CICCHINELLI GETS "A LEG UP" WITH A 2 TO 2 BOARD OF ELECTIONS HEARING VOTE IN PROTEST HEARING?

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED 
07/13/2015 AT 5:50 PM

ALL VIDEOS POSTED AS OF 2:00 PM
07/14/2015

VIDEOS

OKEY FINAL ARGUMENT

CONLEY FINAL ARGUMENT

MEMBER CLINE

MEMBER BRADEN

MEMBER FERRUCCIO

MEMBER SHERER

THE VOTE

CONLEY & CICCHINELLI
COMMENTS

OKEY DECLINES

WITNESSES

MASSILLON COUNCILMAN
SHADDRICK STINSON
"I was a little pissed"

STARK DEMS CHAIR
PHIL GIAVASIS

MASSILLON COUNCIL PRESIDENT
TONY TOWNSEND
HIS NON-APPEARANCE

PROTESTER
BOB RICHARDS
"I feel he is still a Democrat."

"Its just one of those things in your heart you know that people don't change ... "

PROTESTER
MELVIN SCHARTIGER

CICCHINELLI PETITION SIGNER
ALAN CLIMER
FORMER SERVICE-SAFETY DIRECTOR

JILL CRAEMER
DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE
WARD 4 MASSILLON

MASSILLON COUNCILMAN
PAUL MANSON

J. DAVID RESS
CATAZARO-PERRY OPPONENT
MAY, 2015 DEM PRIMARY

JOY CICCHINELLI

 FRANK CICCHINELLI

NOTE:  FOR MORE IN-DEPTH BACKGROUND GO TO THIS LINK

• SCPR NOTES:  
• Originally Okey filed with four protesters listed.  On Friday, he dropped Massillon City Council President Tony Townsend and Ward 4 Councilman Shaddrick Stinson from the list of protesters.
• Only Cicchinelli's attorney Craig T. Conley paid much attention to the abrupt withdrawal of Townsend and Stinson.  The Report's take is that Okey pretty much ignored Conley's repeated jabs at him on the ethical aspects of what appears to have been a case of his listing them without their consent and withdrawing Stinson without his knowledge.
• Though subpoenaed, Townsend failed to appear. Townsend was quoted in a Massillon Independent article on June 17th saying that he had been listed as a protester without his consent.  Whether or not he had been consulted on his being withdrawn did not come out at the hearing.

Although former Democratic Massillon mayor Francis H. Cicchinelli, Jr. (24 years) did as well as he could possibly have hoped for in gaining a 2 to 2 vote in the hearing on the protest of the two remaining Massillon citizens, it may be that the victory will be short lived if one is persuaded by protesters' attorney Steve Okey's tack.

Some observers who the SCPR talked to post-hearing bought somewhat into Okey's excited utterances that:

• in testifying that he became an "independent" on May 5 when he (Cicchinelli) took an "issues only" ballot 

was a testimonial "fatal flaw" in that:

• Cicchinelli thereby acknowledged that on May 4th (the deadline for filing "independent" petitions) he had been a Democrat, at least as far as the formal BOE records are concerned, since in the 2014 primary election he voted as a Democrat,

The observers think that Okey might be able to parlay his argument into an ultimate victory with Secretary of State Jon Husted which is he next step in the process on about a two week or so timetable.

If not with secretary of state, perhaps, with the Ohio Supreme Court.

In today's hearing Republicans Braden and Cline voted in favor of certifying Cicchinell's "to run as an independent" petition whereas Democrats Ferruccio, Jr and Sherer, II voted to deny Cicchinelli certification.

The SCPR figures that the tie vote was the best Cicchinelli could hope for hence the "leg up" in the headline for this blog.

There is no way the Democrat BOE members were going to vote Cicchinelli onto the ballot to oppose Democrat incumbent mayor Kathy Catazaro-Perry.

Apparently, the Republicans decided to abandon Republican candidate Lee Brunckhart likely because practically nobody believes Brunckhart can win in November notwithstanding Catazaro-Perry's close call on the challenge of fellow Democrat J. David Ress in the May 5, 2015 Democratic primary.

