"DAPPER DAN" CANTON COUNCILMAN JIMMY BABCOCK WEIGHS-IN FOR KIM PEREZ FOR CANTON CITY TREASURER. NO SURPRISE HERE!

Revised and updated at 1:00 PM (re:  Young's living out-of-town status)

The SCPR has known Canton Councilman-at-Large Jimmy Babcock for about ten years.

Generally, one comes up with an initial overall impression of a public figure such as Babcock.  And the impression, either positive or negative, usually contains something substantive.

But for the life of The Report the only thing that stands out - even after 10 years - about this son of a former Canton mayor (Charles Babcock:  1958 - 1961) is a pretty irrelevant thing when it comes to evaluating his preparedness for public office: to wit, his impeccable dress, hence the graphic descriptor:  Dapper Dan.

Unless, of course, one counts as "standing-out," his political pedigree.  In addition to his father having served as mayor, his mother, Mary, served as a longtime Canton councilwoman.

Only the latter one (his political heritage) has any connection whatsoever to being a public official.  In the minds of many, being politically connected is a negative; not a positive.

But it appears that his political pedigree has gained him entre into the inner circle of "the good ole boy club," to the degree that it exists in the Stark County organized Democratic Party.

Babcock has run for office several times (including a run for mayor) and was unsuccessful until he finally clicked in the 2011 Democratic primary election.  He had no Republican opponent in the general election.

And as councilman, Babcock has not distinguished himself.  He barely opens his mouth in public sessions.

What comes to mind by way of analogy would be to coin a metaphorical expression that he is "the Clarence Thomas of the Canton City Council."

For those who do not follow national politics and government, U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas merely sits by and listens to court arguments (rarely, if ever questioning the lawyers) as excruciatingly important issues of America are being argued.

In November, 2004, Democrat Kim Perez (formerly a Canton city councilman and auditor of Canton) ran for and defeated Republican Brant Luther (who was appointed to replace Janet Creighton when she decided to run for mayor of Canton) for Stark County auditor.

Apparently, one beneficiary of the political spoils that accrue to the winner, was Babcock.  He landed a job with Perez.  Obviously, one expects that Babcock remains closely allied with Perez even after Perez's defeat at the hands of Republican Alan Harold in November, 2010.

Recently, Canton treasurer Bob Schirack announced that he is retiring no later than December 31, 2013.

Perez and Canton councilman Greg Hawk (D - Ward 1) are two early entrants into the field of those who wish to replace Schirack.

The SCPR wrote a blog recently (LINK) touting Canton Chief Deputy Auditor Gary Young as being the most qualified person to become the new Canton treasurer.

Well, little did yours truly know that Councilman Babcock would take offense at The Report's enthusiasm for Young.

Not that yours truly cares one iota what Babcock, and, for that matter, Perez thinks.

So it was interesting that this past Monday right before the beginning of the regular Canton City Council meeting that Babcock would launch into an attack on yours truly.  And, it must be said, somewhat amusing.

"How dare you (implied) for not supporting Perez in his drive to become treasurer.  When you ran for office (in the early 2000s), we came to your fundraiser in Hartville.   We supported you and, now, how quickly you forget!" (paraphrase)

"Gary Young?  He doesn't even live in Canton."

And, of course, the answer to that point is that there isn't any reason why he couldn't relocate to the city of Canton proper.

It is not likely he would do that, The Report understands that.

But he is exactly the kind of guy that should be in charge of  the Canton treasury.

Babcock and others that The Report sees as being a part of the Stark County Democratic Party "good ole network" simply cannot believe that former associations fall by the wayside when one does the work that yours truly has taken up with the Stark County Political Report.

They are consummately caught up in that highly partisan political world they live in.   It is incomprehensible to them that some of us can jettison our partisan hats and look at and analyze the political landscape and political figures from a more or less objective perspective.

To the SCPR, this incident is a prime example of someone who refuses to understand that our political system is not intended to serve political parties and the personal stakes of those who staff them.

Rather our democracy is to serve the well-being of day-in, day-out citizens; not self-serving politicos.

So it was easy for yours truly to abandon involvement as a political partisan when it became obvious that for all too many of elected officials public service gets sacrificed to self-service.

Gary Young, as far as the SCPR is concerned (assuming he would be willing to move into the city) is the person who should - on the merits of his qualifications and job performance as chief deputy auditor for Canton - have the job as treasurer.

Young is much more in tune with public service than self-service.

Perez as Canton treasurer?

Kim Perez is a likable guy, but to The Report he does not have the gravitas to be the head of such an important office.

Republican Alan Harold defeated him in the general election of 2010, the SCPR believes, because the Stark County electorate perceived that he did not do enough in the way of raising alarm bells on signals to him that, perhaps, all was not right in the Stark County treasurer's office.

To The Report, Perez was a public official, in terms of yours truly's perception of his demonstrated approaches to the management of the county auditor's office, who was not fully engaged enough in the particulars of the office to have clear sense of the significance of incongruities of data from the treasury that came into the auditor's office which cried out for deeper analysis and more persistent and vehement action than Perez took.

