(VIDEOS) RUNNING FOR ALLIANCE CITY COUNCIL PRESIDENT TURNS SUE RYAN INTO A POLITICAL CYNIC?

OKEY'S VICTORY "PAVES THE WAY" FOR GEORGE T. MAIER TO ESTABLISH A POLITICAL BASE 

IN EASTERN STARK COUNTY?

UPDATE:  8:08 AM

VIDEOS

SUE RYAN REACTION TO VOTE

&

WHO FLIPPED ON HER TO OKEY 

========================

 STEVE OKEY

 "A POST-VICTORY INTERVIEW"

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 GERARD YOST

RYAN SUPPORTER
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PHYLLIS PHILLIPS

FORMER WARD 2 COUNCILWOMAN

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KATHLEEN CLUNK

MAKES

ALLEGATIONS

 ========================

THE SELECTION MEETING

"IN ITS ENTIRETY"

It won't be the case, but it should be highly distressing to Stark Democratic Party chairman Randy Gonzalez that Alliance City Council presidency candidate Sue Ryan commented to the SCPR (post-meeting) that the Stark County Democratic Party process she had gone through in trying to become Alliance's first woman council president in the Carnation City's history is fast turning her - the idealist - into a cynic.

A cynic?

Yes.

And it was apparent as she scanned the "signed" ballots that she was deeply shaken that two votes (Harold Williams and Jerry Schroeder) she had counted on got flipped to her prime opponent Steve Okey.

It appears that the vote was 8 for Okey, 5 for Ryan and 1 for Avery.



The Stark County Political Report, of course, was right in the middle of things in terms of covering the entire event including getting Ryan's spontaneous reaction to The Report's question as to who did not keep their commitments to her on the vote.

Ryan should have known that the likes of Gonzalez and probably his political "blood brothers" (Brothers Johnnie A. Maier, Jr. and George T. Maier) figured out early on that the first announced candidate for the presidency, one Derrick Loy, could not win over Ryan and went with Plan B in convincing former Alliance councilman Steve Okey to get into the fray.

Loy stepping aside and Okey surfacing was a sure sign that "realpolitik" was going to be the order of the day. 

Ryan kept telling the SCPR throughout the process that she thought Gonzalez was going to be hands off in his capacity as chairman.

Of course, it is unlikely the public will ever know the true extent of his involvement, but for anybody to believe that with the ties that he has with Okey and to George T. Maier and derivatively to Derrick Loy that he was going to be neutral is - to be kind - "idealistic" and - to be less kind - is flat out naive about how the likes of Gonzalez and his ilk running the Stark County Democratic Party operate.

The SCPR is on record as thinking that the quality of Alliance city government would much less political and therefore more beneficial to the citizens of Alliance with Ryan at the helm.

Steve Okey said all the right things last night with regard to his relationship with council going forward.

But the SCPR thinks that it will not take long for The Report to ramp up including in this blog's coverage of Stark County's politics and government (given the return of Steve Okey to council):  Alliance City Council.

Up until now, Alliance has been the most mellow of all of Stark County's city/village councils in terms of controversies.  In fact, more times than not, when the SCPR has blogged about Alliance council matters, guess who was at the center of the brouhaha?  You've got it, one Steven Okey.

To say it one more time, with Okey back on the scene, it is likely that The Report will making more trips to Alliance, no?

One source tells the SCPR that Okey's remarks about his relationship with Alliance mayor Alan Andreani are not borne out in his knowledge and observations of the duo's interactions.

One of Sue Ryan's biggest supporters last evening was council clerk Gerard Yost.



He is a Democrat, but he works for Stark County prosecutor John Ferrero and therefore has to be on the Gonzalez, Maier, Loy and Okey "enemies list" because it was Prosecutor Ferrero who upset the apple cart of what the SCPR believes was a plan put in place when they first realized that Sheriff-elect Mike McDonald (November, 2012) was not going to be able to take office as scheduled on January 7, 2013.

Nothing gets Gonzalez, the Maiers (with Stark County political director and Johnnie A. Maier, Jr Massillon Municipal Court chief deputy R. Shane Jackson being their mouthpiece) more upset than hearing suspicions that they knew much earlier than they are willing to admit that McDonald would not be able to take office and are thought to have been planning (much earlier than owned up to) towards making George T. Maier Stark County's next elected sheriff.  Now, of course, Maier hold on legitimacy in being sheriff is by virtue of his appointment, as provided by Ohio law, by the Stark County Democratic Party Central Committee (SCDP-CC).

