HEALY & MORRIS CONTINUE TO "DUKE IT OUT" POST-ELECTION?

The election occurred on May 7th in which William J. Healy, II proxy Joe Cole (currently councilman-at-large) tried to oust incumbent Ward 9 Councilman Frank Morris, III from office.

While Cole would have preferred to maintain a safe seat as councilman-at-large (although he now says that Canton City Council should do away with the at-large seats [LINK]) but got hookwinked by Councilwoman-at-Large Mary Cirelli (LINK) into believing it was not so safe.

Cole's alternative (undoubtedly with the political counsel of Mayor Healy) was to run against Morris since Ward 9 is home to Cole.  So what if a fellow Democrat and an incumbent was already in place?  Hey, man - politics is politics.  One does what one has to do to survive politically, no?

While the mayor tried to maintain pretenses (e.g. making equal contributions [$100] to each campaign. the SCPR for one is not buying.  Joe Cole has been way too much of a Healy foot soldier (and Morris a frequent opponent) for such to be true.  Plus, one of the mayor's chief supporters (David Kirven of Local 94, Plumbers and Pipefitters) was instrumental in raising upwards of $10,000, if not more, in the Ward 9 political imbroglio.

So with all that background, it was predictable that "political warfare" would break out between Healy and Morris over the Memorial Day weekend on Facebook.

On Sunday, the SCPR received this e-mail (recited, in part):

Hi Martin

just wanted to give you a [possible] news tip

kinda of a fight going on today on the Canton, Ohio Ward 9 News & Views [Facebook] page today between Frank Morris and the Mayor and a few others chiming in

[here's] the address

The opening salvo:  (the following are selected excerpts. For a full treatment of the overall discussion here is a Facebook LINK)

Cyndi Hofacre

Interesting article in Rep today about the blight in North Canton. Why is it that North Canton is proactive in dealing with these eyesores while Canton administration is not? Canton has ordinances but seems impotent when it comes to enforcement.  May 20 at 4:41pm

Apparently, Mayor Healy trolls the Internet looking for anything that may reflect negatively on the work of his administration.  So several hours after Hofacre's starter, here is the mayor weighing in:

William J. Healy II This was from decades of decay and lack of enforcing housing codes. While we have made a huge dent in the problem, there still is a tremendous amount of problem homes out there. We have improved our codes over the past few years and we are more effective today than in the past, we are still dealing with a problem that took decades to create. It will take years and years, and lots more money than we have to get to all the probem homes. However, 1000 homes demo'd is the most agressive clean-up program we have ever had in the city's history!
May 21 at 11:00pm  

William J. Healy II PS: North Canton has a handful of homes that fall into this catagory... much easier to deal with than the thousands we have!
May 21 at 11:01pm

Enter Councilman Frank Morris:

Frank Morris Everything in the City of Canton is reactive not proactive and when challenged as to why things aren't getting done. HA nothing but bullshit excuses. Sorry for the honesty it just slipped out. Saturday at 11:11am

And the Healy/Morris fight is on:

William J. Healy II Didn't you just post that you are bringing the City's I.T. Director and Police Chief to your next Ward Meeting to share all the new technology and proactive projects with your residents?  Saturday at 1:38pm

Frank Morris Yes I did however I wouldn't exactly call the new technolgy proactive. Shot Spotters is still not up and running, the Tips411 is reactive not proactive and after 12 complaints issued on the complaint system without resolution  Not exactly jumping for joy yet.  Saturday at 2:33pm 

 William J. Healy II We can always target other wards in the city with those new technologies if your not satisfied with our efforts! We have offered many new ideas, modern technologies, and different strategies that continue to find ways to address our city's problems. But all of them take money to implement. And even with our limited resources, we still continue to make positive improvements: hundreds of homes gone and hundreds more coming down this year, and crime IS dropping since the beds at the county jail are open again. Our monthly crime stats are down for 10 of the past 11 months and we are on pace for one of the lowest number of violent crimes our city has seen in the past thirty years if we continue at this rate. Our unemployment rate dropped by 50% in a two year period, nearly double the national rate of reduction! There are lots of very positive things happening here. You can look at the city's cup as half empty....or even less than half empty, I choose to look at our cup as half full, or having more in it today than before I got here. Yes, the city was a mess, and still is in many areas.... But we have made many improvements and will continue to do so as long as I am here.  [emphasis added]

As elected officials, we should be promoting the positives while also fixing the problems to the best of our abilities and available resources. We (elected officials) need to be giving our citizens hope and a positive outlook about our city and its future if we want people to stay here and to attract more people to move into our city. If we are the ones complaining, who is solving the problems? And by they way, there are more positive things happening in Canton today than we have seen in years! Canton is moving forward and we should be celebrating our successes. (And we should never be blind to the fact that we still have many serious issues that we must be working on every day to continue moving in the right direction.)
Saturday at 5:54pm via mobile

Frank Morris I'll quote you " We can always target other wards in the city with those new technologies if your not satisfied with our efforts!" I will only say that this isn't the first time I have been threatened for speaking my mind and most likely won't be the last time. You may say crime is down and the statics may say crime is down. I can say that there was an armed robbery on 20th St NE, a home invasion on 23rd St NW and a drive by 17th ST NE. Your glass can be half full and you can celebrate your success! Ohhh and by the way it's my job as the ward 9 representative to make sure their glass is full, not half full or half empty.  Saturday at 8:03pm  (emphasis added)

So while Frank Morris may have won a battle in winning the May 7th primary, readers should expect that the political war within the Canton wing of the Stark County Democratic Party will continue unabated.

After all, the mayor of Canton has friends in high places, to wit:

 

So what if Barack Obama decides to do a little checking on his friend William J. Healy, II by Googling his name on the Internet and happens to read on the Canton Democratic Party "Family Feud" going on?

Well, the mayor can't have it appear to the President that he is not in control of the locals, right?

So look for the Canton Democratic Party "Family Feud" to continue until the mayor accepts that Ward 9 pipsqueak (from Healy's vantage point) Frank Morris is not going to be under his control, no?

ON THE BALLOT OR NOT, THERE WERE SOME "REAL" LOSERS IN YESTERDAY'S ELECTION, NO?