The gist of the preceding paragraph is that the Perez style of management seems to the SCPR to be a "don't rock the boat" approach.

Alan Harold couldn't be more different in style than Perez.

To The Report, Harold is an excellent blend of characteristics of leadership that are both attentive to the smooth functioning of an office and to standards of strict accountability as to how an office is operated. Moreover, he has shown that he is not afraid to go public in a noisy way when he thinks the circumstances justify same.

Gary Young, in the view of yours truly, would function more like Harold than Perez.

An alternative to Young (should he not be interested, which is likely) would be Ward 1 Canton City Councilman Greg Hawk. 

Hawk has done a very effective job of scrutinizing some of the poorly thought out financial schemes of the Healy administration.  So much so that it is widely thought that Healy has been behind an effort to make Hawk ex-Councilman Hawk in the form of finding an opponent for him.  And his courageous stand likely cost him the chairmanship of the Canton council's finance committee.

Hawk's weakness is that he has not worked in a government office (except for a brief stint the Massillon clerk of courts office) and therefore would have a steep learning curve in getting acclimated to the job.   He has run his own business but that is not like running a department of government.

In addition to his unimpressive demonstrated history of managing the Stark County auditor's office, yours truly thinks that Perez is way too enmeshed in Stark County Democratic Party "good ole boy" politics to be an attractive candidate for the Canton treasury post.

And, The Report hears, that he has the unflinching support of Canton master politician Mayor William J. Healy, II.

Added to Healy's support is that of the seemingly quintessentially politically dependent James (Jimmy) O. Babcock who seem.

Of course, that makes sense.

Babcock is one of, if not, the most reliable "'yes for anything Healy," on council.

With his outburst against yours truly last Monday,  he indicates that he has taken on a role of being a prime Perez proponent.

If Perez succeeds in becoming Schirak's successor, can we expect political supporter Jimmy Babcock to find his way into employment in the treasurer's office?

Canton, more than ever before, needs leadership that is based on merit; not based on political connections.

It would really be a break for Cantonians if Young were to be interested in the treasury job and someone like Stark County Democratic Party Chairman Randy Gonzalez would get behind him "doing the right thing" for citizens like he did in leading the Democrats to make Republican Alex Zumbar Stark County's treasurer.

This time he would be supporting an eminently qualified Democrat.

And there certainly would be no problem whatsoever for the non-politician Democrat being elected in overwhelmingly Democratic Canton.

One final note.

Babcock cannot be reading SCPR blogs very closely.

If he had been, he would know how utterly idiotic is was for him to think that chastising yours truly would in any way affect how the SCPR is written.

What is going through that man's mind?

(EXTENSIVE VIDEO COVERAGE) EXCITEMENT BUILDING IN CANTON? "THE YOUNG TURK" COUNCILMEN BOND WITH CITIZENS TO "TAKE CANTON BACK" FROM THE THUGS, DRUG DEALERS & NEIGHBORHOOD BLIGHT!

FINAL UPDATE:  NOON (VIDEO:  COUNCILMEN INTERACT WITH CITIZENS)

UPDATE:  9:43 AM (VIDEO:  CITIZEN REACTION TO COMBINED WARDS 5, 7, 8 AND 9 MEETING)

UPDATE:  9:13 AM (VIDEO OF COUNCILMEN PRESENTATION POSTED)

THE BACKGROUND

Perhaps it has not yet dawned on them, but as the Stark County Political Report sees it,  the councilmen of Wards 5, 7, 8 and 9 of Canton City Council (Morris, Mack, Mariol and Fisher, whom The Report has dubbed as being "the young turks") have ignited a community action partnership with their constituents, indeed with all Cantonians, to drive the thugs, drug dealers and neighborhood blight out of the once great city of Canton and to "take Canton back" and refashion it into what it ought to be:  "a healthy, vibrant city" and a healthy place for the 47% to raise and nurture productive families.

A terrific thing about America is its heritage and legacy of being "a land of opportunity" for those who will roll up their sleeves and embrace daunting tasks.

About 75 Cantonians showed up at Canton City Council chambers last night to engage in a dialogue with Fisher, Mack, Mariol and Morris.

And the conversation, the SCPR believes, is an igniting spark that will over time spread the notion that folks can solve their own problems by working in partnership with others (government, the private business sector and community builders) in a thought out plan of action to achieve identified goals.

The SCPR took about one and one half hours of video last night.

What follows is a summary - the "keys" that occurred (documented by the video presented below that The Report has compiled).

