COUNCILMAN FRANK MORRIS ON CANTON PARKS REORGANIZATION:

CANTON PARK COMMISSION RESPONSE?

VIDEOS

PARK COMMISSIONER

PRESIDENT ANDY BLACK

MAKES CASE

FOR

PARK COMMISSION MODEL

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

PARK COMMISSION BOARD

ON CREATING A

MEANINGFUL ADVISORY BOARD

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PARK COMMISSION BOARD

ON

MORRIS' "GO BIG OR GO HOME"

&

WHY LEVY SHOULD BE FOR 5 MILLS

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COMPLETE DISCUSSION

ON

STRUCTURE/FINANCE OF

PARK REORGANIZATION

At Monday evening's Canton City Council Committee of the Whole work session, Canton Parks and Recreation director Derek Gordon presented a range of management models and funding models for the soon to be reconfigured parks and recreation system.

Right now the system is split in two.

Canton's parks are managed (in an overall sense, not "day-to-day" which of course is Director Gordon's job) by a Park Commission which was put into existence by Canton voters in 1920.

In 2013, Cantonians voted to fund the city's parks at 4 mills as a prelude to the reorganization which is projected to take hold on or about January 1, 2017.

Canton's recreation system is managed (again, in an overall sense) by a body named the Canton Joint Recreation District (CJRD).

Back in 2014 when reorganization of Canton's parks and recreation facilities and activities became a "hot button issue" in the wake of Canton voters having approved in November, 2013 the 4 mill levy (referenced above) which was the first step in Canton mayor William J. Healy's desire to reorganize parks and recreation functions for Canton; a challenge to the reorganization was mounted by an attorney connected with the provision of legal services to the CJRD (LINK).

There are those who think that former CJRD president Eric Resnick was in the thick of being a part of the challenge.  And there was a controversy as to whether or not Resnick was entitled to serve on the CJRD itself inasmuch as his term on the Canton City Schools (CCS-BOE; which he was an appointee of) had expired on December 31, 2013.

Resnick has been replaced on the CJRD by CCS-BOE member Ida Ross-Freeman.

With J.R. Rinaldi replacing Resnick as president, it seems that a much more conciliatory relationship between the Canton Park Commission and the CJRD has taken hold which portends and meshing of the two organizations on a more or less amicable basis.

• SCPR Note:  Rinaldi and Resnick appear to be bitter political enemies in that they ran against each other in November, 2013 for a seat on the CCS-BOE with Rinaldi coming out the victor.
• However, the "never say die" Resnick has taken out petitions to run once again for a CCS-BOE seat.
• Resnick was at the center of a controversy earlier this year over the merger (he prefers the term "takeover") of Timken High School under the banner of McKinley High School which was part of a three phase Brighter Tomorrow project of the CCS Board of Education and being pushed by Superintendent Adrian Allison.

Resnick has taken out a petition to run again for school board (not for Rinaldi's seat).

Betcha John Rinaldi is cheering for Eric, no?

Anyway, with Resnick out-of-picture for now,  it appears not IF the CJRD will blend into the Canton Park Commission but rather WHEN and HOW and the amount (in terms of millage) officials will ask Cantonians to approve in November, 2015 and, if it fails, in November, 2016.

It will be interesting to see whether or not Resnick becomes a leader to defeat the funding initiative and thereby stop the merger, no?

Putting that question aside, the focus now is the model of the reorganization and how much Cantonians will be asked to fund the new entity with.

Yesterday the SCPR attended the April meeting of the Canton Park Commission (Commission) and is making available at the end of this blog the entire videotaped discussion among board members on those issues.

The Commission voted yesterday to recommend to Canton City Council (which has the final say on how the merger will be structured and financed), to wit:

• that the current Park Commission model be the framework of the reorganization,
• that it be funded at 5 mills (on the City of Canton tax base), and 
• expressed a desire that the newly constituted entity would embrace a total community encompassing citizens advisory board that has meaningful input into Park Commission board decisions, and
• expressed a desire that a strong connection be formed/maintained with the Canton City Schools and the Plain Local School District inasmuch city of Canton students utilize both school systems,

President Andy Black effectively articulated reasons that the SCPR agrees with as being persuasive factors compelling the Park Board Commission model as the one that Canton City Council ought to adopt.



On having a citizens advisory board as part of a Park Commission new entity model, here is the discussion from yesterday's meeting:



As seen in the video below, there was some contention about the amount of the millage.

Park Board Commissioner member and president Black references Canton City Council vice president and majority leader Frank Morris, Ill's comment - in response to Gordon's city council presentation:  "Go BIG, or go home!" comment.

And, trying to avoid being an advocate for higher millage, Director Gordon did point out to members Andy Black, Wuyanbu Zutali and Drew Pelger that 5 mills on the City of Canton tax base will not financially sustain Canton's parks and recreation functions and that if 5 mills is the ultimate millage presented to voters and they approve same such would necessitate cuts to a parks and recreation system that is already substantially undermanned when compared to government entities across the nation that provide parks and recreation services.



One possibility discussed to try to make a Parks Commission 5 mill model work was that cuts in annual funding to the J. Babe Stern Center and the Southeast Community Center would have to be made.

The extract below shows the numbers that will work going through 2021 on the basis of a 5.5 mill levy on the Canton city tax base.

A 5 mill levy is projected to put a Park Commission model entity at a $3.75 million deficit by 2021 if no cuts are made.

A CJRD model 5 mill levy is projected to keep Canton's park and recreation not only solvent but indications are that there would be nearly a $875,000 carryover going into 2022.

There is no doubt to the SCPR that cuts to the Stern Center (located in Ward 5) would be vehemently opposed by Ward 5 councilman Kevin Fisher not only because the center sits in his ward but because he used the center's facility during his growing up years in Canton and knows firsthand the value of the center in providing wholesome activities for the youth of Canton.

So one can see Fisher joining Morris to ramp up the proposed Park Commission Board recommendation to at least 5.5 mills which Gordon says will keep operations on an even keel through 2021.

On the other hand there is Councilman Edmond Mack (Ward 8).

While he clearly wants the best for Canton's parks and recreation needs, he is also mindful that the burden of property taxation is on properties in Canton's most wealthy section of the section, that, of course, being Ward 8.

While Mack, Fisher, Mariol (Ward 7) and Morris (Ward 9) are in agreement on many issues facing city council, the millage issue might be an example of differences which they have with one another from time-to-time.

Yesterday's Park Commission Board action was primarily designed to give the go ahead for Canton's law department to go to work in fashioning properly worded legal documents for the accomplishment of parks and recreation reorganization and to ensure that whatever millage is asked of Canton's voters will stand a test of judicial scrutiny if challenged by opponents of a merger of the CJRD into the Park Commission.

