPM or Frank Cicchinelli, should he decide to run.

The Report hears that he has taken on some studies on government and politics and thinks he is better prepared to run and win this year.

Cicchinelli and the MMPM folks have to be having a guffawing, back-slapping time among themselves on hearing of Brunkhart's political naivete.

Either Cicchinelli or Catazaro-Perry will have a "walk-in-the-park" time of it in the November general election.

So it is going to be either Cicchnelli or Catazaro-Perry who wins in November.

In either case, it is imperative that Massillon City Council continue to be the strong entity it is in the sense of being a "check and balance" on the executive branch of Massillon city government.

But there is a concerted effort on the part of MMPM to alter the de facto separation of powers function of council.

Here is the SCPR analysis of how the council races of shaping up.

WARD 6

Republican Ed Lewis likely would be defeated were he to run against MMPM candidate Linda Litman.  Litman lost by a mere 20 votes in 2013. 

Now that Lewis has more of a record to attack and/or distort, it is hard to believe that the MMPM folks will not be out in full force going after Lewis.

Lewis is the future of the Massillon Republican Party.

The MMPM people want to nip this political red rose in the bud before he develops the sophistication and resources to rival these Massillon Democratic Party politicos.

Lewis has developed an innate sense of the doable over his four years of political life in Massillon government.

And he is likely correct that the timing is not right for him to do a head-to-head challenge to the Maier, Jr. forces.

Accordingly, he has decided to step aside from Ward 6 in favor of Democrat Michelle Del Rio-Keller.

Sources tell the SCPR that Del Rio Keller has a family history in Ward 6 and resources to put distance between herself and MMPM loyalist Litman.

So it appears that whomever is elected mayor can count on Del Rio-Keller to be there faithfully functioning as a "check and balance" councilperson.

One more thing about Ed Lewis' decision not to seek reelection in Ward 6.

It appears that there is a "wink and nod" agreement between him and Del Rio-Keller for her to opt out of her incumbent council-at-large spot for Ward 6.

Lewis will be running at large come November.

Short of running for mayor, the politically wise thing for Lewis to do is to change venues. 

He should be a lock for one of the three council-at-large seats which of course means another proven "check and balance" councilman remaining on council.

WARD 5

Ditto on the last paragraph in the Ward 6 discussion for Ward 5 incumbent Democrat Megan Starrett.

The SCPR thinks that Starrett has been very solid in looking out for the public interest on each and every issues that comes before Massillon government.

Moreover, count her as among councilpersons who willingly takes on a councilperson's "check and balance" function in our "separation of powers" form of government.

WARD 4

It is looking more and more like incumbent Ward 4 Democrat Shaddrick Stinson is not going to have an opponent this time around.

That such might be the case in light of the reality that he is equivocating with residents of The Legends on the durability of the golf course which abuts their homes.

One would think they could come up with a candidate that is openly committed to looking after their interests.

Of course, anyone that they would come up with has to have a broader take on Massillon government than merely the fate of the golf course.

Maybe that is the problem?

Stinson is wholly unimpressive to the SCPR.

The Report had a good belly laugh at Stinson's expense recently.

Yours truly has always counted him to be part and parcel of the MMPM notwithstanding his disingenuous presentation to Frank Cicchinelli (who is a The Legends resident) that he - if elected - would be an independent thinking and acting councilman.

And, of course, the SCPR has written a number of blogs substantiating The Report's viewpoint.

Recently, Stinson as a matter of political rhetoric took exception to the SCPR's point of view.

Regular readers of the SCPR know that The Report unlike the Massillon Independent and the Canton Repository provides subjects of SCPR commentary a full opportunity to respond.

An to the degree he did respond in writing, the SCPR published same.

The Report offered to do an "on camera" interview.

But Stinson would only do so "on certain conditions" including having a MMPM minder present for the interview.

Really?

No, not really,  The Report is kidding.

But he did want to review the video that would appear on a SCPR blog.

What arrogance, no?