THE WRAP UP

OKEY'S FINAL ARGUMENT



CONLEY'S FINAL ARGUMENT



The Cicchinelli side of the argument (led by Attorney Craig T. Conley) is that in filing as an "independent" is in of itself a clear present intent to be an "independent."

Moreover, Conley makes the powerful point that Cicchinelli does not have to prove anything after the BOE establishes filed an adequate number of valid voter signatures.

And he reiterated that there was abundant and unmistakable implied Cicchinelli testimony that he considered himself an "independent" well before May 4th.

Ohio statutory law does not provide for an aspiring "independent" to have a formal declaratory documented way to establish what he and his petition circulators are telling petition signers - "Frank Cicchinelli is running as an independent" - when the petitions are being circulated.

To be sure, Cicchinelli's attorney could have and the SCPR thinks should have closed the opportunity for Okey to seize on the Cicchinelli "technically" correct for BOE administrative purposes only statement as some "in the public square" declaration that he was gaming the system and should he lose as an "independent" in November return to the Democratic fold.

Okey in his final argument thought he had stumbled onto some Eureka! moment.

To the SCPR, Okey seizing on the Cicchinelli statement in isolation from all that he had testified to before and after that statement indicates that Okey believed he thereby snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.

Notwithstanding Conley's apparent failure to see Okey's "licking his chops" across the way, the SCPR still sees Frank Cicchinelli with the 2 to 2 vote as having "a leg up" on ultimately getting legal sanction for appearing on the November general election ballot.

THE BOARD MEMBERS VIDEOS

MEMBER CLINE



MEMBER BRADEN



MEMBER FERRUCCIO



MEMBER SHERER



THE VOTE



POST VOTE COMMENTS

CONLEY AND CICCHINELLI
OKEY REFUSED COMMENT



WITNESSES - CALLED BY CONLEY

COUNCILMAN SHADDRICK STINSON
WARD 4 
This video amply shows the arrogance of the the Maier Massillon Political Machine folks.

Councilman Stinson says he only knew he was listed as a protester of the Cicchinelli independent candidacy after news of it hit the local newspaper and he only learned of being dropped by lawyer Steve Okey yesterday morning, the day of the hearing.

All he knew was that Mayor Kathy Catazaro-Perry asked him if he would attend a meeting regarding the protest but that the meeting never occurred.

What Stinson did not realize was that the mayor's reference to a meeting was the hearing itself which was obviously a case of - the SCPR thinks - of the mayor, to use a phrase - "slipping him a mickey" in a figurative sense of the expression.

Now isn't that a wonder for thing to say about the mayor of a major Stark County city?

Moreover, it came out that Steve Okey was so utterly inconsiderate of Mr. Stinson that he only let Stinson know that he had been delisted as a protester "the morning of the hearing" which in Stinson's words meant that he was deprived of the ability to be at his job in the Honors Department of The University of Akron working.

Way to go Steve Okey, no?

The Report thinks such conduct is typical of leadership members of the MMPM.  A person gets used for the member's purpose and then unceremoniously dumped.

Okey is a man who The Report presenting himself as a political liberal or in some circles "a bleeding liberal" who cares about average people.

Really?

Note that Okey did not even have the decency on the record in the hearing to apologize to Stinson for the way in which dealt with him!

The Stinson video.



PHIL GIAVASIS
IN HIS ROLE AS STARK DEMS CHAIR


Giavasis confirmed:

• that the Democratic Executive Committee meeting wherein the Democrats authorized the filing of a Democrats protest of the independent candidacies of Thomas Bernabei (against Democrat mayor William J. Healy, II) Francis H. Cicchinelli, Jr. 
• revealed that Okey contacted him re:  the protest,
• couldn't recall what he and Okey talked about,
• Hmm? No?
• revealed that he talked with Stinson about his being named a protested without his permission,
• that he referred Stinson to Okey,

TONY TOWNSEND
MASSILLON CITY COUNCIL PRESIDENT
A "NO SHOW" TO SUBPOENA


Conley calls Tony Townsend to testify:

• Townsend ignored Conley's subpoena,
• Okey objects to Conley calling delisted protesters,
• Conley asks Board - if it has contempt power to hold Townsend, the president of Massillon City Council in contempt of the Stark County Board of Elections,
• Conley proffers Townsend testimony as would have been:
• He did not authorize Okey as to his being named as protester and therefore did not appear,
• Submitted copy of Massillon Independent article in which he denies that he authorized Okey to list him as a protester,

WITNESSES CALLED BY OKEY

PROTESTER
BOB RICHARDS

Okey establishes that Richards:

• Is qualified as a protester,
• Has volunteered to be a protester,
• Confirms that he desires to have Cicchinelli disqualified from running as an "independent" candidate for mayor of Massillon in the November general election

On cross-examination, Attorney Conley establishes:

• Richards and prior witness Schartiger (see below) were of the same mind in opposing the Cicchinelli's "independent" candidacy,
• That he (Richards) had spoken with Mayor Catazaro-Perry about the matter,
• That the day of the hearing was the first time he had see the Okey generated protest document,
• That Richards agrees with the statement in the Okey document that asserts that Cicchinelli is not an "independent" candidate "in good faith,"
• As Richards facts that he has known Cicchinelli 60 years (Cicchinelli is 63) as a Democrat and that:
• "I feel he is still a Democrat," 
• "Its just one of those things in your heart you know that people don't change ... "
• That in Richards' words "he has no facts to support Okey allegation that Cicchinelli filed as an "independent" in bad faith,

PROTESTER 
MELVIN SCHARTIGER

This Okey witness testified:

• Is qualified as a protester,
• Has volunteered to be a protester,
• Confirms that he desires to have Cicchinelli disqualified from running as an "independent" candidate for mayor of Massillon in the November general election

On cross-examination, Attorney Conley establishes:

• Schartiger and Richards were of the same mind in opposing the Cicchinelli's "independent" candidacy,
• That Schartiger had spoken with Mayor Catazaro-Perry about the matter and that her approach was whether he would attend a meeting (meaning the protest hearing) on her behalf,
• Note:  Schartiger was careful to emphasize that the mayor did not use the word "protest,"
• That he had not seen the Okey generated document before it was filed with the Board of Elections,
• That he agreed with the document statement that Cicchinelli is not an "independent in good faith" because of all his years of being a Democrat,

ALAN CLIMER
FORMER CICCHINELLI SERVICE-SAFETY DIRECTOR
CICCHINELLI PETITION SIGNER



A strange Okey witness to say the least.

Strange in the sense that it is a mystery wrapped in an enigma as to what if anything Climers's testimony added to Okey's case.

Climer as a witness ranks second to that of Richards and Schartiger in that they offered no facts in support of their allegation asserted via Okey in the protest that Cicchinelli operated in "bad faith" in claiming to changed from Democrat voter registration to "independent" registration.

Unless, of course, you consider "having been a long time Democrat" to be such a fact.

Ohio courts have held that such in and of itself is insufficient to show "bad faith."

The Report for all Okey dramatics about Cicchinelli's testimony about being - for BOE purposes - a registered Democrat up until he had an opportunity to change it in the next successive primary election after 2014 such being May 5, 2015, it to the SCPR pales into insignificance compared to Okey's clear failure by the testimony of his called witnesses to established "by clear and convincing evidence" that Cicchinelli acted in "bad faith" in filing "independent" petitions on May 4,2015.

JILL CRAEMER
MASSILLON DEMOCRAT CANDIDATE WARD 4



Another case with Okey dealing with Cicchinelli's history as a Democrat.  Relative, but not determative.  So Ohio courts have said.

PAUL MANSION
COUNCILMAN AT LARGE
MASSILLON





As far as the SCPR is concerned Okey calling this series of witnesses including Manson to make his case is some kind of legal strategy.

Wow!

Especially in light of what was to come with his protesters Schartiger and Richards.

Wow, again!

J. DAVID RESS
MAY, 2015 DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY OPPONENT
KATHY CATAZARO-PERRY



Ress is an interesting witness in that there is some thinking that he and Cicchinelli were a tag team duo in that if J. David won the May primary, which he almost did, Cicchinelli would not run as an "independed."

The Report believes the converse was understood between he two.

If Ress lost, then Ress had to understand that Cicchinelli planned to run as an "independent."