THE KEYS

• From Councilman Frank Morris (bio LINK), the ninth ward:
• Purpose of meeting - "bringing the communities together."
• "to bring you [the citizens] together to tell us [the councilpersons] what we are supposed to be doing."
•  "to deal with nuisance properties [within the city of Canton]" which are the underlying cause of 90% of the crime which occurs in Canton's neighborhoods,
• to identify solutions to curing the underlying conditions which foster crime in Canton's neighborhoods,
• Introduces the remaining three "young turks" (of the group of four newly elected council men [November, 2011] tabbed by the SCPR as "the young turks) as being the point persons to work with the citizens of Canton to find solutions to the city's crime fostering problems,
• From Councilman Kevin Fisher (bio LINK), the fifth ward:
• What has been done to solve the nuisance/vacant property problem which creates conditions for crime to thrive in?
• Passage of a "Foreclosed Vacant Housing Ordinance,
• the bank title holding entities "to foot the bill," for dealing with depressed properties; not the taxpayers,
• Working out the particulars of getting the law enforced,
• The formation of Canton's land bank designed to target abandoned, dilapidated properties to be torn down,
• Canton could get as much as $4.3 million from state of Ohio/Stark County funding mechanism to tear down Canton's blighted properties,
• Would translate into demolition of some 660 houses (which is more than is on the current demolition list) by the end of 2013 on the condition that Canton can come up with some "creative financing" (e.g. the issuance of a city bond) for its share of a required local match for land bank funds,
• The coming together of "the young turks." How this coalition of newly elected councilmen came about, and,
• Lastly, Fisher leads into the introduction of the question of:  What is next?
• From Councilman John Mariol, (bio LINK) the seventh ward:
• The consequences (in part) of blighted neighborhoods for Cantonians:
• a 29% average property value loss since 2006,
• which represents a $450 million equity loss to citizens,
• about 1,100 homes in Canton need to come down which means that about a total of $7 million to $11 million in funding is needed,
• A goal for Canton has to be to stabilize property values and, indeed, to reverse value decline so that property value increase,
• Ideas on accomplishing the goal?
• the proposed demolition program,
• a program to promote home ownership and get away from Canton being a top-heavy rental property community,
• Canton has a huge inventory of foreclosed homes that need to be put back in productive (maintained) use.  How to do that?
• a downpayment assistance program?
• grants/forgiveable loan program?
• From Councilman Edmond Mack (bio LINK), the eighth ward:
• What can Cantonians do in a partnership way with Canton government "to turn Canton around?"
• take ownership of vacant land (through the Canton/Stark County land bank and Stark County "Interested Purchaser Program,") formerly occupied by blighted properties to maintain them and to put them to productive and creative use,
• be the "eyes and ears" of Canton government in the sense of identifying properties in their neighborhoods which are occupied and in use which are not up to code so that Canton can apply its tough "property maintenance code" to create a paper trail which makes ultimate remediation of problem property doable on a faster time track

VIDEO OF THE YOUNG TURKS' CONSTITUENT PRESENTATION:



 CITIZEN/CONSTITUENT REACTION

Of course, it one thing to present and it is quite another to motivate.

The Report's sense of the aire and tone of the meeting was that the councilmen:

• in describing Canton's problems in terms of it being a dying city, 
• in detailing what they have already started as partial remedies to what ails the Hall of Fame city and in enlisting the participation of citizens in being part of the solution,

made significant inroad towards making everyday Cantonians believers that they working with Canton government can be difference makers in turning Canton around from being a city in free fall to one that is pulling itself up by the bootstraps and putting itself on a upwards trajectory.

Here is a video of interviews done by the SCPR immediately after the combined Wards 5, 7, 8 and 9 meeting with citizens and their reactions/expectation coming out of the meeting:



CITIZEN/COUNCIL INTERACTION

Next, the SCPR presents the full video of the back and forth between Councilmen Fisher, Mack, Mariol and Morris that occurred last night.

Somewhere in the video, Councilman Morris relates to the audience that when he, Fisher, Mack and Mariol first showed up in council as duly elected and sworn-in members, the first advice they got was to be low key, quiet, don't make waves and therefore get reelected.

Sort of like another relatively new and young Canton councilman, that is to say Councilman-at-Large Joe Cole (the SCPR's assessment; not Morris'), no?

Most importantly, Morris states flat-out that he and his three fellows "have a plan, a vision" that Canton has not had to pull the once august city out of the mire of decline into viability and even, perhaps, a once again greatness.

However, these councilmen understand that they cannot do it alone.  That the need everyday citizens to join with them to get all of Canton City Council on board a well thought out "for the good of the citizens - not the politicians" systematic plan of rehabilitation.

In this spirit, the four novice councilmen exchanged viewpoints with their constituents.

An important thing that SCPR readers should focus on in viewing this video is that these councilmen are listening, evaluating and are totally open to changing their viewpoints on what look the specific of the plan of revitalization should take on as Canton city government moves forward in implementing the plan.

Here is that video.  It is "a must see" for anyone who cares about and/or  wants to be a part of the rehabilitation of the once great city of Canton.

NORTH CANTON COUNCIL "BRINGING THE HAMMER DOWN" ON ALL ITS CITIZENS AS A PRETEXT FOR DEALING WITH ONE?

Austin Carr, a former basketball star at Notre Dame and later with the Cleveland Cavaliers, likes to say when a Cavalier slam-dunks the ball through the hoop that the Cav has "brought the hammer down!!!