Nobody but nobody edits the content of the SCPR!

So though Stinson appears mild-mannered and laid back, such apparently is just that: "appears."

He needs to have a little sit down with Johnnie, Shane and Eddie.

To think of it, he probably did.  And "the conditions thing" likely came from them.  For they, the SCPR counts, as being some of the most cowardly politicians in all of Stark County who cannot abide direct questioning. 

The Report salivates on getting them and/or members 0f their claque in a position in which they have to answer incisive questions.

Stinson might on occasion, where it makes no difference to the outcome of the vote, actually vote contra the Catazaro-Perry druthers on a given issue.  

Unless and until a consistent "independent of the administration" stance develops, the SCPR will continue to think that Councilman Stinson takes his orders from the MMPM.

WARD 3

Incumbent Democrat Andrea Scassa is a thoughtful councilwoman who satisfies the SCPR that she carefully weighs each and every issue before voting.

She and Ward 5 Councilwoman Starrett appear to The Report to be similar in approach.

Scassa understands that she is a legislator and functions accordingly. 

Count her as among the "check and balance" members that will remain on Massillon City Council for a new term in 2016/2017.

WARD 2

This is a ward that the MMPM has pursued "hot and heavy." for the last two election cycles.

Reason?

It is the seat of "the heart and soul" of the Massillon Republican Party; namely, Nancy Halter.

The SCPR gives Halter the credit for short circuiting the elation that the MMPM experienced when it proved to be the instrumental factor in making Catazaro-Perry mayor.

One thing that the MMPM forgot on the way to the celebration of Cicchinelli's ouster was the make up of Massillon City Council.

In heavily Democratic Massillon, believe or not, in 2011 Republicans took majority control of Massillon City Council.

The political geniuses Maier, Jr., Jackson and Elum forgot that that in America, the executive function of government is but one of three functions.

And, of course, their executive, the SCPR believes, is not a true executive.  She is a ceremonial, window dressing mayor who appears to take each and every issue of Massillon government to the triumvirate (Maier, Jr., Jackson and Elum; most Maier, Jr.) which de facto seems to The Report to be calling the executive shots in Massillon.

So that they were "asleep at the switch" in November, 2011 (with only Brunckhart to contend with in the mayor's race), more or less, makes them the laughing stock of Stark County political junkies.

And they have been trying to recover their credibility on council races ever since.

But Halter has tended the political store and been a major impediment in the MMPM quest to get a loyalist majority of council to rubber stamp whatever the Catazaro-Perry administration wants.

Though council did change to majority Democratic in the 2013 elections; it is not a Catazaro-Perry loyalists majority.

One can count on "a mix and match" of Democrats (except for Stinson and Council President Tony Townsend [voting only in the case of a tie] and Republicans to effectively function as a "check and balance" on the administration.

The Report's take on the MMPM is that it does not take kindly to "mix and match" and "check and balance" approach to Massillon City government.

So the MMPM folks have to be totally frustrated and Nancy Halter deserves credit for being a major factor in the healthy functioning of council.

And it could be that this election cycle MMPM will power Halter out.

David Irwin is an employee of MMPM loyalist and Stark County recorder Rick Campbell who is married to Shane Jackson's sister Lisa who is the chief administrator for Plain Township.

Irwin has run competitive races against Halter because of the strong support he has received from the MMPM.

It would not surprise the SCPR were Irwin to win this time around even if Halter decides to run.

But she may not.

There has been some talk about her running for council president.

If she does, it is going to be "sayonara" for Tony, there is no way fore the MMPM folks to protect him this time around.

In 2013, the MMPM operatives, it appears, managed to co-opt former Massillon schools superintendent in having Catazaro-Perry offer him the Massillon service directorship so late in the election season that Republicans were not allowed as a matter of law to replace Hennon on the ballot.

WARD 1

Look for incumbent Republican Sarita Cunningham-Hedderly to return for a new legislative session.

She, too, can be counted upon to be a "check and balance" council person.

