The face of the Republican Party in Stark County is Stark County Commissioner Janet Creighton. Not Stark GOP chairman Jeff Matthews.
Sure he was first up in the run-up to Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan taking the microphone. But Jeff Matthew has never been elected to anything from Stark County's complete voter base.
Janet Creighton has.
She has been Stark County recorder, Stark County auditor, mayor of Canton and now Stark County commissioner.
However, Matthews was first at the lectern on Thursday and therefore the SCPR presents his introduction to the festivities.
While there is no doubt that Commissioner Creighton is a committed Republican, she is one of those staunch partisans who knows how to separate the Stark County community-at-large interests from partisan politics. There were few at Thursday's event the SCPR believes cannot do so (e.g. state Rep. Christina Hagan, R - Marlboro). Hagan would do well to be schooled in the appropriateness of the how, when, and where of partisan zeal at the feet of Creighton.
Here is Creighton in all her "appropriate" Republican glory on Thursday.
A newcomer to Stark County is Congressman Bob Gibbs (a Republican from Holmes County). By the SCPR take on the upcoming election he could be facing an upset at the hands of Democrat Joyce Healy-Abrams (brother of Mayor William J. Healy, II of Canton).
Because of decentennial redistricting, he no longer has the comfort zone of running in the district he has been serving in (the 18th). About 70% of the 18th is missing from the new 7th District which includes most of Stark County and all of Canton (except The Timken Company complex which 16th District Congressman Jim Reanacci had gerrymandered into his district).
It's always a challenge to defeat an incumbent, but perhaps an issue like Paul Ryan's prescription for reigning in the entitlement program Medicare costs (possibly passing on insurance premium costs in excess of a government provided voucher to recipients) might be the godsend that candidates like Healy-Abrams need to pull a victory over an incumbent Republican off.
Here is what Gibbs had to say about Ryan and his policies in the lead-up to Ryan's appearance.
And speaking of Jim Renacci (who is facing a challenge of his own from Democrat incumbent Congresswoman Betty Sutton of Copley, Summit County [now the 13th District but facing off against Renacci in the 16th because of redistricting]); he was given the honor of the direct introductory remarks bringing Paul Ryan on stage.
If it turns out that the Ryan Budget Plan which is perceived by many Americans as being "the beginning of the end of Medicare as we know it" results in his defeat at the hand of Sutton; whether or not (post-mortem-election) he will be wanting to take these words back?
The SCPR caught up with Commissioner Bernabei today and asked for his reaction to Craig Conley's withdrawal from the race.
ORIGINAL BLOG
According to a SCPR source, "there was talk on the street that Conley was to drop, [yet] Matthews (Stark GOP chairman) apparently did nothing to prepare to find another candidate."
Such a complaint is indicative of the numerous dissatisfactions (see prior blog) with Matthews' leadership style that The Report has received over the nearly five years that the SCPR has been in existence.
Also a victim of the Braden political coup was Vice Chairman Thomas Vignos (brother-in-law to former Stark County Commissioner Jane Vignos).
Over the ensuing years, Braden developed a "joined at the hip" political relationship with Jeff Matthews who succeeded Braden as chairman in 2008.
In 2008, (how's this for a start for a new party chairman?) the Stark Republicans failed to field candidates for two very important Stark County offices: county prosecutor, county treasurer and county engineer.
And as we all know now, "all Hell broke loose" in Stark County government in April, 2009 with the revelation that former Chief Deputy Treasurer Vince Frustaci had stolen several million dollars from the Stark treasury.
One of the primary points of the Stark County Political Report from the beginning has been a focus of the extreme importance of political competition in ensuring that Stark Countians get a choice as to who serves in elected office.
But Matthews failed to provide that in the 2008 elections.
The Report believes that the chances of responsive and effective governance increases geometrically with highly competitive political races.
That Republicans recouped somewhat in 2010 with the election of Alex Zumbar (Stark treasury) and Alan Harold (the auditor's office). But their elections had very little if anything to do with Matthews. Rather The Report believes it was the public's reaction to the Frustaci event and the public's perception that the-then Stark County Treasurer Gary D. Zeigler and Stark County Auditor Kim Perez had not provided adequate management of their respective offices so as to deny Frustaci the opportunity to pull of his malevolent deed.
So here we are in 2012 and the weakness of Jeff Matthews as a recruiter of viable political candidates surfaces once again.