One has to wonder whether or not former North Canton Councilman Chuck Osborne is feeling like he is experiencing having the hammer brought down on him these days as he continues his civic work as a citizen "check and balance" on the actions of North Canton City Council.

Last week, as reported in the SCPR (LINK), North Canton Council trotted out newly council appointed law director Tim Fox at their regular weekly meeting to administer, in the opinion of The Report, the first hammer blow to Osborne to drive home the point that council was on a path to rein him in.

Council president Jon Snyder went to great pains to emphasize to yours truly that Fox's lecture (The Report's interpretation of Fox's exercise) on the proper rules of decorum for the Public Speaks portion of regular North Canton Council meetings was directed at everyone (including council members) in attendance and was not directed at Osborne.

The SCPR was skeptical of Snyder's claim when made and there has been a development since the meeting of November 26th that heightens The Report's skepticism.

Apparently, some on North Canton Council got anew-exercised about chronic critic Osborne (going back at least 10 years) upon reading in area media that Canal Fulton had been sued by Canal Fulton community activist Michael Mouse for what he claims to have been violations of his person and rights (First Amendment) by certain Canal Fulton council, fire and police officials.

In hindsight, the SCPR is beginning to wonder whether or not council's run through a number of law directors in recent years doesn't have something to do (at least in-part) with former directors' seeming inability to aid them in developing legal strategies to mute Osborne's civic activism.

Like such is an appropriate goal for legislative councils in democratic America?

And, of course, the current director (Fox) has had first hand experience (from a council perspective) in having to deal with Osborne.

Having "shared in their pain," could it be that Fox has Osborne under special scrutiny all to the delight of council members?

Now to the additional development heightening the SCPR's skepticism of Snyder's claim.

On or about November 20th, Osborne sent out a "public records" request to various Stark County municipalities (including North Canton) like this one to Massillon:

To which Massillon responded thusly:

In Massillon, an administrative clerk for council responds and fulfills Osborne's request.

But North Canton?

Not so simple.

From North Canton, Osborne gets a response from Fox:

Hmm?

"[Does] not appear," "If you wish to restate your declaration into a request for reasonably identifiable records ... ."

Hmm?, again.

So Fox chooses to make "a federal case" out of a simple request for information?

Citizens can get on-file "written" records but not information that exists "electronic" form somewhere within the bowels of North Canton government?

How unimpressive that Fox would take the time to pen such a response (which, of course, is an "opportunity cost" to be doing other more productive work [in the opinion of yours truly] for the taxpayers of North Canton.

Hmm? a third time.

Osborne tells The Report that he will play the game with Fox and council and he will refashion his request to deal with Fox's obvious and marked effort to be difficult.  For Osborne there is nothing new about this technique.  He says it has been ongoing for years with various North Canton officials.

The SCPR has not known much about Tim Fox other than his published bio.

Having talked to him "off camera" (at his insistence) after the November 26th council meeting, The Report is getting the impression that he is imperious sort of guy.

In that conversation, he out-of-the-blue volunteered to yours truly:  "I am a tough person."

Wow!  What brought that on? A mirror-image of what yours truly has heard from at least one North Canton councilperson.  Interesting, no?  

And, to boot, such is a strange attitude for public officials who are, in our democratic system, to be open, accessible, transparent and communicative, no?

Fox went on describe his role for council as being a kind of shelter from having to take tough positions on dealing with citizens of North Canton in the context of talking about the rules for Public Speaks.

Councilpersons are elected officials and they have to walk a fine line between keeping order and decorum at public meetings on the one hand and not being brusque, perhaps even rude and insulting, on the other in enforcing rules of procedure.

The Report believes that Fox has gotten the idea from council members that a primary function for North Canton legal counsel is to be "the cop on the beat" and thereby help them avoid the messy business of managing democratic forums.

And The Report takes the position that if the "cop on the beat" assessment accurately portrays council's attitude; council is making a huge mistake in terms:

• of chilling the exercise by citizens of the U.S. Constitution First Amendment Right and, of course, 
• of placing roadblocks in the way of the  expectation that many in the public have that citizens will endeavor to become as informed as possible before taking civic action.

So what profit was there to the democratic integrity of North Canton governmental processes for Fox to be difficult with Osborne in his quest to be a fully informed decision?

Sorry, Council President Jon Sndyer, but the SCPR believes Fox is taking his cues from council and, accordingly, council is making Osborne (based on the recent evidence cited taken in the historical context of Osborne/law director/council relationships) a special case.

The Report further thinks that North Canton's using the Canal Fulton situation as a justification for reformulating the ground rules for public interaction with council is more pretext than squaring up with real concerns.

From the SCPR's perspective, there are few in any of the current lot of North Canton councilpersons who have or have had (for those who have been around for a while) the skills to deal with the likes of a Chuck Osborne.

While Daryl Revoldt was council president, he demonstrated that he was willing to engage/embrace the messiness of democratic institutions and managed to maintain control notwithstanding a number of run-ins with Osborne.

Shucks!  On one occasion he had Osborne removed from council chambers when he felt that he had gotten out-of-hand.  