Of course, Okey did not want to wade into those waters.

Drawing out that type of testimony would have given credence to Cicchinelli's claim that it was his intention to be an "indepedent" before the May, 2015 primary election in which he took an "issues only" ballot rather than either a Democratic or Republican ballot.

Ress did get into a little bit of tiff with Okey and BOE members over whether or not he could read/submit a statement.

The statement was not allowed.



JOY CICCHINELLI
WIFE - FRANK CICCHINELLI


An intriguing choice by Okey.

Cicchinelli's attorney (Conley) did step in to protect the divulgence of any communication on the issues in the protest hearing that occurred between Frank and Joy Cicchinell, who, of course, are husband and wife.

At the very end of Joy's testimony was the Conley question to wit: (paraphrasing account)

"When you were collecting signatures, you believed your husband was an independent at the time, didn't you?"

To replied, "Yes, I did."

To The Report this is effect counter to the Okey implication in direct examination that the Cicchinelli's believed he was in terms of his intent that he was a Democrat.



FRANK CICCHINELLI
THE INDEPENDENT CANDIDATE

HOW DID MASSILLON'S COUNCIL PRESIDENT (TOWNSEND) & WARD 4 COUNCLMAN (STINSON) END UP UP AS "PROTESTERS" WHEN THEY DID 'NOT' WANT TO BE?

UPDATED/REVISED 08:02 AM

TODAY:  OKEY ON "CENTER STAGE"

 IN YET ANOTHER 

POLITICAL BATTLE!

WILL THIS CASE GET HIM IN DIFFICULTY

 WITH 

OHIO DISCIPLINARY COUNSEL?

Monday's hearing on the protest of originally four (4) protesters protesting the certification by the Stark County Board of Elections (BOE, Board) as an "independent" candidate might turn out to a very bad day for Canton attorney Steve Okey.

Okey is "knee deep" in Stark County Democratic as:

• an executive committee member,
• a central committee member (from Alliance precinct 3D),
• president of the Alliance Area Democratic Club,
• as the Stark Dems Central Committee (Alliance sector) appointee as Alliance City Council president,
• as one of several legal counsel for the Stark County Democratic Party (Party) in a Writ of Prohibition named the Party as a defendant in the George T. Maier quest to become the appointee (Feburary, 2013) of the Stark Dems as Stark County sheriff,

Who knows, the above-listing - as extensive as it is - might be just "the icing on the case" as to his involvement in highly partisan politics?

One of yours truly's favorite blog graphics on Okey is one done on a blog in which Okey takes over as the "appointed," by the Alliance Dems' obviously via some political arm twisting, president of Alliance City Council from which post he has created a couple nasty encounters with council Republicans which resulted in his being censured twice.

And there is the one he came into office as a "political" hurricane in the name of standing up Ohio's Sunshine law.

Is there more?

Of course!

The SCPR thinks that he deserves the title Mister Democrat for his patently Democratic politics he has brought into Alliance City Council.

So his "political" playground includes Stark Countywide (i.e. representing the Stark Dems in the Ohio Supreme Court Writ of Prohibition case, Alliance (see above) and now Massillon.

Let's pause a minute.

The Cicchinelli case is not Okey's first foray into the political quagmire that has plagued Massillon ever since Johnnie A. Maier, Jr. term limited out of the Ohio House of Representatives came home as clerk of courts to ply his politics in western Stark County a field which now includes all of Stark County.

Okey got into the fight over whether or not Sheriff George T. Maier's son and Johnnie A. Maier's nephew was merited under Ohio civil service standards to be appointed a sergeant over others.

Okey took up the charge by Mayor Kathy Catazaro-Perry on behalf of Dwan St. John that St. John was was racially and sexist discriminated against by Massillon City Council members who questioned the fiscal sustainability of St. John being employed by Massillon.

• SCPR Note:  At last count, as far as The Report knows, the Ohio Civil Rights Commission [OCRC] dismissed (or refused to "take up the matter," [a matter of semantics]) beyond scrutinizing the original complaint.  
• The Report does not know whether or not Okey/St. John are still pursuing the matter inasmuch as Okey failed to respond to in e-mail inquiry as to what his client's future plans were.