One of the points that Sue Ryan made to The Report last night as she was getting in her car to leave the meeting after her stinging defeat is that Loy has been making a really big deal out of what he alleges to have been  his attempt to get Ryan to sign a George T. Maier "loyalty oath" about a year or so ago.

As the SCPR has written in the three blogs leading up to yesterday's selection meeting, it is abundantly clear to The Report that the Stark Dems' leadership pushing Okey (e.g. in yesterday's blog  - Gonzalez to Ryan:  "I hope that Steve Okey runs for council president.") has to do with having someone in the mix of Alliance/eastern Stark County politics to be a political point person for George T. Maier in the run up to the November election.

Undoubtedly, Gonzalez heard from Loy about Ryan's - let's say - equivocation on signing up as a Maier loyalist.

Equivocation?

Yes, Ryan says if such happened (which does not presently recall as having occurred), it was because of the fuss about whether or not Maier was qualified to be sheriff under Ohio's law (i.e. Ohio Revised Code Section 311.01).

It was not a good thing for Ryan in terms of validating "the powers that be" within the Stark County Democratic Party that she is a "less than zealous" George T. Maier supporter that Republican Councilman Larry Dordea to the lead at the last Alliance City Council meeting in naming her president pro tem.

A highly placed Republican in the Alliance scheme of things telephoned the SCPR and vigorously disputed The Report's assessment that the Dordea initiative was not a good thing for Sue Ryan in her quest to gain the SCDP-CC/Alliance appointment.

Who can reasonably doubt that Okey and his operatives played the Dordea/Ryan connection up big in discussions in pre-selection contacts with the likes of Williams and Schroeder.

It could be that the pro tem thing was "the straw that broke the camel's back" in terms of Ryan succeeding in taking on the Stark Democratic Party political machine.

Does anybody think that Chairman Gonzalez was going sit idly by and let the idealistic (remember how she described herself in the video above) Sue Ryan become a key Democratic figure in eastern Stark County politics in the light of the upcoming November election for sheriff:  Maier versus Dordea?

The Maier folks in pushing for Okey are bringing the fight with the popular former Alliance police chief and Republican mainstay right to Dordea's front door.

There is no doubt to The Report that Okey as council president will try "to bend over backwards" to avoid open confrontations with organized Alliance Republicans.



But does he have the self-discipline to pull it off?

What if it appears to the Dems' hierarchy that Maier's candidacy is failing?

Do you think with what Okey has invested in providing free legal representation for Maier interests (and, by the way, he currently represents Johnnie A. Maier, Jr in a flap with the Massillon Police Union over the status of George's son and Massillon policeman Michael Maier) in

• defending former Stark County Board of Elections Deametrious St. John (a strong Maier supporter who voted to qualify him for the November election) from what Chairman Gonzalez characterized as being a "Republican attack," and 
• defending Gonzalez himself as Dems' chairman and the SCDP-CC in another legal action (the mandamus) involving Maier.

he is going to be able to separate his political interests from the way he interacts with the likes of Dordea as council president?

Could be.

But the SCPR's take on Okey is that he can get fired up in a hurry and if things are turning "south" on the Maier campaign, The Report can foresee Okey becoming highly exercised and his discontent bleeding through into council proceedings in one fashion or another.

Accordingly, The SCPR thinks that Ryan would have been the better choice and the best opportunity to keep partisan political interests out of Alliance City Council business in the context of coming from the president's chair.

• An SCPR Note - The "fact" of the matter is that Chairman Gonzalez's use of the label (of a board of elections challenge to George T. Maier's candidacy for sheriff) as being "a Republican attack" was "in fact" launched by Massillon Democratic precinct woman Cynthia Balas-Bratton.  Ohio law requires that any such challenge be by a person of the same political party of the candidate being challenged.
• Hmm?  So much for Gonzalez's professed "devotion to the facts."
• Unless, of course, they are Gonzalez invented facts.
• Gonzalez constantly whines to the SCPR when The Report has a different take than he does as to what is and what is not the fact of the matter being blogged upon.

As stated in yesterday's blog, The Report was highly skeptical that Ryan could win notwithstanding that she was saying as late as Tuesday that she had seven commitments of votes, even an eighth except the eighth was going to be out-of-town last night.