UPDATE AT 09:20 AM

------------------------------------------------------

SUBTOPICS

LOSERS

CANTON

THE BIGGEST LOSER IN YESTERDAY'S ELECTION:
CANTON MAYOR WILLIAM J. HEALY, II

• COLE LOSS
• PORTER LOSS
• GROUP 175

CLOSE BEHIND, MARY CIRELLI

NEXT, PLUMBERS & PIPEFITTERS BUSINESS AGENT DAVE KIRVEN

MASSILLON

A BIG LOSER:    MASSILLON'S JOHNNIE A. MAIER, JR.

• AULT LOSS

FINALLY, MASSILLON MAYOR KATHY CATZAZRO-PERRY

• CITY REVENUES PICTURE

WINNERS

• BILL SMUCKLER
• GREG HAWK
• FRANK MORRIS
• KIM PEREZ
• MEGAN STARRETT

-------------------------------------------------------

THE HEALY LOSSES

The person who had the most to lose in Stark County's 2013 primary election yesterday was Canton mayor William  J. Healy, II.

And he came through in flying colors.

By the Stark County Political Report's calculation, on future Canton City Council key votes (meaning on issues that Healy thinks he must win on), as a consequence of Joe Cole's defeat in Ward 9 and Greg Hawk's win in Ward 1, he is likely going to lose at least by a 7 to 5 vote.

Or, as a leading Canton politician told the SCPR last night, at the very least he is going to have to compromise with council to council's liking.

Of course, everyone who understands Hizzhonor, he is a "my way or the highway" type of guy and so there are likely to be some ugly, nasty fights between him and council with the dawn of 2014 and a new make up of council.

While Healy tried to make it appear that he was okay with either Cole or Frank Morris, III (the incumbent Democrat councilman) in the 9th ward in making equal campaign contributions to both; the truth of the matter is that he was an out-and-out Cole supporter and Cole's loss is understood by political cognoscenti to also be a Healy loss.

One of the big fights in Canton politics in 2014 is going to be the fight initiated this year by Citizen Bruce Nordman from Ward 9's Vassar Park and his Group 175's effort to force the city to get the Canton police force up to 175 officer strength.

Healy is against this move because of city's dire financial condition.  He has intimated to Nordman et al that he might be open to going up to 165 in 2014.

That was before the Cole/Morris results.

And, make no mistake about it, Vassar Park's Group 175 was a key to Morris' smashing victory yesterday and one can see Healy backpedaling already and scrambling to find the money (about $1.3 million per year) to bring the CPD up to 175 officers strong.

One more thing on the Cole/Morris race.

A humongous loser from an investment standpoint were the Stark County trade unions who contributed to the Cole campaign.

In the end (including monies raised after the last reporting date:  04/17/2013) these unions likely will be shown to put more than $10,000 in to the Cole campaign coffers.

You talk about a bad investment?

Wow!

Didn't Kiiven and union pals come out looking like they flushed a big wad of hard working union members' money right down the toilet?

And the word is that Kirven is working feverishly signing up precinct committee members in his quest to take over the Stark County Democratic Party with the precinct committeepersons elections of 2014.

As readers of the SCPR know, yours truly thinks Randy Gonzalez is an ineffective party chairman (e.g. can't get meaningful opposition to Stark's statehouse Republicans [Oelslager, Schuring and Hagan]).  But, at least, he not throwing thousands of dollars into hopeless causes.

SMUCKLER BECOMES MAJORITY LEADER?

There are other changes in Canton government as a result of yesterday's election results.

Long time Canton political and government figure Bill Smuckler will be returning as a councilman at large.

And he is not just "any councilman-at-large!"

He is a Healy political nemesis.  Smuckler bested Healy in the 2003 Canton Democratic Primary to earn the right to face off against Republican Janet Weir Creighton in that year's general election.

That election was the beginning of a Healy/Smuckler hate/love political affair that has persisted ever since.

Love?

Yes.  Smuckler did rely on Healy for help of sorts in his losing effort to become a Stark County commissioner last year in his battle against Republican Regula.

But the SCPR sees the relationship more like "political hate" or at least "intense political competition."  And such is to become very evident in 2014 as Smuckler takes control of Canton City Council in either a de facto sense or a de jure (perhaps as majority leader replacing Healy ally David Dougherty - Ward 6) sense of control.

It had to be galling to Healy that Smuckler garnered the "most votes ever for Smuckler in a Democratic primary" in becoming one of three Democrats qualifying for November's general election (which is tantamount to election even if some non-party/independents file).

HAWK BECOMES FINANCE CHAIR, ONCE AGAIN?

Another negative fallout for Healy is the reelection of Ward 1 Councilman Greg Hawk.  Should we now be looking to Hawk's return as the finance committee chairman with Cole's (the current chairman) defeat?

Hawk has been nursing a grudge against Healy and his council allies for having removed him as finance chairman after the 2011 elections.

If Hawk returns as the chair, Healy's life will be dramatically affected in a way not to the mayor's liking.

Remember also that Hawk was one of six councilpersons who pushed legislation to significantly increase the pay of cadet Canton police which effort was shunted aside by Cole at the mayor's request.

We should be looking for that issue to resurface in 2014, no?

One final note.

There is speculation that Jimmy Babock (councilman-at-large) will be going to work for his old boss (at the Stark County auditor's office) Kim Perez with Perez's victory in the Canton treasurer's race yesterday.

There is further conjecture that the defeated Joseph Cole would be in line to replace Babcock on council.

Hmm?

Let's see.  Cole got hoodwinked into not running for reelection for councilman-at-large by Mary Cirelli. Instead he files for Ward 9.  He loses big time.  In the meantime he introduces legislation to eliminate council-at-large positions in Canon.

So is this an opportunity for Joe Cole to show once again what a huge political hypocrite he is?

Such would not surprise the SCPR.

JOHNNIE A. MAIER, JR. (AND, OF COURSE, SHANE JACKSON) & CATAZARO-PERRY LOSE IN MASSILLON

In Massillon's Ward 5, former Stark County Democratic Party chairman (also Massillon clerk of courts) Johnnie A. Maier, Jr. was "all-in" in the Ault/Geragherty/Starrett Ward 5 Massillon City Council race.