COUNCIL AT LARGE

LIKELY CANDIDATES 

ED LEWIS, IV  (also see Ward 6 discussion)

Republican Ed Lewis will be running at large come November.

It appears to the SCPR that there is a "wink and a nod" relationship between Lewis and present Democratic Councilwoman Michelle Del Rio to exchange venues in serving on council.

Before the Del Rio-Keller seeming trade off, Lewis is said to have been encouraging incumbent at-large Councilman Paul Manson to run for council president.

And Paul would be a good one.

He definitely would put MMPM favorite Tony Townsend on the political sidelines.

But the word is that Manson is going to stick with being councilman-at-large.

The shift will provide Lewis with a citywide political base to cultivate a relationship with voters across Massillon and thereby be in a better position to run for mayor in four years.

Short of running for mayor, the politically wise thing for Lewis to do is to change venues. 

He should be a lock for one of the three council-at-large seats which of course means another proven "check and balance" councilman remaining on council.

 MILAN CHOVAN

This incumbent Republican is as solid as "the Rock of Gibraltar" as a Massillon councilman.

He was as "cool as a cucumber" as Mayor Catazaro-Perry looked him in the eye at a 2014 council session and called him and other "not seeing my way" councilpersons racists.

There is at least one Massillon politico thinks that Chovan is too close to the MMPM because of his involvement in a band in which Maier, Jr. is a participant.

The SCPR sees no evidence of Chovan in any way shape or form of being in thrall or even sympathetic to the MMPM.

To The Report, he is a hard working councilman who works hard to represent the public interest and demonstrates no reluctance whatsoever in functioning as a "check and balance" councilperson. 

PAUL MANSON

Democrat Paul Manson is the dean of Massillon City Council and is about as sure as one can get in terms being reelected.

Accordingly, it was surreal that Lewis would suggest to him to run for council president.

Were he to take up Lewis' suggestion, Tony Townsend would be toast.

But it would be political overkill for Manson to run against Townsend.

As the dean of council and thereby having great institutional knowledge, he is ideally suited to a model of how one does it in operating as a "check and balance" legislator in relation to the "my way or the highway" Kathy Catazaro-Perry who is merely the face of the MMPM smash-mouth politics.

COUNCIL PRESIDENT

The only question here is:  Can Massillon Republicans find a living body to take on Tony Townsend.

Townsend should have been history in 2013.  

But his pals who constitute the core of the MMPM appear to have rescued him from certain defeat when Republican Al Hennon quit the 2013 council president race to take a job in the Catazaro-Perry administration.

It would not surprise the SCPR if Townsend were to get another free ride back into the council presidency.

So there you have it.

The Stark County Political Report analysis of the May/November shapes up on January 9, 2015.

SCPR 2013 EDITION OF STARK COUNTY PUBLIC OFFICIAL, PUBLIC FIGURE NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION

(VIDEOS: LEWIS, MANSON, HALTER, SCASSA & PETERS) MASSILLON COUNCIL TAKES CHARGE; MAYOR CATAZARO-PERRY DOIN' HER OWN THING? OTHER NEWS: CHOVAN MAY NOT BE RUNNING FOR RE-ELECTION, FORMER COUNCILMAN/SAFETY-SERVICE DIRECTOR LOUDIANA TAKES OUT PETITION FOR WARD ONE SEAT. HMM?

UPDATE:  09:30 AM

ORIGINAL BLOG

Last night the members of Massillon City Council (Tony Townsend - 4th Ward - was not present at the work session) reached a consensus on a plan to meet the financial demands of the city in the upcoming and immediately ensuing years.

Finance Committee chairman Donnie Peters, at the end of the meeting, said - based on the consensus arrived at by members participating in the work session - that he would request that Massillon Law Director Perry Stergios prepare legislation placing on the May 7, 2013 ballot (primary election) to question Massillon voters whether or not they were willing to have their income tax rate go up from 1.8% to 2.1% with the proviso that out-of-city working Massillonians would be capped at the 1.8% figure in terms of the credit they will receive for paying taxes to another taxing jurisdiction.