The skepticism indeed became "realpolitik" at about 5:55 p.m. on April 30, 2014 at the Stark Dems' headquarters.

One has to wonder whether or not yet another division within the Stark County Democratic Party will grow and thereby throwing another obstacle in Maier's way in his quest to become Stark's "elected" sheriff?

Also speaking with The Report last night after the selection process was concluded were:

Phyllis Phillips (former Ward 2 councilwoman):



And, candidate Keith Avery:



The final interview was outgoing (as of the primary election of next Tuesday [May 6th]) Alliance precinct committeewoman Kathleen Clunk (precinct 4A).

And she was not a happy camper.



That Clunk thinks that she got caught up in the George T. Maier thing when added to Ryan's point about "the loyalty oath" and Okey emphasis last night of having provided "no charge" legal services for George T. Maier qualification for the ballot interests and Dordea leading the way for Ryan to become president pro tem should make it abundantly clear to readers that yesterday's selection was a litmus test of who was more loyal to the Maier controlled Stark County Democratic Party.

The real winner last night was George T. Maier.

Alliance Republicans are telling the SCPR that they will go all out to defeat Steve Okey in the election of November, 2015.

But as far Maier is concerned, it will not matter (other than a personal concern for Okey) for he will either be or not be the "elected" sheriff of Stark County.

Make no mistake about it, the interests of George T. Maier were "the name of the game" last night.

And idealist Sue Ryan got the "realpolitik" lesson of her life.

There was no way Sue Ryan was going to win the presidency against the ultimate Maier loyalist:   Steven Okey!

"Let it be written, let it be said"

And last night it unmistakably was!

Here is a video of the "entire" meeting.

ANOTHER SCDP-CC APPOINTEE, TODAY! ALLIANCE IMPLICATIONS FOR SURE, MAYBE COUNTYWIDE?

In the spotlight today is the selection of Alliance city council president by a Stark County political party.

With the passing of long term (since 1994) Carnation City "City Council" president John Benincasa on March 25 of this year, Ohio law provides that his political party (in this case, the Stark County Democratic Party and its Central Committee/Alliance Branch [SCDP-CC/Alliance]) appoints his successor to serve until the next regularly scheduled council elections (November, 2015).

There are a grand total of 15 Alliance Democrats who are eligible to weigh in this evening at 5:30 p.m. at the Stark Dems headquarters building located at 4220 12th Street NW in Canton.

The candidates are two persons who have served on council together; namely, current Councilwoman at Large Sue Ryan and former Councilman at Large Steve Okey.

As far as the SCPR is concerned, the person "who ought to be selected" is Councilwoman Ryan.

But it is far from certain that she will be.

Ryan tells the SCPR that she has counted her votes and she thinks she has a solid seven votes going into tonight's vote.  She would have a simple majority but one of her supporters on the above-list is out-of-town and will be unable to attend.

So that should leave it that the worst she can do is a 7 to 7 tie.

In that case, the SCPR is told, the committee persons engage new rounds of voting until the ranks of either Okey or Ryan break and at least a simple majority emerges (.i.e. 8 to 6 one way or the other, assuming, of course, that fourteen committee persons show up).

Of the two candidates, Okey is clearly heads and shoulders above Ryan, it appears to the SCPR, in political sophistication and therefore would seem to have a marked advantage over Ryan in the political "wheelin and dealin" that often takes place in scenarios like the one about to unfold this evening.

Moreover, Okey is said to have another advantage in that Stark Dems chairman Randy Gonzalez (who will preside over the meeting) is thought to be in the Steve Okey camp.

The SCPR understands that Gonzalez has told Ryan that he hoped Okey would be a candidate.

Initially, Alliance central committeeman Derrick Loy would be Ryan's opposition.

Loy is a man who appears to be:

• SCDP-CC appointed sheriff George T. Maier's "right-hand-man," 
• much like The Report thinks the political relationship between Maier brother Johnnie Jr. (executive vice chairman of the Dems) and R. Shane Jackson (son of former Stark County commissioner Gayle Jackson) who is the political director of the Stark County Democratic Party and is the chief deputy for Massillon clerk of courts Johnnie A. Maier, Jr.
• as an employee of the Stark County sheriff's office since September, 2013, Loy appears to The Report to be the shadow of George Maier as he traverses Stark County in his capacity as sheriff,

However, it seems that the Dems must have concluded Loy had no chance to defeat Ryan and thereby enters Steve Okey.