For the SCPR's part, yours truly finds the Morris admonition appealing:  that is to say "Go BIG, or go home!"

Perhaps rather than BIG, the mantra should be "bigger than 5.0 mills."

The Report sees a fully funded and therefore vibrant parks and recreation function as being a vital part of the upcoming Canton Citywide Plan which has the potential to hold Canton's population stable and perhaps be a lure for young families to take advantage of some very good home purchase values on the condition that city officials can:

• get a grip on Canton's continuing crime problems,
• devise a long term plan to replace the substructure of Canton's streets and highways so that repaving is no longer like pouring money down a rat hole, and
• bring living wage jobs to Canton so that new generations will "work and live" within the city

Being a city councilman in an American city these days can be an overwhelming task.
 
That is why voters have to learn to be very selective in determining who constitutes having those qualities that will enable a body such as Canton City Council to cope with the overwhelmingness and over time turn despair into, to borrow the CCS expression,:  "A Brighter Tomorrow!"

Here is the SCPR's video (about 35 minutes) of the complete discussion that the Park Commission Board had at its regular monthly meeting this past Wednesday:

FUZZY PLAN CAUSES REJECTION OF MASSILLON RESTORATION PLAN!

VIDEOS

REACTING TO REJECTION

COUNCILMAN PAUL MANSON

COUNCILMAN ED LEWIS, IV

CHAIRMAN HANRAHAN'S TAKE AWAY

COMPLETE VIDEO

OF

ENTIRE MEETING

Today's blog has on the lead graphic above "mud" (source) superimposed on the SCPR group photo as an oval center in the rectangular space between four tables set up for yesterday's Massillon Financial Planning and Supervision Commission (MFP&SC, Commission) "special meeting" that had as its assignment to either accept or reject a Massillon City Council submitted Financial Restoration Plan (FRP, Plan).

Massillon's need to come up with a FRP arose, the SCPR thinks, because of a Mayor Kathy Catazaro-Perry politically motivated (going back to December, 2011 though elected but not yet sworn-in as mayor) insistence that Ohio state government place Massillon into fiscal emergency.

MAYOR CATAZARO-PERRY
COMMISSION MEMBER
ELAINE CAMPBELL

She finally got her way and thereby, The Report thinks, unnecessarily humiliated Massillon government nearly two years later (October 9, 2013) when State of Ohio Auditor David Yost placed Massillon in fiscal emergency on the flimsiest of grounds, to wit:

And here is some more background so that Massillonians fully understand what the SCPR believes their mayor and her genius "Kitchen Cabinet" advisers (Johnnie A. Maier, Jr, Shane Jackson and Eddie Elum)  has put this proud city through.

From a prior blog:

As it turns out, the State uses six criteria to determine whether or not a city is in fiscal crisis.  And Massillon barely fit into one of the six on State of Ohio Auditor Steve Yost acceding to the Catazaro-Perry wish. 

The placement of Massillon in fiscal emergency is one of the key battlegrounds in which the mayor and council have battled. 

Because Massillon is in fiscal emergency, the mayor and council need to agree on a "restoration" plan or face 15% across-the-board cuts to all departments of Massillon government.
Catazaro-Perry (grudgingly) and council recently formulated a second restoration plan after the first (also agreed to after much acrimony between the mayor and council) failed in November, 2014 with the overwhelming defeat of an income tax increase among other measures.

The second council FRP formulation of March 18th of this year and submitted by the mayor on the following day to the MFP&SC lacked clarity; that is to say it was not specific enough due, in part, to clerical errors and therefore confusing.

The Commission did the right thing in voting unanimously yesterday to reject the Plan.

Taking the lead in identifying the blurriness of the Plan was Commission chairman and Massillon Cable TV president Bob Gessner.

BOB GESSNER
PRESIDENT
MASSILLON CABLE TV

The SCPR is impressed with Gessner's quick grasp of the confusion that was inherent in the joint plan (joint because the mayor "reluctantly" signed on to council's plan) documents submitted by the mayor to the Commission.

Gessner is clearly the lead assessor from among all the Commission members and appeared to be donning a statesman-like attitude in yesterday's meeting.

Being the skeptic that the SCPR is on nearly all things Catazaro-Perry, Maier, Jr., Jackson and Elum, The Report wonders whether or not the Administration has known since the 19th all about the somewhat confusing condition of the submitted documents and was content to sit back and watch council be embarrassed.

Four members of council were present at yesterday's meeting; namely, Councilpersons Manson, Halter, Lewis and Del Rio-Keller.

COUNCILPERSONS
LEWIS
MANSON
TOWNSEND
HALTER

Also present, of course, was Commission member former Ward 4 councilman Tony Townsend who The Report views as a Catazaro-Perry apologist.

And the SCPR is impressed with Commission chair Sharon Hanrahan of the State of Ohio Office of Budget and Management Commission.

She kept the meeting moving and civil and did not let it devolve into hostility towards council which The Report is told marked previous Commission meetings in varying degrees.

A major factor that could have led to yesterday's "confusion" problems may have been in large part be owing to the compressed time frame (about 10 days) that council had within which to put the second plan together.

If the SCPR understands the abbreviated timeline within which (about 10 days) council had to obtain due diligence type information from the Administration needed to analyze the mayor's plan or to put together a council's own plan, it appears understandable that errors would crop into the process.

The Administration used most of the 30 day time period allotted for the formation of a plan agreed upon by council and the mayor as a condition precedent to the MFP&SC taking the matter up on an up or down vote.

As far as the SCPR is concerned, Mayor Kathy is to blame for creating conditions that led to yesterday's rejection.

As Councilman Paul Manson said in a SCPR post-meeting interview "haste makes waste."



Manson played the role of a gentleman in not landing on the mayor for putting council "under the gun."  It was abundantly clear in council's March 11th work session that it was scrambling to cobble together its own plan which was in effect of the mayor's real property tax increase plan.

Again, being the skeptic the SCPR is prone to be of the good faith of the mayor, The Report tends to believe that the delay in providing council with critical data as being a political calculus designed to put council in a time crunch and thereby pressure council to throw up their hands in frustration and be left with no alternative but to accept the mayor's plan.

Well, council showed its mettle in not caving into the Administration generated compacted time span. But in doing so, it probably disserved itself in the public relations that seems to be part of a political game the mayor is playing on Massillon government finances.

If such is the mayor's gameplan, council is to be credited under the bipartisan leadership of Councilmen Manson (a Democrat) and Ed Lewis (a Republican) in persisting in due diligence deliberation and coming up with an alternative to the mayor's plan.

However, in allowing itself to be boxed in by the mayor timeline wise, yesterday was a PR coup for the mayor.