Now held by Republican Donnie Peters, Jr., who is not seeking reelection, this ward is Massillon's "most Democratic ward" and therefore very likely to fall back into the hands of the Dems this fall.

The Healy equivalent in Massillon is Johnnie A. Maier, Jr.

He is a guy who is a power politician who looks at politics as black and white (translated:  "for Maier or against Maier") and desperately seeks to absolutely control everything he puts his hand to.

His political power perch in Massillon is in the form of Mayor Kathy Catazaro-Perry.

He handpicked her to take on the-then 24-year mayor Frank Cicchinelli in the Democratic Primary of 2011 and succeeded in spades in putting his person in charge of Massillon's executive branch of government.

But with her election, a "Houston Massillon - we've got a problem" surfaced immediately.

It became obvious early on that KCP was not going to get along with a Massillon City Council controlled 5 to 4 by Republicans.

While it may seem to be a Republican/Democrat problem, it is not.

It is Catazaro-Perry being high-handed (go figure, no? - her political patron is Johnnie A. Maier, Jr) vis-a-vis council which is the bane of her existence.

Solution?

Elect KCP friendly councilpersons to Massillon City Council, no?

Enter Catazaro-Perry self-styled political gurus Maier and his acolyte Shane Jackson (political director of the Stark County Democratic Party).

One such person was supposed to have been Joseph Ault in Ward 5; a November election Democratic "plum for the picking," no?

Maier and friends pumped impressive money into Ault's campaign effort.

It seemed reasonable to think that with help from Massillon's political elite duo, Ault could be the beginning of finding an end of the mayor's frustration with council.

But it will not be Ault!

Lo and Behold!  Maier and Jackson fail in their effort to help Catazaro-Perry.

Chalk Ward 5 up to being a winner for Stark County prosecutor John Dee Ferrero, Jr. (a man who has deep political roots in Massillon as having been Tigerland's law director).

Megan Starrett is on Ferrero's prosecutorial staff.

In Massillon there are three factions in the Democratic Party:  the Maier faction, the Cicchinelli faction and the Ferrero faction.

While Ferrero may have won the Ward 5 battle, he lost on the city's attempt to get an increase in the income tax.  And he lost big time.

Catazaro-Perry has battled Ferrero and his chief counsel John Kurtzman (also a man with deep, deep Massillon ties and history) over her desire:

• to have Massillon deal with its financial short fall with a reduction in the credit that Massilonians living in other income taxing jurisdictions get against their Massillon income tax, and
• to add fees (e.g. assess citizens for street lighting fees thereby eliminating such as a Massillon general fund expense),

as the way for Massillon to cope with its revenue woes.

Ferrero and Kurtzman make relatively big bucks as the honchos in the county prosecutor's office and by virtue of the office being in the city of Canton they pay Canton's 2% tax which because of the Massillon credit means they pay no tax (given Massillon's 1.8% tax) to Massillon.

Had the Massillon tax issue passed they would have paid an "itsy-bitsy" amount to Massillon because the new tax rate would have increased to 2.1%.

But it didn't and so Ferrero, Kurtzman and their cohort (Starrett) will pay no income tax to Massillon.

Catazaro-Perry may take some delight in the tax issue failing inasmuch as she "quietly" opposed it.

For her to do so is more than a bit perverse.

Because she now faces having to administer a city that will via council action be implementing huge cuts in city services.

Think she isn't going the face a lot of heat from a public who wants it both ways:  city services as usual, but do not ask for more revenues.

In view of the lopsided citizen rejection of more revenues for Massillon government, how could she possibly continue her push her "not by a vote of the people" drive for enhanced revenues?

She may not see it this way, but the SCPR thinks that the resounding vote of the people against more taxes was an emphatic loss by her on the issue of whether or not there are to be additional revenues for Massillon government.

If she chooses to persist on her quest, should she decide for reelection in 2015; she will see her position come back to haunt her.

While Maier came up a loser in the Ault/Geragherty/Starrett race, all may not be lost.

In Ward 2 there was a face off between Irwin and Bobby Martin in the Democratic Primary.

And Irwin won.

There is no direct evidence that Irwin (a Stark County recorder employee) is a Maier man, there is plenty to indirect evidence.

Irwin works for Stark County recorder Rick Campbell who is married to Plain Township administrator Lisa Campbell who is the daughter of former Stark County commissioner and Johnnie A. Maier, Jr protege Gayle Jackson (son Shane is Maier's chief deputy in the Massillon clerk of courts).

So there may be hope that Maier can help out Herhonor in getting some support from council?

Probably not.

The SCPR figures that Republican Nancy Halter will win again in the 2nd in November.

So in the long run, Maier likely strikes out totally in his foray into Massillon City Council politics.

Johnnie A. Maier, Jr. a political loser twice on council?

And there could be more.

Still to be analyzed is his involvement in Ward 4 and in Ward 6.

IT'S TURN OUT THE LIGHTS, THE PARTY IS OVER FOR MARY CIRELLI?

The win by Kim Perez in the Canton treasurer's race (in terms of long time Canton politician Mary Cirelli coming in third) was a BIG surprise to yours truly.

Although yours truly did say on Ron Ponder's Points to Ponder on Monday that the SCPR would not be surprised to see Perez win; that Mary Cirelli comes in third was not part of The Report's thinking.

Mary has a history of doing well in three person races.

So her third place finish is indication that she is done in Canton politics.

Inasmuch as Mayor Healy was a big Perez supporter, he gets a little bit of being a winner with Perez's election.

More importantly, he will not have to deal with (at least, in an official capacity) Mary Cirelli any longer.

She will be off council in January, 2014.

Cirelli, while having fun with Cole in the filing deadline saga with him as to whether she was running for reelection to council or for Canton treasurer, made had huge political blunder (in hindsight) on her own.

She should have stayed in the council race.  Certainly, one would think, that she could have come in at least third, if not second, in a three person race, no?

Apparently, the voters knew that Mary was unsuited to be treasurer.  Prior to running for treasurer, she had never be THE person in charge.  She always been either one of twelve councilpersons, one of three commissioners or one of ninety-nine state representatives.