From  prior SCPR blogs,  [LINK 1, LINK 2] here is a summation of the relationship of the relationships between Loy, Okey, Gonzalez and Maier:

Alliance "organized" Republicans do not like Loy and are likely to make him a special target in 2015 should he win the precinct committee contest.  And there are a number of "organized" Alliance Democrats who do not like Loy and this dislike has be accentuated recently by the filing of a lawsuit by his political friend Steve Okey against Alliance City Council (omitting Democrats Phyllis Phillips and John Benincasa) alleging Ohio Sunshine Law violations in that council voted on the matter of whether or not Loy should remain a member of the Alliance Sewer and Water Advisory Board (AS&WAB).

From a prior SCPR blog on the Okey lawsuit:

"the occurrence of a second incident on January 13, 2014 which involved Okey political ally and Alliance Democratic Party activist Derrick Loy (when Okey ran for mayor in 2011) in which Loy was denied a requested re-appointment to the Alliance Sewer and Water Advisory Board (AS&WAB)."

Beyond the Loy/Okey/Maier ties there are, of course, the Okey/George T. Maier ties.

Some think that the primary motivation for the Okey versus Alliance City Council lawsuit (filed February 4, 2014) was to embarrass Alliance City councilman and in earnest Okey political foe:  Republican Larry Dordea.

As pointed out by the SCPR in a blog done February 13th, Okey in his lawsuit chose to identify the collective defendants in the lawsuit as being "defendants Dordea."

So?

Well, it so happens that Okey was one of the lawyers for Stark County Democratic Party chairman Randy Gonzalez and the SCDP-CC ( and thereby necessarily defended a George T. Maier interest) in a mandamus action brought days before the December 13, 2013 SCDP-CC selection date (which action failed) to keep Maier from being considered on the 13th.

Dordea himself, though a Republican, was himself a candidate on the 13th to be appointed Stark County sheriff by the Dems.

And, of course, Dordea is the Republican candidate for sheriff against Maier in November's general election.

Okey vehemently denies (LINK) that the lawsuit had anything whatsoever to do with his connection to the Maier/Dordea contest for sheriff.

The SCPR puts that under the category of  "the denial may be true, but who is going to believe it?"

Certainly, Larry Dordea doesn't.

The Report's take on Dordea is that he believes that the lawsuit and Okey's entry into the Alliance council presidency race has "everything to do" with the Dordea/Maier face off and nothing to do with Okey's professed concern about "sunshine in government" or wanting, from the council presidency chair to keep Alliance City Council "on the straight and narrow."

Though he has no vote, Gonzalez has ways and means at his disposal, the SCPR believes, to influence his political party's election Okey's way.  An example of such may be his setting this evening's meeting outside of Alliance.  Some think it may be more difficult for Ryan to get her supporters over to Canton than for Okey.

So from the inter-connectedness of Loy, the Maiers, Okey and Gonzalez standpoint, in a close vote, such as the one projected for this evening, The Report would be surprised for Ryan to emerge victorious.

However, Steve Okey has some "explainin" to do to participating Alliance Democratic central committee members as to why he stood by and allowed Republicans to gain control of Alliance City Council in the elections of 2013.

Take a close look at this graphic (underlying data from Stark County Board of Elections):

For some six to eight years, Alliance Democrats had controlled Alliance City Council.

But out of the general election of 2013, the Republicans came out on top.

So?

Well, some think that Steve Okey had it within his means to have prevented this political turnover.

The thinking is that he could have either run for Ward 3 council and discouraged Republican Dordea (formerly councilman-at-large) from seeking the seat and thereby have preserved council being under the control of Alliance Democrats.

Or, Okey (formerly, at-large himself before not seeking reelection in what turned out to be a losing effort in running for mayor of Alliance in 2011) could have challenged for a council-at-large seat in 2013.

The Report is convinced that Okey should have run for the Ward 3 seat if he was all that interested in his Democratic Party (he seems, to the SCPR, to be more political than most Stark County elected public officials The Report comes across) being the majority party in Alliance's council.

Running for council-at-large would have been chancy.

But not running in Ward 3.

Dordea, the SCPR believes, would have opted to say council-at-large rather than risking losing to Okey.

So now he wants to be president of a Republican led council "to keep them on the 'straight and narrow?"'