Did he like having to do so?  Of course, not.  But was Osborne welcome back at the next meeting of council to participate in accordance with the rules administered judiciously and generously at the hand of the skilled former council president.

Revoldt was not interested in sacrificing our treasured right to redress grievances of government in the context of First Amendment expression because of a temporary disruption or discomfort.

It appears to the SCPR that North Canton Council is embarked on a course of action that is not consistent with America's democratic-republican values.  

It appears that council is trying to systematize procedures of democracy and thereby corral Osborne.

But democracy is person-to-person, citizen to government, and government bureaucratization of channels of communication stifle citizen participation and involvement.

There is no doubt to the SCPR that Citizen Osborne can be a proverbial "pain in the _ss."  But such is what one has to be at times when pursuing civic causes.

There is no doubt that council is smarting from Osborne having lucked on to an issue which resonated with the North Canton voting public.  By North Canton's initiative ordinance procedure, he convinced about 80% of voting North Cantonians at last month's general election that the taxpayers should not be paying (for future councils, being part-time) for members' health care benefits.

Now, from council's perspective, this is serious stuff.  

His citizen activism is getting into their pocketbooks.

Now they have to figure out a way to raise salaries ($4,800 per year) to offset the loss in benefits, no?

That could prove politically difficult to do.

So The Report believes that what appears to be "bringing the hammer down" could well be grounded in some comeuppance.

The Report has gone round and round with Osborne a number few times.  In fact, he has been the subject of several critical blogs.  But it never occurs to yours truly that he should be discouraged in his civic pursuits.

While the SCPR has and will continue to take exception to Osborne (like yours truly does with nearly everyone (at one time or another) in the course of writing this political blog, Chuck Osborne and all his ilk make a very important contributions to the health and well-being of our democratic institutions.

Accordingly, North Canton Council needs to in the name of promoting democratic values to back off of what seems to the SCPR to be a resurgent "bring the hammer down" mentality.

(A "DO NOT MISS" VIDEO) CANTON SERVICE DIRECTOR "TO MAKE A POINT" DRINKS RUST COLORED DRINKING WATER THAT CAME OUT OF A 41ST STREET CANTON HOME SPIGOT!

For the nearly five years that yours truly has published the Stark County Political Report, the "unexpected" has become the "expected."

Back on September, 2010, the SCPR camera captured Minerva Councilman Phil Davison going bananas for the Republican Party in his presentation to the Stark GOP executive committee in his quest to become the party's nominee to replace the-then former Stark County Treasurer Gary Zeigler (whom the Ohio Supreme Court found later to have been unconstitutionally removed from office by the sitting Stark County commissioners).

As we all know, that video when "viral" on the Internet.

Being the "committed to a free press" organization it is, the Stark GOP (through sending an emissary to the SCPR, yours truly believes) tried to get the Davison video suppressed (fat chance of that happening) and then later "banned" the SCPR from bring the SCPR camera to local party "public" events.

But here the question is:  whether or not the SCPR captured another video worthy of going viral?

Perhaps.

Last night at Canton City Council, Councilwoman Mary Cirelli brought to the attention of Canton Service Director and Chief of Staff Warren Price a incident in which she experienced what many of us would think to be at least in a cosmetic sense "undrinkable water."

Here is a video of Cirelli's description of how she came on her "undrinkable water" find:



Inasmuch as Canton Water Department Superintendent Tyler Converse was not present at the meeting, Councilwoman Cirelli (who brought a bottle of the discolored water with her to the council meeting) asked Price to bring the issue of Canton's water quality to Converse's attention and, to boot, to pass on the bottle of water to him.

Not only did Price promise to do so, he one-upped what Cirelli requested and to everyone's astonishment took a swig of the unappetizing water.

Here is that "do not miss" video:



To his credit, Price in addition to engaging in some "tasteful" humor in dealing with Cirelli's concern went beyond the fact of the "discolored water" to explain in a thumbnail fashion Canton's relatively long history of having been plagued by discolored but drinkable water and what he plans to do in remediating the problem with a "real" fix.

As Price explains in "the rest of the story" included this blog at the end, this problem has been around decades in Canton in various pockets of the city.

What would be done in the past (this is a classic example of how governments do not "really" fix problems, they apply band-aids), is for city workers to flush lines periodically which, of course, would clear up the water for temporary periods of time.

Well, this "band-aid approach" to fixing problems is costly and in the winter time was not doable because the flushed water would freeze and present safety hazards to those driving through affected neighborhoods.

For the SCPR's part, Warren Price may be the most conscientious and thorough (in terms of finding real solutions) of all of Canton's appointed city officials.

It is a guy like Price and a few others in the Healy administration that enables Canton to get by.

He is not the consummate politician that his boss is.

While he may not have the charisma that Healy has, Price strikes the SCPR as a "blue-collar" sort of guy who does not try to mesmerize one with "splash-and-dash" style that Mr. Cosmopolitan Mayor Healy embraces but who merely gets the job done and done in a competent, realistic, and thorough manner.