Notwithstanding the near unanimity of council (remembering that Townsend was not present during the work session discussion), one important factor is on record as not being in accord with council's plan; namely, Mayor Kathy Catazaro-Perry.

Her plan has been to reduce the 1.8% tax credit to out-of-town workers and to have council impose street lighting fees.

Will council's plan pass not having the support of the mayor?

The SCPR talked with most of the members present.

COUNCILMAN MILAN CHOVAN

Councilman-at-Large and Republican Milan Chovan said he thinks that everything has been done that can be responsibly done in the way of cuts and that he is fully on board with asking the voters whether or not they want to supply additional revenues to city coffers.

As an interesting aside, Chovan told The Report that he is undecided as to whether or not he will seek a second term on council.  He says that business considerations may make remaining on council impractical in terms of his having to do job related travel that might interfere with his ability to be a fully participating member of council.

He did say that he would not file petitions and run for office and if elected decide later that his new business directions were compatible with his being on council.

There is another development that may have implication on how the 2014 Massillon City Council lines up.

The SCPR notes that Cicchinelli administration Safety-Service Director Mike Loudiana has taken out petitions to run for Ward One council seat now held by Republican Sarah Cunningham-Hedderly.

Loudiana, a Democrat, is a former councilman who knows his way around council.  And you can bet that, if elected, he would be big-time trouble for Catazaro-Perry

The Report's take on Loudiana is that as councilman he would bring all of his insight gained as a Cicchinelli administration insider to bear on scrutinizing each and every move of the current mayor.

He would - in a phrase - "be Catazaro-Perry's worst nightmare."

Especially so, if he believes that any given Catazaro-Perry initiative, apparently from her administration is, in reality, right out of the of the playbook of Clerk of Courts Johnnie A. Maier, Jr.

One would think that the mayor and her Massillon political cabal would make Ward One "a battle royale" if Loudiana actually files his petitions.

With the possibility that Chovan will not be seek reelection and with the distinct probability that a Loudiana Ward One candidacy would result in the Republicans losing a ward seat, it seems that come January 1, 2014 Democrats might once again control Masillion City Council.

But such would be of little solace to Democrat Catazaro-Perry.

For it is rather obvious that in Massillon the Democratic Party is not a united entity.

It is hard to see going forward, how the difficult road the mayor now has to trod gets any better.

While it is three years until she comes up for reelection, signs are already appearing that getting reelected may be a tall order indeed for the mayor.

Might we see Francis H. Cicchinelli, Jr back as mayor come January 1, 2016?

COUNCILMAN ED LEWIS

Ward 6 Councilman Ed Lewis (a Republican) was the focus of a SCPR blog of about a week ago (LINK) in which he basically took the position that the democratic thing to do was not for council to take the question of city financing out of the hands of the voters (as the Catzaro-Perry plan would do in having council implement it) but rather to let the voters decide the matter.  He is open to the possibility that Massillonians will say "no," and, of course, council would then have to work with the administration to make additional cuts.

Here is Lewis speaking with the SCPR after last night's work session.



COUNCILMAN PAUL MANSON

Councilman-at-Large Paul Manson (a Democrat) does not see the tax issue as being a cure (over the longer term) for Massillon's financial ills.  What he is interested in is Massillon growing it way out of its fiscal doldrums with the creation of new jobs which of course generates "new" income tax revenues for the city.

Such was the focus of his video comments to the SCPR.



COUNCILWOMAN NANCY HALTER

Ward 2 Councilwoman Nancy Halter (a Republican) says she is pleased with the way council has worked through the question of what to do about Massillon's financial difficulties.

The SCPR's impression has been that Halter has been a leading voice on council to insist that the Catazaro-Perry administration make cut before council consider any kind of a revenue increase for the city.  A significant point that she makes in her interview with The Report is that she is satisfied with the cuts made by the administration.