If he gets appointed today, you can be sure that the Alliance Republicans will vigorously contest him come November, 2015.

If Sue Ryan wins today, who knows? Remember, the Republicans took the lead in making her council president, pro tem.

While the Alliance Republicans understand that Ryan is a Democrat, she does not seem to make their "blood boil" like Okey does.

Accordingly, it is not only likely that the Republicans will maintain control of Alliance City Council in the 2015 election, if Okey is the SCDP-CC/Alliance appointed council president; look for Republicans to prevail on a well-known and ensconced Alliance Republican (not currently an elected official) to take Okey on.

And if that unnamed person heeds the call, The Report thinks the SCDP-CC/Alliance branch will have succeeded in handing the presidency to the Republicans.

A position the Democrats held under Benincasa since 1994.

How would that be for making "a rambing wreck" of the Alliance Democratic Party?

CAN LOY? CAN OKEY? STOP THE "SUE" RYAN EXPRESS?

UPDATE:  See Okey e-mail below.  Received by the SCPR at 4:15 p.m. this afternoon.

ORIGINAL BLOG

With the passing on March 30th of Alliance City Council president John Benincasa, the wheels have started turning to find a successor to this icon of Alliance city government who had been president of council since 1994.

On April 11th Stark County Democratic Party Democratic Party chairman Randy Gonzalez sent out a notice of the date, time and location of selection process.

The letter also invited registered voter Alliance residents to apply for consideration by the Stark County Democratic Party Executive Committee by submitting a resume to the party at party headquarters.

Information that the Stark County Political Report has indicates that the candidates will be Councilwoman-at-Large Sue Ryan and Derek Loy.  However, there is some thought that former Alliance councilman (who ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2011) Steve Okey might decide to run in which case it is believed that Loy would step aside.

For purposes of this blog, the SCPR assumes that Loy will be Ryan's opponent although Steve Okey's name has been mentioned.

The key to gaining the Alliance City Council presidency appointment at the hand of the Alliance members of the Stark County Democratic Party Central Committee (SCDP-CC/Alliance) is to garner the support of those who hold the central committee seats on April 30th.

The Report is told that on this Saturday (April 19) the Stark County Democratic Party Executive Committee (SCDP-EC) has been called to meet by Chairman Gonzalez in order to fill vacant or to be vacant seats on the SCDP-CC/Alliance aspect of the SCDP-CC.

Gonzalez is said to have taken the position that those who are running for election to the SCDP-CC/Alliance seats in the Democratic primary election on May 6th should be appointed at the SCDP-EC meeting on Saturday so that the president appointee is the person that central committee members going forward have selected.

The chairman could have waited until after election results to hold the meeting but is said to have thought that the timeline for action (as mandated by Ohio statutory law) was too constricted to chance waiting until after the 6th.

Here is the list of SCDP-CC/Alliance has currently held by in the records of the Stark County Board of Elections.

The SCPR has compiled a list given the Gonzalez position of what the list is likely to look like this time next week after Saturday's SCDP-EC action.

SCPR Note:  Shanon Longaberger is Derrick Loy's sister.  Thomas Ryan is Sue Ryan's husband.

Derrick Loy reportedly has been working for some time to fill the vacant SCDP-CC/Alliance positions.

Sue Ryan tells the SCPR that even though she is eastern Stark County Democratic Party chairperson, Loy initiated precinct persons search without informing her or including her in the process.

Think there might be more than a little "cloak and dagger" politics going on here?

Such is the nature of much of politics and is why many civic minded types keep there distance from the political base of the underpinnings of the American system of governance.

Politics is what it is.

The best way to keep politics on the up and up is for the likes of the SCPR to cast the light of day on the doings, goings and comings of the politicos.

So, given the nasty side of politics that seems to be underway in the Benincasa replacement process, how is this contest likely to turn out?

In a relatively close vote, The Report believes Ryan will win out.  And it will not matter whether Loy or Okey is her opponent.

And the reasons for The Report's conclusion?

Here goes!

• Ryan is a sitting councilperson-at-large having been elected in November, 2012.  She also was a councilperson-at-large for the period 2006 through 2010.  With Benincasa's death she was appointed by her fellow council members to fill the president's chair until a successor is selected by the SCDP-CC.  As a council-at-large member, Ryan, of course, has run city wide "successfully" three times.  
• The key here is that Ryan has run citywide successfully three times.  This electoral success electoral history indicates that she is in a strong position to retain the presidency for the Democrats should Republicans decide to contest the office in November, 2015.
• Loy, on the other hand, as far as the SCPR can determine has never held elective office.  He has served as president of the Alliance Area Democratic Club.  Being a politico could help him win a SCDP-CC/Alliance face off.   However, he would likely be highly vulnerable come November, 2015.  Here is a LINK to Linked-In which spells out Loy's recent history.