Yesterday's rejection is only temporary and council will fix things rather easily and quickly as articulated upon by Councilman Lewis in the following SCPR post-meeting interview.



But one can only imagine the chortling that is going on between the mayor and her political loyalists.

The Report has learned that the mayor's plan had its own defect which is interesting in view of the Administration taking the lion's share of the time available before the deadline for submitting a plan to the Commission.

The called for a property tax of 1.5 mills to be voted on in February of 2016.

The Report is told that Ohio law does not allow property taxi issues to be voted on in "special elections" and, if it did, the cost to Massillon would have been $15,000.

While $15,000 isn't a huge amount, every single dollar counts for a city said by the mayor to have been in need of being placed in fiscal emergency, no?

Chairman Hanrahan distinguished herself with her leadership of the Commission yesterday in keeping the discussion civil and in setting the time for councils' rework of its plan for Commission consideration on May 19th.

The chairman yesterday and has had over the course of Commission meetings had to walk a very fine line between the battling branches of Massillon city government.

She impressively has functioned as "quite the diplomat" and is slowly but surely inching Massillon government to a "all on the same page" solution to what the SCPR thinks from the very beginning has been nothing other than a cash flow problem.

Here is a SCPR interview on her assessment on how yesterday's meeting went.



Her bosses in Columbus should be pleased with her leadership.

The bottom line for all this with the SCPR is that as long as Catazaro-Perry is mayor and her confidant Johnnie A. Maier, Jr. is clerk of courts in Massillon, it is hard see Tigerland in any mode other than a political turmoil.

And The Report thinks that both could be around as Massillon elected officials for the forseeable future.

The political drama that the likes of Catazaro-Perry and Maier, Jr. foster is good for The Stark County Political Report but it is absolutely gut-wrenching for the good citizens of Massillon!

Here is the full video of yesterday's Massillon Financial Planning and Supervision Commission.

This video is about 55 minutes long.

HART TO SCPR - "I'M CONSIDERING RUNNING FOR MAYOR IN NOVEMBER"

Just days after The Stark County Political Report selected "independent" councilman-at-large Richard Hart (formerly a Republican ward councilman years ago) as #6 on the SCPR Stark County Political Subdivision "Top 10 List," yours truly was surprised to learn at last night's council meeting that Hart is considering another run for mayor on November 3rd.

While not counting Canton city treasurer Kim Perez out, The Report thinks it is likely that Mayor Healy survives Perez's Democratic Party challenge on May 5th and BUT FOR a Hart candidacy would be uncontested in November.

The Report is surprised but not shocked that Hart is considering another mayoralty try.

Of late, Hart had been telling the SCPR that he likely would be filing by the 4:00 p.m. Stark Board of Elections deadline of May 4th (the day before the primary election) for reelection as councilman-at-large.

However, The Report has noted Hart's dissatisfaction with Healy's leadership of Canton in recent interviews including this one following the mayor's State of the City address of March 18th.



Yours truly always welcomes political competition but sees a Hart mayoralty candidacy against either Healy or Perez as a doomed effort in a city in which Democrats hold a 9 to 1 registration majority over Republicans.

Hold on Martin!  Hart is not a Republican.  And as in many of not most American electorates these days "independents' or if you will "non-partisans" generally outnumber both Democrats and Republicans.

So wouldn't that factor bode well for Hart in November's general election?

The SCPR thinks not.

The Report thinks that most registered "independents" or "nonpartisans" are closet Democrats or Republicans in that they generally do not vote in political party primary elections.

And Republicans, as scarce as they are in Canton, will be motivated to show up in force given the hotly contested judicial race that is in the offing for the Canton Municipal Court which be a Curtis Werren (the Republican) versus Democrat Kristen Guardado who the SCPR thinks is the likely nominee coming out of the Democratic Primary between Guardado and Angela Alexander.

Of course, the Canton Municipal Court District comprises of much more than the city of Canton.

Hart is likely to do well with the few Canton Republicans that make up the city's electorate (even if they vote in high percentages) despite the hostility that it appears that Board of Elections director and Stark County GOP chairman Jeff Matthews has towards him.

And he might do pretty well among "independents" and "non-partisans," but many of the latter will not be voting in an "off-year" (i.e. non-presidential; non-gubernatorial election year).

To repeat, as much as the SCPR would like to see either Healy or Perez have political competition in November, Hart as the competitor as a much better chance to be reelected councilman-at-large.

And as The Report sees the likely field of candidates, only Bill Smuckler has qualities that make for an effective legislator.

Fellow Democrats Jimmy Babcock, Mary Cirelli and former Canton clerk of courts and Stark County commissioner Tom Harmon are not in Smuckler's and Hart's league.

Either way, the SCPR thinks that it is good news that Richard Hart will be a candidate for a Canton city government office in 2015.

The best news and most realistic for him is to seek to be one of the top three vote getters in Canton's 2015 councilperson-at-large race.

AUDITOR HAROLD: AT IT AGAIN?

A mere 10 days ago or so (March 26, 2015), The Stark County Political Report named Stark County Auditor Alan Harold as the fourth best leader among all leaders of Stark County political subdivision government.

From here on out, on a quarterly basis, The Report will be assessing Stark's elected officials (city, village, township, county and boards of education) and publishing the results.

The SCPR thinks that Auditor Harold could be a candidate to challenge for "the top spot" on "The Top 10 List" if he weren't, in the judgment of The Report, so blatantly partisan.

With at least one Stark County media outlet (located South of Tuscarawas and Market), there is clearly "a double standard" at play when it comes to evaluating recent Stark County auditors and "the political connectedness" of their hires.

When former Stark County Auditor Kim Perez defeated (November, 2004) the Republican appointed (early 2004) auditor Brant Luther to replace Republican Janet Creighton when she became mayor of Canton on January 1, 2004; the folks at 500 Market Avenue South was all over Perez for hiring politically connected Democrats into the auditor's office.

But we are not hearing a peep out of the South-side folks on Auditor Harold's hires.

Harold defeated Perez in November, 2010 as an outgrowth of public perceived too close of a connection with former Stark County treasurer Gary D. Zeigler (resigned/retired October 19, 2011) and therefore perceived not diligent enough to alert the Stark County public and State of Ohio officials of alleged deficiencies in the administration of the treasury under Zeigler.

With The Stark County Political Report there is NO double standard.

When 2011 defeated Republican mayoralty candidate (Canton) A.R. "Chip Conde" was hired by Harold which media outlet made "a really big deal" out of it?

Of course, the SCPR!

And Conde is a person that yours truly has a high regard for and thinks was the better choice for mayor in his race against William J. Healy, II in the 2011 race.

As readers of the SCPR knows, it makes no difference whatsoever to The Report whether or not a subject of a blog is personally highly regarded or not.