COUNCILWOMAN ANDREA SCASSA

Democratic Ward 3 Councilwoman Andrea Scassa.  She is Catzaro-Perry's successor.

However, it appears to the SCPR that she is not overly concerned that the mayor has decided to go her way whereas council has decided on a different direction in terms of whether or not the mayor's position will hurt the electoral chances of a tax issue passing in May.



COUNCILMAN DONNIE PETERS

Ward 5 Councilman Donnie Peters a week or so ago was saying that it would be impossible to pass a tax issue in Massillon without the mayor's support.

But last night, he was singing a somewhat different tune.



It seems to the SCPR that Massillon City Council is as united as it has ever been and it will be interesting to see whether or not a 0.3% income tax increase can pass in the face of Mayor Catazaro-Perry not being on board with council's plan.

Perhaps, as Councilman Manson was hopeful of in his on camera remarks, the mayor will rethink matters and get solidly and enthusiastically behind the council plan.

Her support probably is not critical to the measure's passage, but having it is certainly better than not having it.

As readers of the SCPR know, yours truly feared that the election of Catzaro-Perry would result in Massillon having a "figure-head-esque" leader.

The Report believes that she is the political captive of Massillon Clerk of Court of Court Johnnie A. Maier, Jr and his Massillon political machine. 

The Report thinks that Catazaro-Perry's intransigence vis-a-vis council on the tax issue is borne of her relationship with the Maier camp and Maier's historical opposition to tax increases (in the context of ballot initiatives).

Maier is an "old school political might makes right" guy who learned at the knee of the quintessential past Ohio political power broker Vern Riffe when Maier was a member of the Ohio House during part of Riffe's long term as Speaker of the House.

And the SCPR's concerns seem to have been realized.

Catazaro-Perry has surrounded herself with Maier people in her administration.  The only person that The Report has confidence in in terms of being his own person is finance man Ken Koher (a former Stark County treasurer).

In her overreliance on the Maier entourage, The Report thinks that the mayor is demonstrating a political immaturity and thereby shortchanging the citizens of Massillon on providing leadership unique to her and her alone.

Yours truly is currently reading a book on Thomas Jefferson.  The writer of the book cites German philosopher Immanuel Kant on the topic of maturity.

Kant defines immaturity thusly:

If I have a book to serve as my understanding, a pastor to serve as my conscience, a physician to determine my diet for me, and so on, I need not exert myself at all. I need not think, if only I can pay: others will readily undertake the irksome work for me. The guardians who have so benevolently taken over the supervision of men have carefully seen to it that the far greatest part of them ... regard taking the step to maturity as very dangerous, not to mention difficult.

So the SCPR calls on the mayor to abandon her over dependence on her political supporter and mentor and to be her own person.

Perhaps, if she does, she might find a way to work with council to do what is good for the city of Massillon!

REPUBLICANS TO CONTROL MASSILLON COUNCIL AFTER 11/08/2011?

Recently, the SCPR spent time talking with a number of the candidates for Massillon City Council (both Rs & Ds) as well as an official in the Cicchinelli administration about their take on the upcoming election.

The read that The Report is getting is that this will be a very close election across all the contested races for council (ie. Wards 1, 2, 3, 6 and the last spot for council at large).

Control of council will likely be 5 to 4 either way.  But for Republicans to win control, nearly everything - in terms of the highly contested races - will have to fall their way.  They will have to win four of the five contested seats, assuming that Councilman Donnie Peters holds his seat in Ward 5.

Either way the citizens of Massillon win in the event of a one vote margin by the prevailing party.  Both parties will have to pay closer attention to the will of the people of Massillon looking forward to the 2115 election.  Overwhelming Democratic control has not served Massillon well.

THE ANALYSIS

COUNCIL AT LARGE

The SCPR believes that Republican Milan Chovan, Jr. may be able to salvage one of the three council-at-large seats for the GOP.  Democrats Paul Manson and maverick Democrat Larry Slagle should win two of the three seats for the Dems merely because overall Massillon is solidly Democratic.