In such contexts she could ask questions galore and thereby served in a "for the public benefit" prized role.  And, she could not make screwy decisions for the body politic in these settings.

However, a Canton city treasurer, she would have been the  "elected" by the people and only accountable to the people at reelection time chief executive.

Hmm?

Like her or not on a personal basis, who thinks that Mary Cirelli is chief executive material?

But do not count her out from trying a council comeback in 2015.

Probably the person who - on the merits - should have been elected is Kelly Zachary.  And she did make a very credible showing.  And this on top of a respectable showing against Republican Alex Zumbar in the Stark County treasurer race of 2012.

Perhaps the Stark County Democratic Party leadership should be finding a place for Ms. Zachary on next year's ballot?

SCPR CONCLUSION ON THE BIGGEST LOSER IN THE 2013 STARK COUNTY PRIMARY ELECTION

The bottom line of this SCPR analysis is that - all-in-all -Mayor William J. Healy, II stands as the biggest loser in yesterday's primary election!

This election could be the beginning of the end of William J. Healy, II as a viable Stark County political figure!

RESPONSES TO MORRIS VOLUNTEER "COLD CALLS" INDICATE "A NUMBERS EDGE" FOR THE INCUMBENT 9TH WARD COUNCILMAN?

Frank Morris is no stranger to close Democratic Primary elections.

In 2009, with 689 votes cast, he lost by a mere seven (7) votes to the late Joe Carbenia.

Then on August 10, 2009 Carbenia passed away.

One would have thought that the Stark Dems would have selected Morris to be his successor inasmuch the May 5, 2009 primary election was a virtual tie.

But no, it turns out, it is likely that there was some resentment among Stark County Democratic Party officials that Morris challenged Carbenia in the first place.

And beyond the Stark Dems factor,  the nominee (Brian Horner) had connections to the Carbenia family through his wife (a cousin).  It appears that the family may have weighed in with the Dems as to the family's preference.  (LINK to prior SCPR blog which goes into more detail)

So between the two factors, it was a "no go" for Morris in 2009 and he had to wait until 2011 (Horner having decided he wanted no part of Canton politics) to take office, ironically, running - get this , "unopposed" in the 2011 Democratic Primary.

There were 562 votes in that primary election.

Going back even further to the 2007 election, we find that there were 759 votes cast in the Democratic Primary.

 

So it seems as if we can expect anywhere from 550 to 750 or so votes in next Tuesday's hotly contested race between fellow Democrats Morris and Joe Cole (a councilman-at-large who got hoodwinked by Mary Cirelli into giving up his at-large seat [see this LINK to a prior SCPR blog which details the hilarious account of how Cirelli did Cole in]).

On Wednesday the SCPR learned that Ward 9 resident and voter Mark Bowman was engaged in a big time calling program on behalf of Morris.  By election day on Tuesday he says he projects that he will have made 865 calls.

What is interesting about the calls is the information he shared with the SCPR as to the nature, content and responses he is getting to his "cold" calls made to likely Democratic voters, to wit:

• the calls' entree are that they are tailored to remind Ward 9 voters that Tuesday's primary election is at hand and that the caller is asking for voters to help reelect Frank Morris as the ward,s councilman on the basis of the good job Frank has done for the ward over the past couple of years,
• out of every 100 calls, he is getting voice mail responses for about 45 to 60 of the calls and he simply leaves messages promoting Frank Morris,
• of the 45 or so calls per 100 in which voters engage Bowman, he gets some 10 to 15 who favor Morris whereas an average of 2 to 4 favor Cole,
• by the time election day rolls around he will have reached in pre-determined limit of 865 calls, and
• that is is cautiously optimistic that Ward 9 voters will reelection Frank Morris as the ward's councilman,

To the SCPR, the disparity between those who are pro-Morris as compared to those who are pro-Cole is validation of The Report's earlier projection (based on a number of non-quantified factors) that Frank Morris is very likely to win over challenger Cole.

One does have to be a little hesitant about making such a projection given that Cole has already raised over $11,000 and The Report understands that he had another fundraiser Wednesday evening.  (LINK to a SCPR blog detailing the campaign finance reports submitted by the candidates by the reporting deadline of April 25th).

In a relationship that nobody can figure out, Stark County's trade unions have pumped some $8,000 into the Cole campaign and it is likely that after Wednesday's event it will be $10,000 or so.

Plumber and Pipefitters business agent Dave Kirven denied previously to the SCRP in an email that the unions were going to put $10,000 into the Cole campaign.

Hmm?

The campaign finance reports tell a different story.

And, of course, Frank Morris hasn't exactly been "chopped liver" in his raising of money.  He's at $6,360 as of the April 25th report.

Normally, if a candidate puts $1,000 into a Canton council race, that is a big deal.

But the Morris/Cole match up is not just any race.

It, coupled with the Greg Hawk/Tim Porter (Mayor Healy has put $500 into Porter's campaign) first ward race, is about which power bloc in council will control going forward into 2014.

Depending on how Wards 9 and 1 go, this election cycle's results could mean a 7 to 5 majority for the victorious bloc.

Voting blocs on council?

Yes.  On certain key issues that come along, to wit:   traffic cameras, merging parks and recreation, a $1 million tax abatement for a proposed hotel, giving $175,000 to the Canton Chamber of Comerce, et cetera.

As the SCPR sees council, for lack of a better descriptor, there is the anti-Healy-bloc and the pro-Healy-bloc.

The anti-Healy folks (more or less):

• Frank Morris,  III, Ward 9,
• John Mariol, II, Ward 7,
• Edmond Mack, Ward 8,
• Kevin Fisher, Ward 5,
• Greg Hawk, Ward 1,
• Mary Cirelli, at-large,

The pro-Healy folks (more or less):

• Jimmy Babcock, at-large,
• Joe Cole, at-large,
• David Dougherty, Ward 6,
• Jim Griffin, Ward 3,
• Chris Smith, Ward 4,
• Tom West, Ward 2

Coming on council for sure (in the opinion of the SCPR) are former Councilman Bill Smucker and Roland Burns, II (as at-larges) who are likely to replace Mary Cirelli (who is running for Canton treasurer) and add one to the "anti-Healy-bloc."