The Report thinks it is important for the media to scrutinize what appear to be "inside jobs" whereby elected officials select politically connected persons and thereby are suspected of cutting the taxpaying general public out of an opportunity to obtain these public jobs.

Despite his protestations to the contrary, The Report thinks that Conde's political connectedness was a weighty factor in his being hired into his auditor's department job.

Some elected officials blatantly (e.g. Canton Clerk of Courts Phil Giavasis, Stark County Recorder Rick Campbell, both Democrats re:  former Stark County Dems' chairman Randy Gonzalez son Kody [which the former chairman denies he had anything to do with]) and arrogantly cut out the general public of an opportunity to persuade the hiring authority that he/she (John & Mary Citizen) is the better qualified person for the job.

Giavasis and Campbell did not post the the chief deputy position.

Harold says he did on the Conde position.

But the SCPR thinks Harold's posting was nothing but "window dressing" to make it appear he was providing the general public an opportunity.

In effect, The Report thinks, these folks treat the public payroll as if it were the equivalent of corporations' payroll in which it is the clear prerogative of the owners (or managers in the case of publicly owned corporations) to hire whom they wish and then have the market decide whether or not they have made merited (in sense of doing quality work) hires which enables them to be competitive.

But, of course, with government there is no competitive factor at play.

Stark's "organized" elected Democrats used to "bellyache" about the SCPR singling some of them out on what appears to have been political connected appointments insinuating that The Report was giving "organized" Republican elected officeholders a pass.

The fallacy of the whining is that until 2010 during the time that the SCPR has been in existence (started March 12, 2008), except for some judicial offices, there were no countywide Republican held offices.

Yours truly repeatedly said at the time:  "Wait until we have some elected Republicans countywide and readers will see how utterly the SCPR is in the words of former Pipefitters and Plumbers' leader Dan Fonte:  'an equal opportunity critic.'"

And such has proved to be the case!

Today's blog is perhaps moving a step forward in getting into the inner recesses of who does and who does not get an opportunity at "lower profile" public jobs.

Here is the essence of an e-mail that the SCPR received about a recent Auditor Harold hire.

I follow your blog regularly. I appreciate your committment to our County. Harold's latest hire is Jennifer Drlik...Janet Creighton's former assistant. Rumor is that he seeks to have her replace ... as ... Manager. I'm not sure what to make of it, but I find it quite interesting. 

On April 2nd, the SCPR had Harold's office provide a up-to-date-list of county employees.

And sure enough, Drlik's name appears on the list as having hired on February 17, 2015, to wit:

So what is the political connectedness factor?

Perhaps there is none.  But the SCPR strongly suspects there is.

In this day and age of "the social media," yours truly cannot begin to tell readers the depth and tellingness of some social media postings.

All the SCPR did was "google" Jennifer Drlik and here is some what The Report found:

• Drlik, as alleged in the e-mail, she does (according to her social media listings) has a connection to Republican Stark County commissioner Janet Creighton in that:
• she worked for then Stark County auditor Janet Creighton from 1999 through December, 2003, which, of course, coincides with Creighton having been elected mayor of Canton in November, 2003;
• she worked for Mayor Creighton as an administrative assistant from January, 2004 through December, 2007,
• After her stints with Creighton, Drlik worked in the private sector

Now she resurfaces in government with Auditor Harold.

Hmm?

Just a note on Commissioner Creighton's philosophy of hiring.

She has adamantly justified with the SCPR that she is entitled in doing her work for the public to have employees that she feels comfortable with and who have her confidence and trust.

And to some degree, The Report agrees.

However, yours truly thinks that surely any merited from the general public hire would have to pass the "comfort, confidence and trust" factors in order to successfully navigate the interviewing process and background checks.

So, at best Creighton's argument is "specious," and at worst it is "spurious" and merely a cover for doing a political connectedness hiring which of course is totally unacceptable with taxpayer money.

And the same applies to:

• Phil Giavasis, 
• Rick Campbell, 
• Alan Harold, 
• Stark Probate Court judge Dixie Park,
• Stark County treasurer Alex Zumbar,
• Canton mayor William J. Healy, II, 
• Massillon mayor Kathy Catazaro-Perry, 
• North Canton mayor David Held, and
• North Canton City Council all of whom the SCPR has written blogs on in terms of suspected political connectedness being the basis for certain hires,
• Stark County sheriff George T. Maier,
• and, undoubtedly, other elected officials who have not come within the purview of the SCPR

With Drlik, one common political connection factor other than the Creighton factor elaborated upon above, appears to be a connection that both she and Harold seem to have in supporting the candidacy of Curtis Werren for Canton Municipal Court judge.

On her facebook page, Drlik "likes" posts about Werren and presumably is a staunch Werren supporter.

From Werren's Facebook page, is this photo.

The SCPR is not arguing that per se these apparently political connectedness hires are not quality employees.

The SCPR argument is twofold: 

• how can one be sure that they are the very best to be hired without "authentically" interviewing a range of candidates from the general taxpaying public? 
• good faith hiring practices (i.e. the authenticity thing including non-politically-connected candidates) is a critical factor in the general public trusting elected officials to do first and foremost is in the public interest,

There are Stark Countians who think that former Stark County treasurer did not do due diligence in his hire of Vince Frustaci.  When the Frustaci story broke on April 1, 2009, Zeigler told the SCPR that in hiring Frustaci all he knew of Frustaci is that "he was some guy out on the golf course."

Undoubtedly, Zeigler has regretted many times over that he didn't do a more thorough job in vetting the Frustaci hire.

The SCPR thinks Alan Harold is a first-rate auditor.

However, he does have room to improve as do many if not most of Stark County political subdivisions elected officials with hiring authority.

He and all Stark County political subdivision need to avoid "the very appearance" of political connectedness as having anything whatsoever to do with a given hire.

Which of course means that when a person who is political connected is hired:

• affirm that the position was posted and the extent to which it was posted,
• how many candidates were interview and the mix of public/private sector candidates, and
• chapter and verse the "on-the-merits" qualities that make a politically connected person a merited hire that is supported by merit and merit alone.

IT'S TIME FOR A GENERATION CHANGE IN LEADERSHIP IN OHIO & STARK COUNTY?

UPDATE:  04/06/2015 AT 09:35 AM

Also see this Plain Dealer article (LINK) on Sittenfeld fundraising to-date.

FIRST UPDATE OF ORIGINAL BLOG

Back on March 5th,  The Stark County Political Report published the following blog on a youthful challenge from within the Ohio Democratic Party on the part of  Cincinnati councilman P.G. Sittenfeld (30) to former governor and 73 year old Ted Strickland (governor from January 1, 2007 through December 31, 2010).