On thinking about it, Price should have been on the SCPR's Thanksgiving Day list of local officials to be thankful for, a status that Price seems deserving of.

And, Mayor Healy, should daily thank Price and the few others in his administration for a job well done and thereby keep Hizzonher's head above - can I say it? - water.

Oh! that a guy like Warren Price were mayor of Canton rather than William J. Healy, II.

For those readers who care about a public official owning up to a problem and going about fashioning a realistic remedy, here is the "rest of the story" on Canton's discolored water problem:

STARK COUNTY STAGNATES BECAUSE WE HAVE NO "BULLY PULPIT" LEADERS?

Has President Barack Obama finally figured it out?

Perhaps?

If he is going to get his "it" (raising taxes on the richest 2% of Americans, while maintaining current tax rates for the middle class), he going to have to do something other than negotiate with "the Beltway politicians."

Because he emphasized this issue above all others in his recent win over Mitt Romney, he believes he has a mandate from the American voters to get his campaign's main issue enacted into law.

But he knows that the legislative politicos in Washington are highly skilled and adept at taking a matter with the clear support of the American people and remaking it unrecognizable or filibustering it out of existence.

So, the president is back out on the campaign trail pushing for manifested public support directed at Congress to move it towards passing his tax increase/expenditure plan as he has proposed it.

Last Friday, Obama showed up a Pennsylvania toy factory apparently continuing his campaign to rally supportive Americans to inundate Congress with telephone calls, faxes, face-to-faces in support of the president's proposal.

The president is practicing "the art of the bully pulpit:"  

A bully pulpit is a position sufficiently conspicuous to provide an opportunity to speak out and be listened to.

This term was coined by President Theodore Roosevelt, who referred to the White House as a "bully pulpit", by which he meant a terrific platform from which to advocate an agenda.  (Wikipedia)

At the presidential level of politics and government, the art has a history.

But, by and large, not at the local government.

At the state level, how can one forget Governor James Rhodes and his constant preaching that his agenda was "jobs and progress."

As one who lived through the Rhodes administrations, it seems that practically every time he gave a speech or was interviewed, in one way, shape or form, he worked in his "jobs and progress" theme in his back and forth with the Ohio people.

But he has been the only one at the state level that yours truly can recall as having employed a form of "the bully pulpit."

At the Stark County level the SCPR cannot give any example of a local politician or public figure who has the charisma and drive vis-a-vis the people to attain being a compelling voice that people listen to.

The closest The Report can come to anything resembling a bully pulpit-esque crusade is the 20 year or so effort by Jackson Township fiscal officer Randy Gonzalez to get a "state of the art" 9-1-1 emergency call/dispatch program up-and-running in Stark County.

After years of evangelizing for an improved 9-1-1 (which a September 25, 2007 Stark County Council of Governments' commissioned report termed as "broken) in 2008, it appeared that Gonzalez had caught a break.

As it turns out ill-advisedly, in 2008 a (the-then) commissioner Todd Bosley (a surprising victor over incumbent commissioner Richard Regula in 2006) figured that picking up on rehabbing 9-1-1 was his path to Stark County political stardom and a future that seemingly would have no limits.

He got behind a plan to fund a 9-1-1 in which he convinced his fellow commissioners Tom Harmon and Jane Vignos "to impose" a 0.5% sales tax on Stark Countians which these commissioners  approved on December 30, 2008.

It was like manna from heaven for the long-suffering 9-1-1 advocate Gonzalez.

But as we know now, the "imposed" part of the financing of the 9-1-1 was not a smart idea inasmuch as less than a year later (the November election, 2009) Stark County voters overwhelmingly rejected having the tax imposed.

As a consequence of the ill-fated Bosley drive to get money for improving 9-1-1 (the tax also included monies for the Stark County general fund, a fact that was not emphasized by Bosley et al), Gonzalez was closer to realizing his dream that one day Stark County will in fact have "a state-of-the-art" 9-1-1 system.

His major barrier these days towards achieving his 9-1-1 goal is Stark County's premier political bully, namely, Mayor William J. Healy, II of Canton.

To his credit, Gonzalez is sticking to his advocacy and in doing so has achieved, in the view of the SCPR, a glimmer of approximating using the "bully pulpit effect" to achieve his objective.

But emphasize "glimmer."

Gonzalez as head of the Stark County Democratic Party primarily works in "out-of-the-public-view" circles.

He only achieve shades of the "bully pulpit effect" because as a political figure he does not capture the imagination of the Stark County public.

Day-in, day-out citizens getting activated, motivated, and besieging elected officials are the key ingredient to compelling the politicos to do what they are not otherwise disposed to do.

They are not his constituents.

His support, to the extent he has any, comes from a smattering of elected  Democrats and those public officials/employees across Stark County who believe in his project largely out of self interest (i.e. police, fire and EMS types).

Bosley could possibly have been that "persuade the public voice,"  but he had the fatal political flaw being seen as more a manipulator of the people for his personal political interests rather than being perceived as "a man of the people" genuinely looking out for the well-being and interests of Stark Countians.