This scenario would give the anti-Healys a 7 to 5 margin.

However, if Cole were to defeat Morris and Tim Porter were to take out Greg Hawk, the margin swings 7 to 5 in favor of the pro-Healys.

Of course, in case a reader does not already know, Healy is Canton mayor William J. Healy, II.

Healy has proven to be one of the most polarizing mayors in Canton's history (at least, in the modern era) pretty much because is consumed with a quest to political power (either "in your face style," or through finesse or manipulation) so that he can enforce his basic way of administration which is to say "my way or the highway!"

Until Cole opened his mouth at the council meetings of April 22nd (calling the votes [including Morris'] against giving $175,000 to the Chamber deplorable) and disparaging some Vassar Park (located in Ward 9) residents (i.e. calling them right wing Tea Party types, charlatans, and snake oil salesmen), it appeared that with all the money the unions pumped into the Cole campaign, that Morris could be in trouble.

And it could be that he is,

But the SCPR is skeptical.

The Report believes that Cole has so discredited himself that all of the money in the world is not going to help him retain a seat on council.

But we shall see come Tuesday, May 7, 2013!

The important question is how are those 550 to 750 Ward 9 residents going to react to the unprecedented barrage of politiking (probably involving total expenditures of $20,000) going on in their ward?

Total expenditures nearing $20,000.

Hmm?

Such should tell anyone that the stakes in the outcome of this particular election could not be higher!

(VIDEO) VASSAR PARK RESIDENT TAKES ON WARD 9 CANDIDATE JOE COLE DURING CANTON'S "PUBLIC SPEAKS!"

Last week at Canton City Council, Councilman Joe Cole (presently a councilman-at-large who seeks to become 9th Ward councilman) lashed out as being "deplorable" a vote by fellow councilpersons Cirelli, Fisher and Ward 9 opponent Frank Morris not to fund the Canton Regional Commerce to the tune of $175,000.

But he was not content to stop at that in his "apparently?" desperate campaign to stave off becoming ex-councilman Joe Cole as many political observers think he has an uphill fight to unseat fellow Democrat Frank Morris who was first elected two years ago.

After the meeting, as the SCPR was interviewing Vassar Park resident Bruce Nordman (Vassar Park is located in Ward 9) about his Group 175 effort to nudge the Canton Mayor Healy administration into finding the million dollars plus needed to fund the addition of 25 policemen to the Canton force to bring its strength to 175 officers, Council Cole stood nearby (within earshot and unleashed a political diatribe against the group.

Political diatribe?

What did Cole have to say?

Obviously, yours truly was focused on the interview and had to rely on others to fill in the details.

According to Ward 5 Councilman Kevin Fisher (who serves as Morris' campaign manager) and a nearby newspaper reporter Cole said:

• Group 175 is a right wing, Tea Party-esque organization,
• Group 175 leader Bruce Nordman (who conducts "concealed carry weapons" [ccw] workshops) does not care about solving Canton's crime problem but is really about promoting his ccw classes which are designed to arm residents, and
• Group 175 has members who are "charlatans" and "snake oil salesmen,"

Last night Group 175 had their say as spokesperson Bret Moore used council's Public Speaks forum to fire back at Cole.



One has to wonder who Cole is relying on for political strategizing.

Blasting a politically active group within Ward 9 would not seem to be the wisest action in the world, no?

One has to wonder if organized labor (Cole's prime support) can see its upwards of $10,000 campaign contribution investment going up in smoke as Cole seemingly self-destructs the more he opens his mouth.

Other than the unions there is very little that is noteworthy about Cole's list of contributors, but there are a few, to wit:

• Tom Ascani of the Canton Civil Service Commission - $100,
• Angela Cavanaugh of the Canton Building Department, $75,
• David Dougherty (Ward 7 councilman) who is majority leader, $100,
• Brian Horner (former Ward 9 councilman), $25,
• Andy Padrutt (former Summit County Democratic Party executive director), $100,
• Kim Perez who is a candidate for Canton treasurer, $120,
• Warren Price (Canton's service director, safety director, annexation director and chief-of-staff all rolled up into one), $100,
• Robert Schirack, the sitting Canton treasurer, $100,

It was surprising to see Price's name come up in Cole's list to the exclusion of having contributed to Morris' campaign - that is - so far.

Hmm?

While Frank Morris' has not piled up the massive dollar amounts (which are "unreal" for a council ward race) that Cole has, his "put your money, where you mouth" support among fellow councilpersons is impressive.

Among his council contributors:

• Ward 5's Kevin Fisher ($50) who is serving as his campaign manager,
• Ward 7's John Mariol, II who to-date has given a whopping $2,100.00,
• Ward 8's Edmund Mack who also has made a head-turner contribution coming in so far at $1,000, and
• Canton City Council President Allen Schulman who made an in-kind contribution valued at $400.

But it is just not current councilpersons weighing in for Morris:

• former long term Councilman Bill Smuckler (who will be returning on January 1, 2014 as a councilman-at-large) has made $550 ($500, in-kind) in contributions so far, and
• former Ward 8 Councilman Karl "Butch" Kraus has chipped in with $100,

And, of course, some Vassar Park folks are among those contributing to Morris:

• Jean Hershberger, Vice President of the Vassar Park Neighborhood Association is in at $50, and
• Bret Moore, (the Public Speaks presenter of last night) has contributed $35,

Other notable Morris contributors include:

• former Stark County Commissioner Todd Bosley at $500,
• Stark County Democratic Party chairman Randy Gonzalez ($100) along with his son and chief deputy Stark County recorder Kody Gonzalez at $100,
• North Canton Councilman Doug Foltz who has anted up $35,

Mayor Healy and Canton treasurer candidate Kelly Zachary contributed but they also contributed to Cole's campaign as an obvious "we're not taking sides in this race" gesture.  (Plain Township trustee Lou Giavasis did the same)

But The Report is not buying the Healy contribution as an indication of neutrality.  As far as the SCPR is concerned, Healy is squarely on Cole's corner.

With last night's council session, the "political spillover" is over as the meeting was council's last meeting before next Tuesday's final voter tally.

However, the SCPR suspects that in taking on the Vassar Park folks, Joe Cole put the final nail in his political coffin insofar as his remaining on council is concerned.