On March 27th, Ohio's Democrats held their annual party dinner in Columbus and one of the speakers at the event was Sittenfeld.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer wrote up the event (LINK).  Nothing from The Repository as far as the SCPR can determine.

At the event, Sittenfeld compared himself to former Democratic Ohio governor John R. Gilligan who shares a commonality of sorts with Sittenfeld.

From Wikipedia:

In 1968, Gilligan defeated sitting U.S. Senator Frank J. Lauche in the Democratic primary; however, he narrowly lost in the general election to Republican William B. Saxbe after Lausche refused to support him in the general election.

Could Ohio be in for a repeat of the 1968 race?

Here is a Sittenfeld campaign provided excerpt of his speech on the 27th.



The Stark County Democratic Party has through former Stark County Democratic Party chairman Johnnie A. Maier, Jr (2003 - 2009) has strong ties to former governor Ted Strickland.

 ORIGINAL BLOG - March 5, 2015

Yours truly is not exactly sure what Cincinnati councilman P.G. Sittenfeld is a member of in terms of his generation. Some experts say Generation X; some think Generation Y and some describe him as being a Millennial. What is undeniable is that he is young, "really" young. Perhaps way too young to be a United States of America Senator? Apparently (Link 1), P.G. Sittenfeld comes from a wealthy Cincinnati area family (Link 2). At age 30, Democrat Sittenfeld has announced that he is running to unseat incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Rob Portman.

• According to the United States Constitution, age 30 (born October 1, 1984; according to his Wikipedia biography) is the minimum age at which can serve in the U.S. Senate.

One must ask, is this guy prepared for the United States Senate?

Or is this some sort of political prank? If Sittenfeld is serious, he must first take on a defeated-for-reelection (2010) former Ohio governor Ted Strickland who also has announced his campaign for seat in the November, 2016 election. And that will be a tall order. The SCPR thinks that Sittenfeld's youth could be - if played correctly - a huge advantage in taking on the 73 year old Strickland who lock, stock and barrel is tied to the "on-life-support" Ohio Democratic Party state leadership councils. In "throwing his hat into the ring" 14 months in advance of the election, Sittenfeld is showing that he knows - notwithstanding Strickland's vulnerabilities - that he has an uphill climb ahead and he needs to get going and get going now. The Report thinks Sittenfeld is in for an exceptionally hard time in Stark County and likely across Ohio. Why in Stark County? Because former Stark County Democratic Party chairman Johnnie A. Maier, Jr. was pretty much the political catalyst who got Strickland up and running as the front runner in 2006 when Strickland ran for governor. So? Think Johnnie and his political pals aren't licking their chops to do the same thing for Strickland in 2016? Many Stark County pols think Johnnie parlayed his being the first Ohio Democratic Party county chairman to endorse Strickland in the 2006 Ohio Democratic Party primary into jobs/positions:

• for himself, (Ohio Nursing Board)
• his most loyal Stark County Democratic Party supporter Gayle Jackson as an employee of the Ohio Lottery 
• (a Stark County commissioner from 1995 through 2007),
• former Jackson Township trustee Steven Meeks, 
• Region 9 (Akron) of the-then Ohio Department of Economic Development 
• his brother George T. Maier,
• Deputy Director of the Ohio Department of Highway Safety, and
• Heaven only knows, who else?

You can be sure that he and his Massillon Political Machine loyalists will be "all-out" for Strickland. A beachhead in Columbus is one thing, but Washington!  Let the champagne corks start flying, no?

Speaking of "all-out,"  the Northeast Ohio Media Group (aka The Cleveland Plain Dealer, NEOMG) reported yesterday that there are some statewide leadership Democrats who think Sittenfeld will not last and in the end the Democratic nomination is there "for the taking." Moreover, the PD cites Strickland supporters as saying that in private discussion with Strickland, Sittenfeld is saying that if Strickland officially enters the race, he, Sittenfeld, will drop out. Normally, the SCPR would be dismissive of such reports as self-serving political tripe typical of aggressive politico types as exemplified locally by Maier, Jr. However, Sittenfeld's response to the PD in a telephone conversation should be alarming to Sittenfeld supporters, to wit:

"What I'm saying is private conversations are private."

To The Report such is suggestive that contra what he says on his website that he is a different breed of politico is suspect. As a counterbalance though he did tell NEOMG:

P.G. Sittenfeld said Wednesday that he will measure the viability of his U.S. Senate campaign by the response he gets from Ohio voters and donors, not by the Democratic establishment forces that might line up against him. "I'm running, obviously, to make an impact," the Cincinnati city councilman told the Northeast Ohio Media Group in a telephone interview. "And that means winning." Running to win, Sittenfeld added, "means making sure you're raising the resources and running a sharp campaign" - two benchmarks he believes he is meeting.

And there is this from his Facebook page.

Knowing politicians the way the SCPR knows them, it would not be surprising that when "all is said and done" that Sittenfeld turns out to be no different than a typical politico. That he is only 30 will not cure a disgust that most Americans have with the "politics as usual" crowd that has polled Americans rating Congress in the single digits in terms of public's confidence that our elected national representatives really care about everyday people. In fact being only 30 might be horrifying for the average voter. For at his age, if he is a samo-samo politician, means that he will potentially be around for many, many years doing his political "wheelin' dealin'" at the expense of the general public interest. Let's hope he is not being the cynical politician who feeds into the public desire to have authentic, public interest serving elected officials only to turnout to be something much different than his rhetoric imports:

Recently, the SCPR had a conversation with former Massillon mayor Frank Cicchinelli.

He took exception to a SCPR blog to the effect that elective Massillon government is better served by a youth movement.

The Report agrees that youth in and of itself does not mean improvement.

However, the SCPR holds to a premise that quality younger leadership is an essential quality that government at all levels need in order not to stagnate if not regress.

Giving Sittenfeld the benefit of the doubt, the SCPR encourages the likes of younger generation Canton councilmen Kevin Fisher, Edmond Mack and John Mariol to look into the Sittenfeld purported candidacy.

Fisher, Mack and Mariol are the only Stark County Democrats who the SCPR thinks are susceptible of being viewed as bringing a young generation perspective (idealistic, energetic and persistent) to Stark County political subdivision government.

On the Republican side, the SCPR thinks of Alliance Councilwoman Julie Jakmides and Massillon Councilman Ed Lewis, IV as being of this ilk.

In general, Stark County's political subdivision leadership is stodgy, unimaginative, entitled, comfortable and stale.

The personification of these qualities can readily be seen in nearly all if not all of North Canton's elected officials.

At the county commissioner level, we had to bring back the shop worn Janet Creighton, Thomas Bernabei and Richard Regula to restore a confidence - if conservative  and halting - in county government in the wake of problems in the Stark County treasury that surfaced on April 1, 2009 was not resolved until October 19, 2011.