• Alliance "organized" Republicans do not like Loy and are likely to make him a special target in 2015 should he win the precinct committee contest.  And there are a number of "organized" Alliance Democrats who do not like Loy and this dislike has be accentuated recently by the filing of a lawsuit by his political friend Steve Okey against Alliance City Council (omitting Democrats Phyllis Phillips and John Benincasa) alleging Ohio Sunshine Law violations in that council voted on the matter of whether or not Loy should remain a member of the Alliance Sewer and Water Advisory Board (AS&WAB).
• From a prior SCPR blog on the Okey lawsuit:
• "the occurrence of a second incident on January 13, 2014 which involved Okey political ally and Alliance Democratic Party activist Derrick Loy (when Okey ran for mayor in 2011) in which Loy was denied a requested re-appointment to the Alliance Sewer and Water Advisory Board (AS&WAB)."
•  
  

• Loy is now the "right-hand-man" for Stark County Democratic Party Central Committee appointed Sheriff George T. Maier.  Maier - interesting enough - has his own election fight coming up in November against Republican Alliance councilman Larry Dordea this November. 
• The SCPR assumes that Maier will stay out of the Ryan/Loy fight.  
• Ryan thinks and expects that Maier will not get involved directly or indirectly notwithstanding the fact that Loy is about as close to Maier as boss as one sees an employee he gets.  The Report sees and hears observations from others that Loy seems to be Maier's shadow. 

The SCPR is skeptical that Maier will stay out of Ryan/Loy fight. 

A key to whether or not Maier is a factor will be evident in the way "as close as a brother" Maier ally Chairman Randy handles the April 30th central committee proceeding.

A tip off on how the actual selection process will unwind may be evident this Saturday in the results of the SCDP-EC session.

Ryan tells The Report that she believes that Gonzalez has assured her that the central committee seats in Alliance 2C. 3A and 4F will not be filled on Saturday.

The SCPR again is skeptical will prove to be the case.

Accordingly, Ryan says she is not preparing to have anyone nominated in precincts 2C, 3A and 4F.

What if Loy does and asks the chairman on Saturday to put his supporters in these positions?  What if pro-Loy folks (on their own, if you want to believe that really happens in politics) ask to be appointed?

The chairman is going to refuse to fill vacancies?  

Should such an eventuality develops (i.e. pro-Loy folks get appointed), these three votes - the SCPR thinks - would tip what now appears to be a narrow Ryan victory over in the other direction and result in a Loy victory.

The question is: whether or not Ryan is being naive?  The Report thinks she might well being so.

An important factor favoring Ryan is that her key supporter for the presidency is Clerk of Council Gerard Yost (1B).

He clearly does not want to have to work with Loy as president in council.  From what the SCPR hears from Ryan, she is confident that Yost is enough to carry the day for her on the 30th.

In summary: Ryan Alliance demonstrated electoral strength,  bi-partisan animosity towards Loy and Okey and Gerard Yost's support should be enough to make Sue Ryan John Benincasa's successor. 

However, for the Ryan advantages to carry the day, she will have to be correct in her understanding that the chairman will not allow pro Loy candidates to gain appointments on Saturday.

As indicated above, another disruptive event to a Ryan Express rolling on to victory could be whether or not George T. Maier weighs in.  Assuming that he will stay neutral could be another case of naivety on the part of Ryan.

We shall see!

On Thursday evening the Alliance Area Democratic Club will be meeting at Don Ponchos Restaurant at 7:00 p.m.

The Report understands that both Ryan and Loy will be there to make their pitches.

CHRISTINA HAGAN SILENT? HMM?

State Rep. Christina Hagan (Republican - Marlboro) is doing a little political self-preservation these days.

She is busy sending out press releases to the likes of the Repository's Robert Wang who dutifully picks up on them to report on back-burner legislative matters Hagan is devoting herself to.

Wang is so consumed with the mostly inconsequential that he even reported on her recent engagement.