And if he is gone and at-large candidates Smuckler and Burns (who likely will be unopposed in November's general election) take office, there will be a different kind of political spillover for Mayor William J. Healy, II.

He will likely be facing a 7 to 5 downside on key issues that come before council.

Interesting, no?

Here is the entire Morris report (reconstructed by the SCPR from original Stark County Board of Elections records):

(CANTON: COLE V. MORRIS) THE "POLITICAL STAKES" (IN TERMS OF HEALY ADMINISTRATION AGENDA SUPPORT) COULD NOT BE HIGHER. HOW MEAN, DIRTY ARE THE CANDIDATES GOING TO GET?

UPDATE:  11:00 a.m

About 15 minutes ago, the SCPR received an email response from Frank Morris on The Report's question as to whether or not Morris will be filing an ethics complaint with the Ohio Ethics Commissions regard the "re-elect" part of Joe Cole's campaign signs being put up in the 9th Ward.

Here is Morris' response:

From: [F]rank [M]orris"

To: "Martin Olson" <tramols@att.net>

Martin,

A complaint with the Ohio Ethics Commission is definitely being considered.

I am hopeful that this will not be necessary, and that Cole will do the honorable thing and take down his misleading signs and stop using misleading materials.

We need to be focusing on the issues that affect Ward 9 (such as the need for more police).

Not on how crafty we can be with our campaign literature.

Frank

ORIGINAL BLOG

Ever since Councilman-at-Large Joe Cole took out petitions to run either for reelection or against fellow Democrat Frank Morris (first term councilman for the 9th Ward), it has been obvious that the makings of a real political brouhaha of a Canton councilmantic 2013 election were going to be a distinct possibility.

Well, why would Cole be taking out two sets of petitions anyway?

Because if long time Councilwoman-at-Large Mary Cirelli decided to stay in council, then it was going to be likely that Cole was going to be "the odd man out."

How so?

Because there are two other Democrats who are a cinch to be reelected in former long time councilman Bill Smuckler and Councilman-at-Large Jimmy Babock (the son of a former Canton councilwoman and former mayor of Canton).

So for the three spots, the choice of the voters was highly likely to be Cirelli, Smuckler and Babcock which, of course, leaves Cole on the outside looking in.

So as the SCPR sees it, Cole says to himself:  "Hmm, I live in the 9th Ward, the incumbent Frank Morris is a first termer and therefore somewhat vulnerable and rather than face off against Cirelli, Smuckler and Babcock; why don't I take a run at Morris?"

"And besides, I do not particularly like Morris.  He has more or less banded together with a more or less dissident group of councilpersons (Cirelli, Fisher, Hawk, Mack, Mariol and Morris) to the mayor's agenda.  I am a big believer in the mayor's plan for Canton.  Hmm?  Isn't it a no brainer?

Makes sense, no?

Well, comes along Mary Cirelli.

Mary sees that a peach of an "off to political heaven" opportunity has surfaced for the taking.

Bob Schirack has announced he is retiring at the end of 2013 as Canton treasurer.

And all she has to be able to do is defeat former Stark County auditor Kim Perez to be able to walk off into the blissful sunset of "if you don't screw up - you are set for the rest of your political life."

Perez lost his auditor's post in the 2010 general election, the SCPR believes, because Stark Countians perceived that he did not (even though he did contact the State of Ohio Auditor) do everything he could have (from his auditor's office vantage point) in terms of vociferously and not to be stymied in raising alarms that all was not right with Stark County treasury finances pre-Aprii 1, 2009 on which date  officials discovered that former Chief Deputy Treasurer Vince Frustaci had stolen upwards of $3 million from the county treasury.

Smelling an political opportunity, Cirelli also takes out a petition to run for treasurer.

Hmm?

So why doesn't Cole merely stay in the council-at-large race where he is likely to be the third councilman of three to be elected?

Answer:  Cirelli will not tell Cole which direction she is going.  Will she run for reelection or will she go for the treasury position?

So what we got was a outrageously hilarious political cloak and dagger standoff between Cole and Cirelli in the filing deadline date and time (February 7th at minutes before closing time at the Stark County Board of Elections).

(LINK to prior SCPR blog which goes into much more detail on Cirelli's hoodwinking of Cole - a must see!)

Needless to say, Cirelli successfully wore the cloak whereas Cole was the recipient of the "political" dagger in that he got finessed into believing that Cirelli was filing for reelection as councilwoman-at-large.  Hence, he filed for the 9th Ward only to be shocked to learn that he had been hoodwinked by Cirelli.

Canton city council pols are still belly laughing over that one!

But Joe Cole isn't.

He is smarting.

And according to Morris, Cole has done a "shameful" thing as the campaign has gotten underway, to wit:

I have included a copy of an email I received today.

Dear Frank Morris:

At approximately 6:15 PM on this date, April 3, 2013, I observed candidate Joseph Cole personally placing a yard sign in [a] lawn [in] my neighbor[hood] ... . Inasmuch as Mr. Cole is NOT a candidate for the position he now holds as a Councilman-At-Large and therefore NOT a candidate for "re-election", I believe this to be a misleading and possibly illegal sign. I am willing to sign an affidavit attesting both what I observed and my objection to the ethics of such signage by Joe Cole. I am attaching a picture I took of the aforementioned sign (picture taken approximately 6:30 PM April 3, 2013).

Sincerely,

C. David Morgan

[The rest of the Morris email]

It seem[s] that Mr Cole is upsetting some folks in Ward 9 with misrepresenting himself as their councilman.

If Mr. Cole is going out of his way to deceive the people of Ward 9 as a candidate and a current member of council then one would surely wonder if he will be capable of any honesty if elected.

I guess the question the voters should ask is what is Mr Cole trying to hide?

He is hell bent on trying to trick some voters into believing he's the incumbent, why?

Is he ashamed of his track record as an at-large member or does he just have that low of an opinion of them?

One can only assume that this is the manner in which career politicians conduct themselves when their back is against the wall.

Shameful

And Morris included a copy of the political sign that Cole posted in the 9th Ward that is at the base of his allegation of deceit (i.e. "Re Elect').