Hopefully, Bernabei and Creighton are on their last terms and new and youthful leadership will emerge to replace them.

Of Stark County officials, only Republican auditor Alan Harold demonstrates to any significant degree a political way of being that is enhancing and invigorating of our democratic-republican form of government.

For being a relatively young person, Canton Municipal Court chief deputy Kody Gonazalez (son of former Dems chairman Randy Gonzalez and the longer term "heir apparent" leader of the organized Stark County Democratic Party) appears to adopted the "politically jaded/cynical, old man-esque" political values and power politics modeling that ooze out of the Maier Massillon Political Machine.

Nobody should be surprised by this.

If Sittenfeld can pass the political smell test (i.e. is he authentic?), then young generation Democrats Fisher, Mack and Mariol should consider getting on board early on to help him move the "old school" politico Ted Strickland to the sidelines.

Yours truly was once an avid Strickland supporter as he ran against "off-the-charts" right wing Republican Ken Blackwell in 2006 delivering Blackwell a crushing defeat.

Strickland ran an "Aw shucks, I am a political innocent from Duck Run, Ohio" campaign.

Ted Strickland is anything but what he projected in 2006.

He is, the SCPR thinks, an arm-in-arm with the Johnnie A. Maier, Jr. type power politician who is no different than the one (other than political party label) he seeks to replace.

It is up to Sittenfeld to demonstrate that he is who he says he is.

And if he is and if Canton Democrats Fisher, Mack, and Mariol are early endorsers and supporters of his campaign, then perhaps, Canton city government will at least have entree to seek help from Washington for the many financial woes that urban governments face these days.

With Democrat Strickland's loss in 2010 and the loss of all statewide offices (non-judicial) at the hand of the decrepit Columbus-based Democratic leadership (i.e. the deposed Chris Redfern), there is not much that Canton can expect to receive from Columbus.

The jury is out on Sittenfeld.

Is he legit?

Part 10: "NEW" SCPR FEATURE - QUARTERLY REVIEW OF STARK'S "TOP 10" ELECTED OFFICIALS

UPDATED 11:00 AM

See letter from Massillon Fire Chief Tom Burgasser to Lawrence Township Trustees on North Lawrence Fire Department and Orrville Street Structure Fire of March 6, 2015

Last Monday (March 23, 2015), The Stark County Political Report started a new feature:  Stark County Top 10 Leaders.

On a quarterly basis, The Report plans on ranking Stark County's political subdivision (villages, cities, township and boards of education) leadership in terms of the "Top 10."

See previous blogs in this series for the particulars of how the quarterly "Top 10" blogs will be constituted, revised and what the timetable is for publication.  (reference:  the Tom Bernabei blog)

And, of course, to see the SCPR's presentations on:

• Stark County's #1 leader; namely, Stark County Commissioner Thomas M. Bernabei, and
• Stark County's #2 leader; namely, Massillon Councilwoman Nancy Halter,
• Stark County's #3 leader; namely, Canton Councilman Edmond Mack,
• Stark County's #4 leader; namely, Stark County Auditor Alan Harold,
• Stark County's #5 leader; namely, Stark County Treasurer Alex Zumbar,
• Stark County's #6 leader; namely, Canton City Councilman Richard Hart,
• Stark County #7 leader; namely, Alliance City Councilwoman Julie Jakmides,
• Stark County #8 leader; namely, Massillon City Councilman Paul Manson,
• Stark County #9 leader; namely, Alliance's Mayor Alan Andreani,

Today's blog is on Trustee Mike Stevens of Lawrence Township located in northwest Stark County.

Readers may be surprised to see Stevens appear on The Top 10 List, but after reading this blog should understand why he is the only Stark County trustee to make it.

However, Stevens' work as Lawrence Township trustee to enhance the quality of and effective functioning of the township's fire and emergency response performance is key to his merit of being selected as #10 on the SCPR's Stark County "Top 10" Leadership List as is described in more detail later on in this blog.

According to Stevens, he grew up in Plain Township where he graduated from GlenOak High School in 1968.

He went on to Kent State from which he graduated in 1972 with a degree in education.

From there he taught in Jackson Township for some six to seven years.

In 1976, he moved to Lawrence Township (Canal Fulton area) where he still resides with his wife.  His two daughters matriculated through the Northwest Local Schools and one of whom currently lives in Lawrence and the other in Massillon.

He left teaching to work, first seasonally, then permanently at Clay's Park rising over years to the ranks of management and where he worked for until 2004 and the election of Kim Perez as county auditor for whom (at Perez's solicitation) he went to work for some three to three and one-half years, at which point in time he went over to the city of Massillon to work as a Streets Department Supervisor in the administration of Frank Cicchinelli.

He stayed with Massillon through Cicchinelli's term in office through December, 2011 having been defeated in the 2011 Democratic primary by current mayor Kathy Catazaro-Perry.

He wanted to stay on with the new administration.  At first it appeared that Catazaro-Perry was open to the idea.  However, it is thought that once one-time-Stevens confidant and Catazaro-Perry prime sponsor Johnnie A. Maier, Jr. got wind of Stevens entreaty to stay on, he suddenly became "persona-non-grata"

Consequently, Stevens retired and has limited himself to being a Lawrence Township trustee, a post that he has held for some 22 years.

For years he was the trustee who was assigned to monitoring police and fire operations of the township for the Board of Township Trustees.

Though he has been elected in six successive elections beginning in 1991, he was interrupted a year in 2000 when Maier chose Stevens to succeed him as 56th Ohio House District representative (now the 50th which does not in its current configuration include Lawrence Township, a community of some 13,000 residents) when Maier stepped down in late 1999, early 2000 because he could not run again in November of 2000 due to 8 year term limits.

In November, Stevens lost a close election to Republican John Hagan of Marlboro Township.

It seems to the SCPR that Stevens' loss was the beginning of Stevens' falling out of the good graces of Maier.

Ever since there was a growing hostility between Maier, Jr. and Stevens.  A key for Stevens on being on the downside of Maier was that he (Maier) because Stark County Dems' chairman in 2004, the year Stevens ran a very close campaign against Republican incumbent Stark County commissioner Jane Vignos.

An interesting saga surrounds the 2004 Democratic primary for who was going to be the Democratic Party nominee for one of two commissioners positions up for election is 2004.

Here is an excerpt from a 2009 SCPR blog which graphically describes the drama:

The first indications to Stevens that he was not a Maier "favorite," should have come with Stevens' running for county commissioner in 2004.

Initially, some disaffected  Democrats put Frank Ferraro of Perry Township up against Maier "best friend" and now former county commissioner Gayle Jackson.

Did Maier and Jackson scream about the Ferraro candidacy?  You betcha!