And, of course, Okey took of the representation of Deametrious St. John when Craig T. Conley (yes, the same Craig T. Conley who is vying with Okey in today's hearing) challenged in the Fifth District Court of Appeals St. John's right to sit in judgment of George T. Maier's certifiability as a candidate for Stark County sheriff in the election of November, 2014.

But the process by which he came to name Townsend and Stinson as being protesters may cause him a problem (one source tells the SCPR) with Ohio Disciplinary Counsel to say nothing of the embarrassment he must be feeling as he proceeds with only two protesters on Monday.

Oh! there is one other thing about his partisan political involvement.

The SCPR thinks he, perhaps, is the leading supporter of former Stark County Dems' chairman Johnnie A. Maier, Jr. who The Report tabs as being the head of the Maier Massillon Political Machine (MMPM).

The SCPR noted how anemic (as compared to Lee Plakas' filing on behalf of Tom Bernabei independent candidacy protesters) his listing of protester was when Okey filed a the Cicchinelli candidacy protest on June 6th.

It may be his close, close, close political association with Maier, Jr. that is at the heart of how he came to name claimed in their on words/actions (i.e the 7/10/2015 withdrawal) "unwilling" protesters in the initial petition with BOE.

Reading between the lines:

•  "'its not an issue,'" 
• "[f]ollow-calls to Townsend for clarification were not returned," 
• teamed up with it taking Okey until July 10th (over three weeks later) to remove Townsend from the protest 

indicates to the SCPR that there has been a whole lot of jawboning going on between - at the minimum - Townsend and Okey and the SCPR believes:

• Johnnie A. Maier, Jr, 
• R. Shane Jackson, and 
• perhaps even Mayor Kathy Catazaro-Perry, and 
• who knows, who else.

IF a Disciplinary Complaint is filed against Okey as it has been suggested there might be, we may someday know exactly what the conversation was and who was involved if the matter gets to the Ohio Supreme Court and sanctions administered because if complaints get to that stage the high court publishes a chapter and verse account as it did when the justices disciplined Massillon Municipal Court judge Eddie Elum several years back.

For Okey to be subjected to Disciplinary Counsel action would to the SCPR be somewhat amazing and highly ironic in that he, over the past year or so, has worked hard to convey the impression that he is super-sensitive to doing law things at the very highest level witness the blogs by The Report:

• Okey Challenges Alliance City Council to Vote in Accordance with Ohio's Sunshine law,
• Note:  He had brought a lawsuit against Alliance City Council which he dropped on becoming president of council,
• Okey Refuses to Sign Alliance City Council Legislation Because He Thinks it to be Unconstitutional,

Above anybody else in Stark County, the SCPR over past seven years plus, has stood foursquare for the "rule of law."

Even Okey tapped in on that well known SCPR devotion as evidenced in this e-mail of May 4, 2014:

Okey's effort on the Sunshine Law matter was the right thing to do (the "unconstitutional thing," however The Report thinks is open to debate), but the SCPR having been around the "political" block a time or two was not buying his "this is not a partisan matter" disclaimer in a follow up e-mail on the same day.

Apparently, Okey thinks the rest of us do not see his all-consuming (i.e. his seeming inability - to yours truly - to stand off - from individual political interests) involvement in partisan politics as being a basis for questioning the sincerity of his "objectively" acting on behalf of "the rule of law."

For now, we are left to conjecture about the nature and the extent of the discussions, unless, of course, Townsend decides to waive whatever attorney/client privilege that may exist between him and Okey (the privilege is for Townsend's confidentiality; not Okey's) and go public with either The Independent or the SCPR.

For The Report's part the SCPR "on camera and unedited" facilities are available to Townsend if he wants to tell all. Undoubedly, The Independent would be accommodating, too.

Readers have to set all this on the political background:

• that Kathy Catazaro-Perry would not be mayor of Massillon if it were not for falling into the "good 'political' graces" of Maier, Jr., (a former Stark Dems' chairman and still a high official in the Party) and his sidekick R. Shane Jackson who is the political director of the Part,
• that Tony Townsend would not be president of Massillon City Council if were not for falling into the "good political graces" of Maier, Jr. and Jackson,

Focusing on former Massillon Ward 4 Councilman Tony Townsend and incidentally on the mayor, the SCPR believes he would never have been elected council president in November, 2013 had Republican Al Hennon (a former highly respected Massillon City Schools superintendent) stayed in the race.