Stark County really does not have any elected official or other public figure that commands the attention of the electorate.

We have no E.F. Hutton that everyone listens to.

The SCPR believes that if the county is to emerge from doldrums and oblivion that it currently rests in (the 2011 sales tax increase is just a "treading" financial water measure), someone is going to have:

• to emerge who has:
• good ideas,
• effective communication skills (i.e. ability to use "bully pulpit" skills), and
• projects an authentic, genuine concern for everyday Stark Countians,
• to advance a worthy cause (e.g. a comprehensive economic development plan) that captures the imagination of electorate.

Will that person please step forward with a cause for the betterment of Stark County?

THE HEALY ADMINISTRATION'S (TOM WEST) "REDFLEX" TRAFFIC CAMERAS REQUEST IS HEADED TO THE "DEAD LETTER" FILE AT CANTON CITY COUNCIL?

MAYOR HEALY IS BACK ON TRAFFIC CAMERAS

On September 17, 2012, Mayor William J. Healy, II of Canton seemed to suffered a fatal blow to his hopes to bring Redflex traffic cameras to downtown Canton.

The SCPR wrote on the 18th (LINK) "[l]ast night's council action was an outright defeat for the mayor." 

But was it?  Is this 3rd try at Redflex headed to the "dead letter office?"

In a nightmarish, Freddie Krueger-esque fashion - "I'm back" - Hizzhoner, through the offices of Ward Two Councilman Tom West, has returned to trying to get Redflex traffic cameras installed at select downtown intersections (e.g. Market Avenue, North and 12th) as a "pilot project."

Call it getting "a foot in the door," "a trojan horse," or whatever but Healy is proving again that he a "never-say-die" politician.

And somehow he is consistently able to maintain a group of loyalists at his side to keep him politically alive.  In this instance, witness his hold on Councilpersons West, Smith (Ward 4), Dougherty (Ward 6), Babcock (at-large) and Cole (at-large).

In the long run, knowing this mayor and how pugnacious he is; he never, ever is going to give up on any issue.  Even if it is clear that most Cantonians do not want what he is offering up.  That's how much ego this man is consumed with.

EXAMPLES OF HEALY WORK-AROUNDS

When it became apparent that his plan to interest oil/gas drillers into fracking (a controversy to a number of citizens and councilpersons) on Canton owned lands was not going to make it through council, he withdrew it and went back to the drawing board.

Mark the SCPR's word; in time Healy will be back.  His ego simply will not allow him to be bested by anyone.

When it became apparent in August of this year that Healy's plan to dismantle the "independent" Canton Board of Park Commissioners (which has be around for nearly 100 years) was not going over with council and many in the electorate, he withdrew the proposal.  (Reference:  see Canton to seek levy for parks, Ed Balint, The Repository, November 28, 2012)

End of story?

Not on your life!  Not with the "my way or the highway" Healy!!

It appears that he now has commandeered the Canton Recreational Services Coalition (CRSC) which was started about two years ago considering ways and means to possibly merge the Canton Parks and the Canton Joint Recreational District.

Commandeered?

The SCPR thinks so.

He has his main man administrative assistant Derek Gordon serving as "interim assistant park director" and Healy himself has led the discussion with the CRSC (undoubtedly made up of those committed to doing his bidding) to get it to promote putting a levy on at next May's primary election towards getting funding together to provide the finances for his outflank council move.

The eventual goal:  merge the recreation and park functions of Canton into an entity controlled by the mayor of Canton.

And for anyone who knows Healy, it would be a big mistake to count him out on reaching his goal.

This guy is a political Houdini who has demonstrated that "a cat with nine lives" has nothing over him.

WILL HE BE SUCCESSFUL ON THE TRAFFIC CAMERAS?

No, if you believe Ward 5 Councilman Kevin Fisher's take on the matter.

Here is what Fisher had to say to a SCPR inquiry about West's effort as specifically whether or not the 7 to 5 "no" will hold this coming Monday's council meeting.

Martin,

I have every confidence that the Redflex contract will be defeated by the 7 to 5 margin, if not by a wider one. Despite the rebranding of the contract as a "Pilot Program", this is the same vote that was held a mere couple of months ago and in my frequent discussions with my colleagues on city council, I have seen zero indications that anyone has flip flopped on the issue since then.

I did not attend the sales pitch given by Reflex Tuesday evening. As I said when I was invited, that my presence would merely be a waste of my and everyone else's time. I am absolutely opposed to red light/speed cameras at every level and there is no sales pitch that Redflex could make to overcome my constitutional and philosophical objections. Furthermore, I do not feel that Redflex as a company is the type of vendor that Canton should consider doing business with (see their long history of suing their municipal "partners") even if I did not hold such objections.

The people of Canton are absolutely opposed to these cameras and recognize them as nothing more than a "cash grab" and their council has rejected them twice in 3 years. I look forward to voting against them again and putting this issue to bed for good. I think 3 "bites at the apple" are plenty for the proponents of Redflex and once we reject them for the third time, we should consider the topic dead.

... 