Had the Republicans not run two candidates in 2007, it is likely that Democrat Hersher would not have won one of the three seats then and would not be an incumbent this time around.

Republicans have learned that lesson.  They are only running Choven this time around.  But it could be too late.  Now that Hersher is an incumbent, he will be more difficult to defeat.

However, the  Maier faction of the Massillon Democratic Party appears to dislike Hersher because they view him as a loyal foot soldier for Mayor Cicchinelli.  If the Maier faction let it be known that Republican Chovan is preferred over Hersher,  the Republicans' faux pas of 2007 may not come back to haunt them.

WARD 6

It could be that Councilman David McCune's absentee problem, a family parking ticket flap and equivocation on an annexation issue may come back to haunt him in this election.

McCune is another councilperson who is not a favorite of the Maier faction.

This ward is one that the Republicans are counting on.

Ward 2 Republican council candidate Nancy Halter (a former Massillon councilwoman) rounded up GOP candidates (including Lewis, but not Chovan) so that the Republicans could have a nearly full slate (4th Ward excepted) and thereby enhance their chances of gaining control of council.

If he loses, it will be quite a fall for McCune.  Last time out, he ran unopposed.

The Report believes Lewis has a chance to unseat McCune.  And if the Republicans are going to control council, he will have to.

WARD 5

Seems solid for incumbent Councilman Donnie Peters.   Though it appears to him that Democrat Vaughn Mohler is not running much of a campaign, he is not taking his reelection for granted, as he tells The Report that Ward 5 is a Democratic predominate registration area of Massillon.

Peters was unopposed last time out.  In 2003 he lost by a handful of votes to Council President Glenn Gamber (a Democrat).

If Republicans win five seats, Peters says he will be president pro-tem. 

WARD 4 - Democrat Tony Townsend (uncontested).

WARD 3

This is Kathy Catazaro-Perry's ward.

However, before she was elected in 2003, this was a Republican-leaning ward.

With Catazaro-Perry vacating the seat in her run for mayor of Massillon, two political newcomers are vying for the right to represent the 3rd.

Who wins in the 3rd, is anybody's guess.

Scassa tells The Report that while Catazaro-Perry has provided her guidance on how to win in the ward, she is running her own campaign with the help of relatives, and that as a councilperson, she will be her own person.

In terms of the outcome of this race, a big question remains:

Were the Catazaro-Perry victories in 2003/2007 an indication of a shift to Democratic leaning?  Or can Republican Hayden depend on it returning to the Republican fold?

WARD 2

If anyone deserves to win a seat, it might be Nancy Halter.  She is the driving force behind getting Republicans to run in all the wards except for the fourth.  Moreover, she is at least as experienced in the ways of council as Anderson.

She was an at-large councilperson from the mid-nineties through 2003.

Anderson has been an avowed "anti-all-things Cicchinelli" councilperson.  Is this enough of an agenda for the voters of the 2nd Ward to want to return him to office; especially in light of the fact he will not have Frank Cicchinelli to kick around any more?

Halter may be able to take this one for the Republicans.

WARD 1

Another key to which party controls Massillon City Council is Ward 1.

If the Republicans are to take control of council, they will have to overcome the entry of Marc Sober into the race.  He describes himself as a Libertarian-leaning candidate which indicates to The Report that he is likely to siphon off votes from Republican Sarita Cunningham.

Cunningham should be the favorite because she narrowly lost (47 votes) to Ronald Mang (who is not running for reelection) in 2007.  Accordingly, she will have a voter name ID advantage over Sober.

If she can find a way to convince the Republican part of the electorate to stay with her rather than drift in significant numbers to Sober, she might still win despite his presence.

However, that will be a tall order for her.

Democrat Majcan (who The Report understands in connected to Johnnie A. Maier, Jr in that his wife works for Maier) undoubtedly will be looking to the Maier factor to play to his advantage.

But will it be?  Or, in the first, could it be a disadvantage?