When it was too late for Republicans to replace him, Hennon withdrew from the race to become Massillon's service/safety director leaving Townsend to run unopposed.

Does anybody believe that Maier, Jr. and Jackson were not key factors in that development?

It may be that neither were, but what politically astute person would believe it?

And, of course, though the SCPR believes that in the de facto sense of Massillon government's executive operations, Maier, Jr. and Jackson are in charge; in the de jure (as a matter of law) sense they are not and so it did take the acquiescence of Catarzaro-Perry for the SCPR's speculated scenario to be realized.

Hennon only lasted a little over one year which indicates to The Report that he had outlived his usefulness to the Masillon politicos and therefore was dispensable especially in light of the likelihood that the former superintendent was not a sufficiently enough "yes" man to whatever Maier, Jr., and Jackson directly or through the mayor demanded of him.

The official report was that Hennon left for personal reasons.

And such may have factored in a la "Who needs this grief?"

But Al Hennon did not become a highly respect school official by sucking up to the likes of Maier, Jackson and Catazaro-Perry.

Now it appears to the SCPR that Townsend may be on "the political chopping block."

To The Report it seems he has given his political heart and soul to the Maier' Massillon Political Machine in his time on Massillon City Council.

However, his "going public" on June 16th with Grazier of The Independent coupled with his official withdrawal as a protester on July 10th might mean that the Maier, Jr. led MPM, like it appears to have happened with Hennon, has dropped him like the proverbial "hot potato" under a transit authority bus as it rumbled down Lincolnway this past Friday.

Or it could be that Townsend realized that these the MMPM support may becoming more and more of a liability in Massillon politics.

If Townsend initiated the separation, he did it "a day late and a dollar short" on when he should have done it.

Look for Townsend to lose big against "ironically" the now certified "independent" Claudette Ishnick (a former Massillon Ward 3 Republican who Catazaro-Perry defeated in November, 2003) in the November election.

Isn't interesting about how things run full circle in politics?

Another person who the SCPR thinks may be getting a "let's throw him under the bus" from the MMPM is current Ward 4 Councilman Shaddrick Stinson.

Now a lame-duck councilman, he is useless to the MMPM.

While he is not quoted publicly as saying he was not a willing participant in the original protest filed by Okey, The Report is told that there is political "buzz" to the effect that he was furious at being named a protester without his permission.

Like with Townsend, the thinking is that Okey probably was assured by the likes of Maier, Jr. and Jackson that it would be okay to name Stinson notwithstanding his reluctance because over time they (Maier, Jr. and Jackson) would "persuade" him to comply with their political will.

One of the smartest things that Stinson did in the 2013 council elections was for him to convince Frank Cicchinelli that he was not the captive of the MMPM.

That, the SCPR assesses, was the difference maker in his being elected as Ward 4 councilman.

One of the dumbest things that Stinson did in the two years he was on council after being elected in 2013 was not capitalize on Cicchinelli's belief he would demonstrate by his council votes and other activities that he was indeed not the captive of the MMPM.

Hence this result in the 2015 Democratic primary election.

Cicchinelli recently told the SCPR flat-out that he misjudged Stinson and thinks that Stinson was, though, at the time he was telling Cicchinelli otherwise, in reality "a card-carrying" (the SCPR's words, not Cicchinelli's)  MMPM guy.

Stinson got caught up in the "what to do with The Legends" controversy which is of course from the MMPM perspective "Frank Cicchinelli's baby" especially the added nine holes to the golf course which Cicchinelli himself now says was a mistake.

Catazaro-Perry was playing political "dodge-ball" with The Legends' area residents who vote in high numbers (see the above chart in the 2015 Stinson race) in Ward 4, the SCPR thinks.

The Report believes her "real" position is to get rid of The Legends.

But she pretends to be about finding a solution to the financial burden (i.e. the heavy debt interest servicing and principal repayment being paid by Massillon) to the golf course and club house complex.