A SCPR source says that one of  Cole's prime supporters (obviously, in addition to Mayor William J. Healy, II) David Kirven, who is business agent for the Local 94 of the Plumbers and Pipefitters union, has promised to put $10,000 into the Cole campaign.

Kirven, while admitting his commitment of supporting Cole, denies the $10,000 allegation.   However, on yours truly checking back, The Report's source sticks by his account.

To top this political drama off, Morris is clearly the most pro union councilman inasmuch as he is a trades union member himself!

So the question offered up in the title of this blog stands.

How mean, how dirty are the candidates going to get in this campaign?

Likely answer.

We ain't see nuthin yet folks!!!

VIDEOS: FINALLY! CANTON MAYOR WILLIAM HEALY, II IS GOING TO HAVE HIS ZERO TOLERANCE RHETORIC SHOVED RIGHT DOWN HIS POLITICAL THROAT?

UPDATED 03/26/2013 AT 8:00 AM

 VIDEOS

----------------------------------------------------

Bruce Nordman

at

Canton City Council on Jail Beds

March 4, 2013 

----------------------------------------------------

Nordman

Moore

Stark Co. Commissioners

on

"Award to Commissioners"

&

on

Getting Canton to 175 Police Officers

March 20, 2013

----------------------------------------------------

Councilman Joe Cole

Canton Policing
&
His "Popsickle Stick Index" 

October 19, 2009 

-----------------------------------------------------

Mayor William J. Healy, II

Defining Zero Tolerance

June 6, 2011   

 

For two elections now Cantonians have bought into what the SCPR thinks has been Mayor William J. Healy, II's ongoing political scam on solving the Hall of Fame city's rampant crime problem.

The scam?

Zero Tolerance Crime in Canton!

That's it, folks!!

The SCPR wrote an incisive blog on June 7, 2011 (a must read as a refresher for The Report's readers - LINK)

It appears to the SCPR that Canton's citizens are finally wising up to what The Report believes to have been a political ruse and are about to - re: the Healy administration and some Healy-aligned-members of Canton City Council - call checkmate on the chess-like stratagem called Zero Tolerance.

If he really had the smarts that he thinks he has, the mayor should have figured out three weeks ago that "the gig was up" on his: it amounts to a  political rhetoric only Zero Tolerance.

In his State of the City message of March 14th, Healy feigned that he was dealing with the police shortage problem in announcing that he was adding 14 new police to the Canton force.

But even that announcement was a "smoke and mirrors" exercise because in the end, in working through retirements and other personnel adjustments, the Healy administration is likely to be adding a half-a-dozen or so officers perhaps to as high as a police force of 150. 

The SCPR believes that civic activists Nordman and friends are committed to - not as a matter of political rhetoric - but as a matter of reality to make Canton zero tolerant of crime and thereby begin to restore Canton to her former greatness.

It appears to the SCPR that the Vassar Park folks have thrust themselves into a lead role in actually solving Canton's crime problem in a multifaceted approach.

Their number of approaches appear to be expanding as the activists get more understanding of the dimension, scope, and factors at play in their grappling with the problem too much crime in Canton.

So far they have a three-pronged program of action, to wit:

• Get the jail fully utilized at 501 beds,
• The Healy administration has used the underutilization as an excuse for continued unacceptable level of crime in Canton
• Get the police manpower levels up to 175 officers,
•  

• Note:  Focus on the decline in numbers of officers/number of arrests in the Healy years as mayor.  Accordingly to Healy, Canton is less crime infested than with 33 less officers in the Creighton administration:  who will believe that?
  
• Get the quality of the CPD higher by offering competitive wages in relation to other area police department
• Healy administration opposes ordinance to raise beginning officers' pay

These folks are not politicians.  Mayor Healy is.  Who do you trust to make zero tolerance of crime in Canton anywhere near becoming the actual state of affairs in the city?

On March 4, 2013, Bruce Nordman appeared before Canton City Council and got on Council and the Healy administration to do something in the way of getting the Stark County sheriff to bring the county jail capacity up to full utilization at 501 beds.  On the 4th about 400 beds were in use.

Here see Nordman in action.



That particular Nordman initiative was an easy one for council to dispose of inasmuch as they have no say in how the Stark County jail is run.

Of course, every public official at the council meeting was sympathetic and supportive but powerless in terms of correcting the deficiency.

The following day Nordman appeared at the regular weekly meeting of the Stark County commissioners.

At that meeting he succeeded in getting the commissioners to bring the sheriff in the following week for some answers.

The result?

On March 13th, Sheriff George Maier (an appointee of Stark County Democratic Party) under bizarre circumstances (i.e. told a local reporter before the meeting about his decision to increase bed space before telling the commissioners, an omission he later apologized for), jacked up the bed use to 450 beds.

Interestingly enough during the meeting itself (after having already made the decision to go to 450 beds [unbeknownst to anyone other than the reporter) that it would take months to get to the 501 level.

Hmm?

Pretty impressive that Nordman could get action so soon, no?

Again, the point is that if Healy is so bright he should have figured out that he would be next in Nordman's sights.

Here is an extract from Canton City Council minutes of what Nordman said on March 18th which should have been a heads up to Healy, to wit:

Good evening....good evening, my name is Bruce Nordman. I reside at 1623 Logan Avenue, NW. Good evening to Council President and the Mayor. A belated thank you also to the Council... to the Council Members.

This evening I’m coming before you because I would like to talk about police ranks as it relates to crime in the City.

At the end of this meeting we are going to pass out the crimes as they have gone from 2,400 with a strength of 175 Police Officers to about 1,600 last year. We would ask that you give this some study.

We’ll be back next week and would be looking for your answer.

Again, I thank you for your time and interest.  (emphasis added)

Afterwards Nordman tells the SCPR that Council President Allen Schulman told him:

1. To marshal his forces (i.e. the Vassar Park folks) to get the Ohio Legislature to provide adequate local government funding to the likes of Canton so that the city has the funding to bring on more policemen, and
2. To look at the city budget and come up with a plan of his own whereby monies would be available to hire more policemen

 Hmm?

On Schulman's item #1, take a good look at this goody. 

Can you believe it?