No hard nosed reporting on her support of legislation that is gutting the funding of local government and undermining the right of public employees (mostly police, firefighters and teachers) to collectively bargain and her "Queen Bee" status with the oil and gas interests and her failure to come to the legislative rescue of more local control of the fracking process.

The big hot button issue (House Bill 298, Senate Bill 201) coursing through the Ohio General Assembly now is one sponsored/co-sponsored only by Republicans.

This legislation is designed to make it next to impossible if not impossible for Planned Parenthood to get Ohio funding for its activities, to wit:

Notably missing as a co-sponsor of HB 298 is Christina Hagan.

Why would that be?

While undoubtedly Hagan (who presents herself politically as well right of center with the overlay of being a highly religious person) will be supporting the bill when it comes to and up or down vote, it appears she does not want to become front and center embroiled in a political controversy that could provide her Alliance-based Democratic opponent Sue Ryan with an opportunity to make her race against Hagan competitive.

Ryan's campaign so far as looked about as dead as a campaign can.  Her campaign fiance report was absolutely pathetic in terms of money raised.

  
She does have a fundraiser scheduled for April 30th.

Kind of late, no?

It appears to the SCPR that it will take something along the order of a miracle to dispossess Hagan from the Ohio House.

And Hagan is doing her best to play The Repository for "earned?" media on various back-burner bills she has offered up and to avoid going high profile on anything that could possibly rescue the Ryan campaign from oblivion.

With recently deposed Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum being the chief spokesman on what a number of media types have characterized as being "a war on women," it seems as if the public notice has bought into the press labeling and polls show that there is a very large gender gap with women as between Republicans and Democrats (focusing at the presidential level of politics).

The SCPR is highly skeptical that Sue Ryan can mount anywhere near an effective campaign against Hagan.

However, she can pray for a miracle that that unelected 50th District representative will somehow self-destruct on something like House Bill 298.

Apparently, Hagan is being minded and mentored by the likes of state Reps. David Hall and Ron Amstutz to ensure that no miracle happens.

ONCE AGAIN, LOCAL & STATE GOP LINE UP AGAINST AVERAGE GUY? THIS TIME CONSUMER PROTECTION. WILL THE VOTE HELP DEMOCRATIC OPPONENTS IN THE FALL?

The Republican Party is commonly known as the party of the business class whereas the Democratic Party is generally perceived as the political party of "the little guy."

Of course, some say that such stereotyping is just that and that political reality is more of a mix than simply business versus the common man.

That may be, but in the view of the SCPR the Republican caucuses of the Ohio House and Senate in passing House Bill 275 on Tuesday did not help themselves in disabusing stereotypical thinking.

HB 275 is legislation, on its way to Republican Governor John Kasich for his signature, which dramatically tamps down on consumers rights.

On top of Senate Bill 5 (the anti-collective bargaining bill), the passage of HB 275 appears to be more of the same.

The bill according the Legislative Service Commission of the Ohio General Assembly:

• Permits a supplier to offer a consumer a "cure offer" if the consumer files an action against the supplier for an alleged violation of the Consumer Sales Practices Act. 
• Requires a cure offer to contain a supplier's remedy consisting solely of monetary compensation to resolve the alleged violation of the Consumer Sales Practices Act, the amount of attorney's fees to be paid, not to exceed $2,500, court costs, 
• Prohibits a consumer from being awarded treble damages, and court costs and attorney's fees after the cure offer is received, if the consumer does not accept a cure offer and a court or arbitrator awards the consumer actual economic damages that are not greater than the value of the remedy included in the cure offer. 

It is hard to see anything in this legislation which benefits aggrieved consumers.

It will benefit Ohio's court system in likely cutting down on the number of trials.

But it appears to The Report that the bill's structure is primarily designed to save businesses that actually get sued for consumer rights violations the possibility of treble (triple) damages being assessed against them on a liability finding by a court of law.  Moveover, in capping attorney fees at $2,500, it makes consumer cases much less attractive for lawyers to take on.  In this way, it is likely that there will be less suits for violating businesses to cope with.

While local Republican Scott Oelslager (Ohio Senate - 29th) distinguished himself from from the pack in opposing SB 5 (which was soundly rejected [State Issue #2] by Ohio's voters in November, 2011), his SB 5 departure appears to have been an anomaly in the light of his vote for HB 275.