Likely knowing her "real" position based on private conversations with her, Stinson found himself on "the horns of a dilemma, to wit:  "How to be a loyal MMPM foot soldier" while preserving his ability to get votes out of Precinct 4D.

Consequently, Stinson came to be perceived as not being in favor of finding a "suitable to Precinct D residents" formula for making The Legends become financially viable and therefore worth the city of Massillon keeping.

The Report thinks Stinson was getting bad (in the sense of impacting his political future) advice from Catazaro-Perry, Maier, Jr., R. Shane Jackson and perhaps Judge Elum on the issue.

If effect, to say it once again, The Report thinks some or all of the aforementioned persons threw Stinson under the political bus.

His loss this past May in the Ward 4 Democratic primary election was truly astounding.

A political newcomer (Jill Creamer, a Legends area resident) wiped him out overall though Stinson won most precincts.

The problem?

Precinct 4D is a locale in which the high percentage voting Legends residents are located.

As the chart above shows, he lost his seat on council because of the Precinct 4D vote.

The Report thinks that the high MMPM priority is salvaging the administration of Catazaro-Perry.

It appears that in the thinking of the MMPM leadership, the likes of Townsend and Stinson are politically expendable.

With their withdrawal after nearly a month of apparent haggling, it could be that Stinson and Townsend will gain credibility on not necessarily taking orders from Headquarters - MMPM.

Especially Stinson.

In SCPR discussions with other Massillon council members most, if not, they all seem to think well of him as a person.

The problem for Shaddrick has been a perception on the part of a likely a majority of councilpersons that he has been the captive of the MMPM.

Recently, Councilman Paul Manson told the SCPR that he likes Stinson as a councilperson in his most recent version.

And that may mean that if Stinson can hone "independent mindedness" even if remaining a Democrat, he may have a future in Massillon elective politics.

Politically engaged people need to wary of the likes of the MMPM.

Maier, Jr. and Jackson, the SCPR thinks, are probably the most ruthless politicos in all of Stark County.

Baseball is played with a hardball.

But baseball is a game.

Hardball politics affects peoples' day-in, day-out lives and often the body politic as in the case of George T. Maier (Johnnie's brother) becoming sheriff over Larry Dordea whom the SCPR sees as a person of significantly higher character qualities and certainly adequate policing credentials.

Maier, Jr., Jackson et al do what political people do whether part of the organized Democrat or Republican political parties.

While understandable from their selfish interests standpoint, such is not likely to be productive for the public good and accordingly not good for the public's confidence in the integrity of our democratic-republican system of government.

All too many of them take care of the party apparatus first and foremost because the political structure is the mask which obscures their personal interest in doing this thing or another and getting UNwitting people to donate money, to do things like door-to-door campaigning and argue the "official-party-line" et cetera in furtherance of their collective personal interests.

And they don't much like the likes of The Stark County Political Report which does a lot of de-masking.

Having said the immediate foregoing, let yours truly say that high quality political party structures are essential to the effective functioning of our democratic-republican system of government.

Oh yes! there are always going to be those who use the party structures in furtherance of their personal political agendas as The Report thinks the MMPM does.

But there are a number of first rate politically involved people who do demonstrate an "independent" streak even within the context being part of a partisan political party apparatus.

One such person to The Report has been - before he became an "independent" - Stark County Commissioner Thomas Bernabei.

Republican Commissioner Janet Creighton is another such person as is Democrat Canton City Councilman (Ward 9) Frank Morris, III.

The hope is that Stinson is on his way to following their example and thereby jettisoning the perceived lock-step personal political loyalty relationship he is deemed by some to have with the MMPM operatives.

For Townsend, The Report thinks it is too late.

It is hard for the SCPR to see Massillonians ever again taking him to be his own person in government and politics.

Given the dynamics of how Okey has handled the filings in the protest of Cicchinelli's "independent" candidacy, the hearing itself is likely to produce fireworks.

And the SCPR will be there - notwithstanding the obstacles put in place by Director Matthews and BOE members Braden, Cline, Ferruccio and Sherer - protecting the Stark County (in the words of Okey):

"public's right to know the "complete" story of what goes on."

Thanks for the compliment, Steve!