Canton's representative - Democrat Stephen Slesnick - to the Ohio House of Representatives is going to be in Akron tonight after having been asked back in February by Councilman Schulman to come to Canton City Council to explain the state funding cuts.

The SCPR has asked Slesnick's office when he is going to be appearing before Canton City Council.

Guess what?  No response.

He can't answer the Stark County-based Stark County Political Report nor Canton City Council, but he can appear in Akron.

Now if Slesnick's insult to Canton and Stark County is not enough for Cantonians to find another state representative come next year's Democratic primary, then nothing is, no?

On Schulman's item #2, Nordman tells the SCPR that "Hell will freeze over first" (the SCPR's interpretation; not Nordman's actual words) before he takes on the job of the administration and/or council members.

Tonight look for Nordman to tell council and the Healy administration such in his three minutes before council.

Healy et al should take Bruce Nordman very seriously.

A quote: "The gauntlet is down.  We intend to pursue this aggressively (i.e. the increase of the Canton police force to 175 officers). 

The day after his appearance at Canton City Council on the increase of police strength (to 175 officers), he was back to the commissioners with a Canton Citizens Award to Commissioners Bernabei, Creighton and Regula and to ask them to help in applying pressure on Canton City Council and Mayor Healy to get the Canton police force up to 2007 levels, the year Healy was elected as mayor. (emphasis added)

As Nordman sees it, for Stark County to be a safe community to which businesses are likely to be attracted, it is of critical importance that Canton get its crime problem under control.

Here is Nordman's full presentation at the Stark County commissioners meeting last Wednesday.

(Note - video includes the commissioners' response and also including remarks/inquiry by Vassar resident Bret Moore):



The SCPR completely agrees with Nordman.

For Stark County to thrive economically, the first order of business is for the county seat to be relatively crime free.

An ancillary issue to this citizen group call for an increase in police department strength is the matter of the pay that new police officers get.

It is absolutely ridiculous.

Entry pay in Canton is $26,000 per year (which becomes $33,000 when a hiree becomes certified generally a year or so later; an experienced police officer hires in at $33,000).  This according to Sam Sliman who is Canton's civil service director.

Also, last Monday Nordman colleague Bruce Brewer said this:

Yes, my name is Bruce Brewer. I reside at 1520 Harvard Avenue NW in Canton, Ohio.

Ladies and gentlemen of Canton City Council, it has come to our attention that the beginning wages for the new recruits for the City of Canton is so low that candidates applying for the spot and...and trained by the City of Canton would seek employment in a different County or different City.

We are asking Council to re look at the starting wage for the new officers. We sit here at City Council, the average wage being $17,000.00 for a part time job. We ask our Police Officers as a new recruit to strap on a weapon and...and go throughout the City of Canton and put their lives in danger, whether it be a girl or a man for $24,000.00 [SCPR Note:  actually $26,000] a year.   ... .

Guess what it is in Akron?

$42,390 TO $49,504.

Well, if you were going to lay your life on the line which would be the more attractive pay incentive?

And guess what?

The politicized zero tolerance mayor is resisting a move by about half of Canton City Council to raise the pay for new officers.

It is stuff like the lowering of the numbers of policemen on the street and their pay level which tell a good part of the commitment or lack thereof of Canton officials to zero tolerance.

Councilman Joe Cole (a Democrat) is in particular, in the opinion of the SCPR, a political hypocrite.

Below is a video of Cole when he was running for Canton council-at-large (he is running against fellow Democrat Frank Morris in the 9th Ward) back in 2009 had to say about his commitment to policing in Canton.

On October 19, 2009 at a community forum for candidates seeking office Cole made the interesting observation that he observed that it would be community activists who would solve Canton's problems.

Moreover, it is ironic that he (at-large and Finance Committee chairman) and Councilman Griffin (Democrat - 3rd Ward) were the Healy administration's point men on council to kill a request in January of this year by Members Cirelli, Fisher, Hawk, Mack, Mariol and Morris that Canton get competitive in attracting quality applicants for its police force.

Here is the October, 2009 Cole video with him speaking on policing issues and in particular his Popsickle Stick Index of Safety:  "It is an unacceptable standard of safety in which a child cannot be allowed to go to a neighborhood store for a popsickle."



Even if the rest of council opposed the measure, Council President Allen Schulman would have had the deciding vote and thereby could have helped that Canton do the right thing in terms of making the beginning salary attractive enough that the very best candidates would apply to become a Canton policeman.

The SCPR believes that Schulman would side with the proposers of the change.

Schulman has a history of putting his money where his mouth is.

And this proposed legislation provides him an opportunity to do so.

Leader Dougherty needs to revive the effort and thereby provide a vote opportunity which will show who on council cares about the quality of Canton's police force and who does not.

The SCPR ends this blog with the video of Mayor Healy on June 6, 2011 defining zero tolerance and the Canton effort at zero tolerance.

As far as The Report is concerned, this presentation is a political performance.  And note the soon-to-be-resigned safety director (Thomas Ream) nodding his head in full agreement with the mayor.  No wonder Canton's crime footprint has in reality grown larger notwithstanding Healy's protestation to the contrary.

LINK to prior blog showing Canton crime rate as being 4 on a scale of 100 with 100 being a completely safe city.

And to further show his commitment (sarcasm) to effective Canton policing only this past week announced that Canton would no longer have a full time safety director for the next six to 12 months.

Warren Price is a capable city official.  However, there is no way he can be an effective service director, chief-of-staff, safety director, and annexation director all-at-one-time.

No way!

To the SCPR, Mayor William J. Healy,II has by his downgrading of the numbers of Canton police on the street, supporting a non-competitive salary, and going to a part-time safety director and thereby overburdening Price shows his true stripes.

The SCPR believes Healy's zero tolerance political rhetoric is a political scam on the people of Canton and, moreover, anyone who has an occasion to be in Canton, either as a resident or to visit to do social, cultural, government or business activities, has their personal safety hanging in the balance on the outcome of the good work of the Vassar Park residents.

These folks live in the heart of Canton.  Mayor William J. Healy, II lives out on 52nd Street.

Not quite the same vulnerability to the effects of crime, no?

If one lives on 52nd Street, it is easier to game zero tolerance for political purposes, no?