Result?

Under Maier/Jackson pressure, he switches races and runs against Mike Stevens.

It is a credible that Maier and Jackson cajoling Ferraro over to the Stevens race was the difference in Stevens general election race against incumbent Republican commissioner Jane Vignos.

Another factor in the 2004 race, as Stevens tells it, was current Stark County Party chairman Randy Gonzalez furor at Stevens running for commissioner in the first place because this was to be Steve Meeks (then a Jackson trustee) race.

Is 2009 "get even" time for Gonzalez now that Harmon is vacating his commissioner seat?

Seems so.

To get a fuller flavor of Stevens' fight with the Maier faction (which includes recently resigned chairman Randy Gonzalez, current Stark County Dems' chairman Phil Giavasis and Plain Township trustee Louis Giavasis [who is also a chief deputy of Clerk of Courts Nancy Reinbold]) take a look at the follow links:

• November 22, 2009 blog, and a
• March 19, 2012 blog

One has to admire Stevens for his demonstrated spunk in "from within the Stark County Democratic Party" for taking on the the likes of the Maiers, the Giavasis brothers and Randy Gonzalez.

Such is a rarity.  His political gumption indicates that Mike Stevens does have the capacity to be his own man in a hostile environment which the SCPR thinks is a quality of political leadership that is missing among most "within the party" Stark County Democrat and Republican elected officials.

When the likes of Mike Stevens go MIA, then political parties are apt to degenerate into a conspiratorial-esque click in which political party action for the good of the community is jettisoned in favor of the personal political interests of those who comprise the click.

And that is exactly what the state of affairs the SCPR thinks that much of the "organized" Stark Democratic and Republican parties and their respective leadership are in today.

A consequence of such is that everyday citizens become more and more alienated from government officials even at the local level.

Added to Stevens' demonstrated spunk in fighting the selfish interests within his political party is his work for a united, efficient and effective fire and emergency responders effort in Lawrence Township.

Stevens says his work began in the 1990s with his attempt to create a Lawrence Township Fire District which he as the deciding trustee vote was implemented about 1993.

That structure brought the Lawrence Township, the Canal Fulton and the North Lawrence (a private entity that contracts with Lawrence trustees to about the tune of $90,000 annually) Fire Departments together in a coordinated and integrated fire fighting and emergency services unit that had the potential to be one of the most effective township fire and rescue services in all of Stark County.

But Stevens' deciding vote was for naught.

A year later, Stevens says, the North Lawrence Fire Department leadership put on a ballot initiative to do away with the united fire district.

And, he says, that these same folks vowed to work for the defeat of any trustee who supported the formation of the fire district.

Stevens believes that fellow trustee (in voting for the formation of the joint district) Michael Mahaney was a victim of doing the right thing for Lawrence Township and that the roll back of the district at the initiative of the North Lawrence FD leadership has come back to haunt the township here in 2015.  As a consequence of a March 6th structure fire incident as described in Massillon Fire Chief Tom Burgasser's letter of March 13th to Lawrence Township trustee, the SCPR understands that the State of Ohio Fire Marshal and the Ohio Fire Chiefs Association have launched an investigation.

By 1995 it appears that the North Lawrence furor had abated as witness Stevens' reelection in the November general election.

Moreover, Stevens tells the SCPR that his vote in the North Lawrence area in elections since 1995 have garnered him about 60% of the vote.

As for the failure of the "joint fire district" matter "coming back to haunt" Lawrence Township factor is concerned, Stevens says that there was an fire/emergency force incident about two weeks ago in what the SCPR labels as being the "Orrville Street matter" of March 6, 2015 (reference letter from Burgasser to Lawrence Township trustees, dated March 13th) in which a Massillon emergency forces worker was injured.

Stevens says that the trustees have in hand a letter from Massillon Fire Department chief Tom Burgasser saying that unless and until the training/education standards of the North Lawrence FD (NLFD) improve to an acceptable level that Massillon will no longer respond to a mutual aid call from Lawrence Township in which the NLFD is a factor in terms of interior operations.

Stevens says that the Lawrence trustees (one of whom, Kampf is a North Lawrence resident) have specifically in the most recent contract - which has about two years to run - designated money for training and education but which has not been tapped into by NLFD leadership.

Steven points in pride to the fact that he was a leader back (casting the deciding vote) in 1992 in the vote to implement the Lawrence Township's joint fire district.

Moreover, Stevens is proud of the role he has played in working with Canal Fulton officials to have created a de facto but not formal joint Lawrence Township/Canal Fulton 24/7 fire/emergency forces staffing at a relatively new station situated in the heart of the township at 1165 Locust Street South. The building complex is named the Eugene M. Fellmeth Safety Center.

To his frustration, the NLFD is not a part of what Stevens terms as a "Living Together" arrangement effective April 1, 2013 between Lawrence Township and Canal Fulton fire and rescue operations.

 

 

For his gutty political leadership and his work towards creating a first-rate fire department/emergency forces effective, highly-trained and coordinated structure in service of Lawrence Township residents, the SCPR is pleased to designate Trustee Mike Stevens as #10 on the SCPR Stark County "Top 10" Leaders List.

This blog concludes for the quarter beginning April 1, 2015 the "to be revised quarterly" Top 10 List.

Beginning on or about May 1st, it is the plan of the SCPR to initiate a "to be revised quarterly Bottom Top 10" Leadership assessment list of those elected officials who leave much to be desired in terms of the quality of leadership they provide.

PART 9: "NEW" SCPR FEATURE - QUARTERLY REVIEW OF STARK'S "TOP 10" ELECTED OFFICIALS

Last Monday (March 23, 2015), The Stark County Political Report started a new feature:  Stark County Top 10 Leaders.

On a quarterly basis, The Report plans on ranking Stark County's political subdivision (villages, cities, township and boards of education) leadership in terms of the "Top 10."

See previous blogs in this series for the particulars of how the quarterly "Top 10" blogs will be constituted, revised and what the timetable is for publication.  (reference:  the Tom Bernabei blog)

And, of course, to see the SCPR's presentations on:

• Stark County's #1 leader; namely, Stark County Commissioner Thomas M. Bernabei, and
• Stark County's #2 leader; namely, Massillon Councilwoman Nancy Halter,
• Stark County's #3 leader; namely, Canton Councilman Edmond Mack,
• Stark County's #4 leader; namely, Stark County Auditor Alan Harold,
• Stark County's #5 leader; namely, Stark County Treasurer Alex Zumbar,
• Stark County's #6 leader; namely, Canton City Councilman Richard Hart,
• Stark County #7 leader; namely, Alliance City Councilwoman Julie Jakmides,
• Stark County #8 leader; namely, Massillon City Councilman Paul Manson,

Today's blog is on Alliance's Mayor Alan Andreani.