While The Report likes Craig T. Conley and has written numerous blogs complimenting him on holding the Stark County prosecutor's office feet to the fire (and the Stark County commissioners [Bosley, Harmon and Vignos on the "imposed" 2008 sales tax), yours truly was skeptical that he could make much of a race of it against Commissioner Bernabei.
As The Report's source also said: "... many GOP activists expressed concerns when Conley originally filed, yet Matthews did little to recruit other candidates. What about Windham or Walters? ... To let Bernabei be unopposed after barely winning last time is ridiculous."
After Conley withdrew, yours truly spoke with him about whether or not Matthews had a replacement in line.
Conley told The Report that he had recommendations for the chairman, but he had no idea whether or not he would find an alternative.
Well, as it turns out, he did not.
Now the only chance that Bernabei and the Democrats will have an opponent is limited to possible "write-in" candidates. And, of course, as astute political observers know, a write-in candidate has virtually no chance at all to be competitive.
The SCPR/Conley conversation evolved to Conley making the following point: (paraphrase) "Well, in the event that Matthews does not find a replacement for me, I feel comfortable with Tom Bernabei; he is a quality public official."
While the SCPR agrees that Bernabei has a track record of being a quality public official (e.g. Canton councilman, Canton law director and now commissioner), still, it is unacceptable for the Stark GOP and Chairman Matthews to recruit political competition.
IN 2010, in a somewhat of an irony, Matthews' sidekick Curt Braden nearly lost his Stark County Board of Elections seat to guess who? You've got it: Jane Vignos. Payback or coincidence? Hmm?
Braden had another scare later in 2010. Political unknown Greg Butler of Jackson Township came within 198 votes of dethroning Braden from the Republican State Central Committee.
Getting back to the significance of Democrat Bennabei being given a "free pass" by Matthews:
Republican Richard Regula (a former Stark County commissioner defeated by Democrat Todd Bosley in November, 2006) should be very, very unhappy with Matthews' failure to come with a replacement for Conley.
He is in a very tight race with former long time Canton councilman Bill Smuckler. And, what the Bernabei Stark GOP issued "free pass" means to the Regula/Smuckler race is that Democrats can focus in terms of financial resources on electing Smuckler and thereby maintaining political control of the commissioners' office.
Also, Bernabei - now freed from the task of campaigning for himself - can devote time and effort to help Smuckler eke out a win over Regula.
If Bill Smuckler is a savvy candidate, he will try to induce Bernabei to go to work for him.
In a final note, it appears to the SCPR that based on Matthews' history during his tenure as chairman that the source is right on the mark in making this ending comment: "but it seems more & more [Stark] GOPers are ready for new leadership."
Late yesterday the leaders of Ohio's urban areas sent a letter to Ohio GOP Chairman to step down immediately and not wait 10 months.
DeWine in a small concession to Republican Ohio Governor John Kasich as promised to run for re-election in 10 months as the chairman of Ohio's Republican Party.
Kasich came out months ago saying he wanted DeWine out and someone more to his liking in.
The Ohio Tea Party has taken up Kasich's cause and ran candidates in opposition to perceived DeWine supporters who were running for state central committeeman/woman back on March 6th in the primary election.
DeWine antagonized the Tea Party by pushing through a rule change at the state party which requires elected central committee persons to have voted Republican in the last two successive GOP primaries in order to be eligible to vote in a party chairman election contest.
However, it is hard to figure out why the Tea Party ran an opponent (Beth A. Williams) to long time Stark GOP stalwart Sarah Brown of Alliance (wife of Stark County Court of Common Please Judge Charles E. Brown, Jr.).
Pre-election, Brown told the SCPR that she is wholeheartedly in support of the Governor.
Had Williams won, she would not have been eligible to participate in a chairman election event. But as predicted by The Report that did not happen. Brown won by a landslide.
A mystery about the letter sent out yesterday (a copy of which is included below) is why Stark County GOP Chairman Jeff Matthews was not included. Stark County is Ohio's 8th largest urban area.
The SCPR has attempted to contact Matthews by e-mail and will publish his response via update should he choose to respond.
B.A. - Political Science
J.D.
AN INDEPENDENT MINDED POLITICAL COMMENTATOR
Until 1976 I was a Republican. Since then I have considered myself a Democrat. So after long term stints of being a Republican, then a Democrat, I have come to the political position I feel most comfortable with - being an INDEPENDENT MINDED ANALYST who demands effectiveness of our politicians - Republican, Democrat or whatever.
I have changed my political affiliation to "non-partisan" by not voting in either political party primary election.