Kevin Fisher

As The Report has written before, this council with the new "four young turks" (and yes, Frank Morris, you are young) as newly elected members being on board; Healy ought to be getting used to the new reality that his slick moves are losing their teflon qualities with the growing discernment that increasing numbers of councilpersons are demonstrating.

It has been talked for some time now that Healy is tiring of the mounting rancor he faces from week to week in the hubbub of Canton politics and governance and is looking to move on to a venue more fitting of a man of his political talents.

In a direct question put to him by the SCPR on his looking to move on, he has not denied that he is indeed surveying the field of possibilities.

While The Report thinks he has the "cloak and dagger" political skills and other oily qualities needed to succeed at a higher level, yours truly thinks it would be a mistake for voters to carry him to a higher level.

Why, you ask?

Though many of the folks who staff elective offices across Ohio and the nation are not Sunday School teacher types, it seems to The Report that Mayor Healy is over-the-top in terms of his ego and Canton government and politics should be his last stop on the political trail.

The nightmares "for the people" need to stop!!!

CONFIRMED? CATAZARO-PERRY A FIGUREHEAD MAYOR?

There are some mayors of cities that roll up their sleeves and get to work on tackling the city's problems and there are others who take the job as more a ceremonial-esque job and leave the tough day-to-day governing to others.

The SCPR has written prolifically since before the Democratic Primary election of March, 2011 that, if elected, Kathy Catazaro-Perry, challenger to longtime Massillon Mayor Frank Cicchinelli would be the mayor of Massillon in name only and that she would leave the governing in a de facto sense to the likes of Massillon Clerk of Courts Johnnie A. Maier, Jr. (JAM forces).

But maybe she would be a fooler?

Doesn't appear so.

Indications are that she shines up to being a "spit and polish" chief executive who likes to get into the limelight cheering on Massillon with her "City of Champions" public relations forte.

Whether it's appearing in front of the Duncan Plaza complex (the home of Massillon City Government) in a photo-op pose on the front page of the local newspaper or making a celebrity appearance on a charity-fundraising-event (Dancing with the Stars - for the benefit of the Canton Palace Theater), it seems as if madam-mayor has cottoned up to being "the face of the administration."

And, perhaps, this is the role that Massillonians should accept for her.

From what the SCPR has seen of her substantive side of being mayor, the day-to-day roustabout of governance is not her cup of tea.

She has been bounced around like a volleyball by Massillon City Council when she wades into the politics of governing Massillon.

A prime example is her effort to raise desperately needed revenues for Tigerland in view of the draconian cuts in state of Ohio funding (i.e. local government funding, elimination of the estate tax, and the like) that Massillon like nearly all other Ohio local government entities are experiencing at the hand of the Ohio General Assembly at the direction of Governor John Kasich.

She has made several attempts to get a reduction in the credit that Massillon allows its residents who work outside the city and may taxes to other communities.

But she has been unable to get to first base on her initiative.

Her initiative?

Okay.  Point well-made.  Likely not.  More likely the idea of Massillon auditor Jayne Ferrero or perhaps the Karl Rove of Massillon Democratic politics Shane Jackson:

• who is the politically well connected acolyte of Clerk Maier and others who run the Stark County Democratic Party, and
• who one would think likes to be thought as the person who engineered the election of election of Catazaro-Perry.

Yesterday, the SCPR was told, as an ongoing confirmation, by a reliable Massillon source that Mayor Catazaro-Perry is seldom seen out of the company of either George Maier (her safety-services director), or his brother Johnnie or Shane or one of the other of a collection of minders who comprise the Johnnie A. Maier, Jr wing of the Massillon Democratic Party.

All of which brings to mind the goings-on at the Massillon Parks and Recreation Board (Board) these days which The Report thinks shows how unreliable having the support of Catazaro-Perry is when her "behind the scenes people" think you have served your useful purpose and now are a liability.

Recently, the Board fired Bob Straughn as Parks and Recreation Director.

And talk about getting "thrown under the bus?"

Here is an excerpt from The Massillon Independent's Matt Rink (Rec Board mum on Straughn firing, 11/23/2012):  (the Maier reference is to Safety-Services Director George Maier)

Mind you, Straughn is perceived by a number of Massillon political figures to have been a longtime supporter of Catazaro-Perry and the Johnnie A. Maier, Jr-led Massillon Democratic Party machine.  He (as the Catazaro-Perry representative) coordinated the handover of power from the Cicchinelli administration about one year ago to this very day.

The SCPR can tell you from personal experience that in the world of politics once one has lost his/her political usefulness to the likes of a Johnnie A. Maier, Jr, it is like instant "I never knew you."

It appears like that is what has happened to Straughn.

The Report doubts that Catazaro-Perry had any part in the calculation.

While she will undoubtedly say and do as told by the JAM forces, The Report believes that she probably dislikes soiling her hands with the messiness of politics.

No, she'd rather be out in front of Duncan Plaza spitting on her political shoes and thereby polishing up her image as the First Lady of the City of Massillon:  "the City of Champions!"