It was no surprise that Stark Republicans Christina Hagan (Marlboro - the 50th) and Kirk Schuring (Jackson - now representing the 51st and running in newly redistricted 48th) followed the party line in joining in on the passage of the bill.

It will be interesting to see whether or not the Democratic opponents to Hagan (Sue Ryan of Alliance) and Schuring (Amanda Trump) in the upcoming fall campaign are able to couple their SB 5 votes with the HB 275 votes and other anti-common-man votes that their opposition research is able to uncover to make Hagan and Schuring wear the stereotypical thinking.

BEING RECRUITED BY ARMOND BUDISH: A "POLITICAL KISS OF DEATH?"

A properly run campaign should make Ohio's 50th House District competitive for Stark County Democrats this year.

Appointed (March, 2011) Republican Christina Hagan should be vulnerable on at least a couple accounts.

First, she is a political party appointee and has never been elected to anything as a candidate for public office.  It is a political truism that the best opportunity to defeat an in-office candidate is the first time they have to stand for election.

Second, as the Republican appointee to succeed Lake Township Republican Todd Snitchler who has become Governor Kasich's PUCO chairman, she has shown herself to be a consummately committed Republican - over and beyond the public good - who has supported some highly unpopular causes in Stark County.

A couple of examples:  Senate Bill 5 (Ohio ballot initiative issue #2) - the attack on the collective bargaining rights of teachers, fireman, policemen and other public workers - and her votes to gut state funding of local government by supporting cuts in the Local Government Fund of Ohio's budget (about 50%, on average) and the taking away of significant local government revenues by voting to eliminate Ohio's estate tax beginning in January, 2013.

But did the Democrats pick someone to run against Christina Hagan who can put together a proper campaign?

Of course, it remains to be seen, but the SCPR is skeptical that the Dems have done so in selecting Alliance Councilwoman Sue Ryan.

Why is that?

First, is that appears that she is a desperation candidate (from the perspective of Ohio House Minority Leader Armond Budish).

The Report does not believe that Ryan was ever his first choice but rather a bottom of the list - if all else fails - candidate.  What's more, being on Budish's list at all is suspect in terms of political viability.

Budish surprised political junkies of all stripes when he focused in on former Stark County Commissioner Todd Bosley to run against Snitchler in his re-election bid in November, 2010.  Bosley had been whipped soundly by the "Vote No Increased Taxes Committee" in November, 2009 over a Bosley inspired and led imposed 0.5% sales tax increase.

What made Budish think for "one New York second" that Bosley had any chance whatsoever against Snitchler?

Even though the likes of yours truly knew that Bosley had no chance against Snitchler because of the imposed tax issue, there was pause for thought when the Ohio Democratic Caucus pumped hundreds of thousands of dollars into a nasty (e.g. Bosley comparing Snitchler to a rat) effort to unseat Snitchler.

As it turns out, the intuition was right on the mark and Budish proved to be "out there" in political "LA-LA Land" somewhere.

Ryan herself has as a spotted political record in her home turf of Alliance:

To the SCPR, Plain Township Louis Giavasis was the only Democrat in the 50th House District who had a realistic chance to defeat Hagan.  But as it turns out, Giavasis is unwilling to give up his political comfort of being a Plain Township trustee for some 20 years.

That she was way down on the priority list of candidates does not bode well for Ryan.

But has pointed out earlier in this blog, she does have some issues to work with.

We shall see in coming months how much political savvy she has as a candidate.

Rather than call Hagan a twit on her facebook page (whom it would be embarrassing to lose to), Ryan needs to be out working teachers, firefighters and policemen  and other public workers (and there well-moneyed unions) that would have been affected adversely by Senate Bill 5 (State Issue #2) and building up a formidable force of campaign workers and donors.

If she is to have a chance to defeat Hagan, this is one of a number of things Ryan needs to do.

Another thing that Hagan is vulnerable on is her legislative participation in the gutting of local government funding.

Ryan needs to be working city halls, township halls and village halls in the 50th with one simple message:  "you can trace your local government funding problems to your state representative - Christina Hagan. - I will work to restore that funding!"

Ryan already has a strike or two against her that Dem Minority Leader Armond Budish had to beg her to become the candidate.

And if she is half-hearted in her campaign and does not exploit to the utmost Hagan's vulnerabilities, then:

The SCPR's suspicion that Armond is using her as mere political fodder will proved to be well-founded and that her recruitment by Budish was early indication that she never really had "a ghost of a chance!"