As readers will note, the first quarterly SCPR Stark County Top 10 Leaders List is dominated by councilpersons.

So it is with some degree of relief that The Report today includes on the List a municipal chief executive.

Of Stark County's major city (Alliance, Canton, Massillon and North Canton) only Alan Andreani of Alliance merits selection.

He ranks first on Stark's major city mayors with the rest following far behind in terms of being anywhere near the Top 10 List but on a relative basis just in "the mayor category" William J. Healy, II of Canton second, David Held of North Canton third and Kathy Catazaro-Perry bringing up the rear as being, in the assessment of the SCPR, an inept mayor.

Healy is improving but Held and Catazaro-Perry seem to have no chance whatsoever of ever gracing the Top 10 List.

In his own words, from the Alliance city government website, Alan Andreani describes himself:

I became Mayor of the City of Alliance January 1, 2012.

(a SCPR insert)

(apparently, to be unopposed in 2015)

Prior to my public service to the City of Alliance, I was the superintendent of the Marlington Local Schools and also held other leadership and administrative positions with the school for twenty-two years including assistant superintendent, elementary and secondary curriculum director, business manager, high school principal, and Washington Elementary principal.Before entering the administrative roles I served as a science instructor at Marlington High School.

Following my career in public education I became an adjunct professor at the University of Mount Union. During my ten years there I served in the Department of Education where I taught a variety of courses as well as supervising student teachers.

I was appointed to Alliance City Council in February of 2004 when the Honorable Dixie Park was appointed Stark County Probate Judge. I was re-elected three times to the Council-at-Large position where I served as the Chairman of City Council’s Safety and Judiciary Committee and as a member of the Finance and Utilities Committees.

My education training includes a doctorate in educational leadership from Youngstown State University.I also received a Bachelor of Science degree and a Masters degree from Kent State University. I am a graduate of Alliance High School.

I am honored to continue my family’s tradition of service to our hometown as its Mayor. My family has been blessed to live and work in this community for many decades. I look forward to continuing the progress of the past and to lead Alliance to a prosperous future.

It was not long after becoming mayor that Andreani faced a fiscal crisis somewhat similar to Massillon's.  However, this chief executive has had the wherewithal to keep Alliance from being named by the State of Ohio Auditor's Office as being in fiscal emergency.

For he not playing politics with the future of the city by setting himself as being some sort of savior figure as The Report thinks Massillon's mayor (Kathy Catazaro-Perry) is doing in billing herself as coming to the financial/fiscal rescue of a city that she herself pushed the state officials into designating as being in fiscal emergency and thereby humiliating the once proud city of Massillon.

And make no mistake about it, Alliance is stressed financially and fiscally.

But Alliance's skillful CEO, a Republican, is working with the Democrats and his fellow Republicans on council (a body he was one a member of) to steer Alliance through the crisis which was pretty much the doing of the State of Ohio.

The SCPR thinks that Alliance's problems are largely the results of huge state funding cuts to local governments (i.e. dramatic cuts in "local government funds," the elimination of the estate tax and the like) with the election of Republican governor John Kasich in 2010 (reelected in 2014) and the lopsided Republican controlled Ohio General Assembly.

Back in October, 2013 the SCPR spoke with Andreani, Councilman Larry Dordea and Alliance's auditor Kevin Knowles about an impending levy.



Unfortunately for Alliance, the levy failed in the November, 2013 election.

Different from Massillon's Mayor Kathy, Mayor Andreani had not engaged Alliance City Council in "a blame game."

Rather he presented and continues to present a different model.

He has worked diligently with Alliance City Council to steer Alliance through the tough fiscal times brought on by the Republicans in charge in the Ohio State House.

If Andreani is to be faulted for anything, it is his apparent failure to get the faces of fellow Republicans Kasich and Stark County Republican members of the Ohio General Assembly (namely, Scott Oelslager, Kirk Schuring and Christina Hagan [of Marlboro Township and who represents Alliance]) jawboning them to restore state monies to localities such as Alliance.

Normally, the SCPR is bullish on the likes of Steve Okey (a Democrat) being part of the political mix in a given community as an accountability factor on government especially when the government is the captive of the opposite political party as is the case with Republicans controlling the executive branch of Alliance government.

However, The Report trusts in the case of Okey that Alliance voters will see fit to remove him from being president of Alliance City Council.

Democrat Sue Ryan a councilperson for a number of terms in Alliance would have been a much better choice for the presidency in terms of not letting politics been a factor in the function of the office.

Being the consummate politico the SCPR thinks he is, Okey who the SCPR thinks engaged in some major political arm twisting with the aid of former Stark County Dems chairmen Johnnie A. Maier, Jr and more recently Randy Gonzalez, "snatched victory from the jaws of defeat" at the last moment when about a year ago Okey wrestled the Alliance Dems' Central Committee appointment to replace longtime president John Benincasa who had passed away away from Ryan.

Almost immediately, as the SCPR predicted he would do; Okey engaged a confrontation with Alliance City Council over the manner in which council voted (unsigned ballots) on certain issue.  It was an issue that he filed a lawsuit against council on a motivation (The Report thinks) to embarrass Republican councilman Larry Dordea in his race against Okey political protege George T. Maier for sheriff of Stark County.

While the SCPR agrees that council's manner of voting was unacceptable in our democratic-republican form of government; a seemingly politically inspired Steve Okey who had participated in the very same unacceptable procedure as a councilman himself nor his political sycophant friend Derek Loy were hardly the appropriate persons to push the issue.

Some good citizen of Alliance who was not into partisan politics for political advantage needed to step forward and demand that the practice stop and stop immediately.

So it was heartwarming to learn that Mayor Andreani went out a recruited a former popular Alliance superintendent of schools to run against Okey for the council presidency.

The recruit, Arthur Garnes, as a longtime educator, as is Andreani, is much more suited to keep politics in their proper place than is the highly politicized Okey.

While Okey has been on his best behavior ever since his confrontation with council (which resulted in his being censored by council) back in June, 2014.

However, the SCPR's take is that should Okey be elected; he would take same to be license to become a partisan troublemaker on council.

Again, to say.   Folks like Okey can be important assets to keep government accountable.  But the SCPR doesn't think Okey has the self-discipline to keep political factors on the back burner.

In recruiting Garnes, Andreani may have spared Alliance residents having to endure pitched battles between the presidential chair, the rest of council and the chief executive of the city.

For the forgoing reasons, the SCPR sees Alan Andreani as the ONLY Stark County major city mayor deserving of being #9 on the SCPR's Stark County Top 10 Leadership List.

Next up, finally a township official makes the Top 10 list.

Stark County has 71 elected township officials and yet only one makes the Top 10 List?