CATAZARO-PERRY GOVERNANCE INEPTNESS MIGHT COST MASSILLON $600,000 PLUS IN CDBG DOLLARS?

VIDEO

"ENCORE"

LARRY MARCUS

ON

BECOMING

MASSILLON 

DIRECTOR OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

"[W]e [HUD - Housing & Urban Development; a federal agency of U.S. government] have concerns about [Massillon's] capacity to manage the CDBG Program."

As The Stark County Political Report reads "two letters of concern" from HUD to Mayor Kathy Catazaro-Perry director of Economic Development Larry Marcus (cc:  the mayor), because of three findings on an annual audit by HUD of the administration's handling of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) monies (paid from federal tax dollars), Massillon could be setting itself up to lose approximately $600,000 annually of such funds.

An extract from one of the letters is The Report's source  for how much money may be at stake.

As it is, Massillon has agreed to pay some $34,000 plus from the city's financially strapped General Fund.

• SCPR Note:  Massillon is under State of Ohio imposed "fiscal emergency" status as of October, 2013 as a consequence of the mayor's initiative earlier in 2013,
• On August 3, 2015 the Massillon Financial and Supervision Commission which includes the mayor as a voting member meets to consider a revised financial restoration plan after several failures of the mayor and the Commission to agree with Massillon City Council's submissions)

Economic Development Director Marcus bore the brunt of HUD's criticism.

Marcus was hired by Catazaro-Perry a little over a year ago.

Here is a 3:45 interview the SCPR did with him after a Stark County commissioners meeting that he attended to let the commissioners know that he was in charge of economic development in Massillon.

Don't know about SCPR readers, especially Massillon readers, but yours truly thinks that the potential loss of $600,000 plus in federal CDBG dollars and having to pay back $34,097 for administration misdeed is "a really big dealy!"

But try as The Report may, yours truly cannot find "nary a word" on the HUD negative audit being reported by the Canton/Massillon mainstream media.

Maybe its there and the SCPR is an unskilled researcher.

Nor is a word to be found in the Catazaro-Perry shill blog - The Massillon Review.

As Stark Countians have come to learn, only The Stark County Political Report can be relied up to publish these stories with any degree of reliability.

The Canton Repository and The Massillon Independent miss so, so much of really "important to citizens" stories.

In this instance, The Report figures that recipient entities of CDBG monies funneled through Massillon government may be just a tad concerned that their source of federal financial help may be interrupted if the Catazaro-Perry administrations does not get its act together, to wit:

All of the communications used as source material are included at the end of this blog for readers to ascertain "on their own" whether or not the SCPR's alarm bells are merited.

For those readers who do not want to take the time to go through of some 14 pages of the HUD/Massillon exchanges of communications, the SCPR offers this analysis.

A summary and analysis of the first HUD audit findings letter (May 19, 2015) to Director Marcus follows.  (Note:  a reminder.  What follows are "extracts" from the letters of parts that the SCPR thinks gets to "the heart of the matter.")

This last statement, "pretty 'dire' language," no?

Though yours truly promised an analysis, what is there to analyze?

Pretty clear, no?

Marcus may be doing and his administrative assistant may be doing an effective job otherwise (though one certainly has to wonder), but not on CDBG matters.

And guess "where the buck stops?"

Of course, with Mayor Kathy Catazaro-Perry.

Though the audit took place in March, its results did not become known until after the May 5, 2015 Democratic Primary election..

Nor did the snafu in spending of over $100,000 in asphalt for road repairs become known until after the election.

Is there any doubt that had both matters come out beforehand that we would now be looking at the prospect of either a Mayor J. David Ress or Mayor Lee Brunckhart come November 5th and there would not be the prospect of a re-match of Cicchinelli/Catazaro-Perry?

In fact, it appears to the SCPR that the Catzaro-Perry administration has not heeded the mandate of HUD on publicizing the result of the March audit, to wit:

It appears to The Report that yours truly's source (J. David Ress, http://www.mymassillon.blogspot.com/) had to obtain the documents published below from HUD.

If it still exists, bet the negative HUD audit report has not appeared in the Catazaro-Perry focused "City of Champions" magazine.

The HUD communications and the bungled asphalt over purchase matter are likely to play big - along with a number of other administration screw-ups - in the November election.

Whether the candidate is "independent" Frank Cicchinelli or Republican Lee Brunckhart or both; it is looking more and more like Kathy Catazaro-Perry is on her last "political" legs.

The promised "full" copies of the document referred to above.

HUD LETTER #1



HUD LETTER #2



MARCUS LETTER #1



MARCUS LETTER #2

(VIDEOS) STARK COUNTY JAIL: A CENTER OF CONTROVERSY AGAIN?

VIDEOS

"ENCORE"

Dan McMasters

on

Fear Factor

in

2011 JSST Effort

STARK COUNTY

COMMISSION ON CORRECTIONS PLANNING

"SUBCOMMITTEE"

MEETING OF JULY 14, 2015

POST-MEETING INTERVIEW

CANTO MUNICIPAL COURT

CLERK OF COURTS

PHIL GIAVASIS

&

STARK CO. COMMISSIONER

THOMAS M. BERNABEI

George T. Maier was not on the Stark County political radar screen when in November, 2011 county officials closed ranks behind a 1/2 cent sales tax issue designed to provide some $22 million annually for the Stark County justice system.

The SCPR's recollection is that campaign officials played a heavy hand in the campaign on "the fear factor" were Stark County not to pass the levy.

Take a listen to co-chairman Dan McMasters as he owns up to "the fear factor" being a key part of the campaign.



In a curious oddity to The Stark County Political Report, it appears that Sheriff Maier (elected in November, 2014 after a swirl of controversy as to whether or not he was qualified under Ohio law to be sheriff) has no political memory of "the fear factor" and the concomitant buttressing point that Stark County needed new revenue to restore the Stark County jail to full "used beds" capacity (501 beds) in order to make Stark County a safer place to live in.

The levy passed and Stark Countians breathed a sigh of relief, no doubt.  All those 501 beds were going to be filled with some of Stark County worst actors.

As it turns out:  WRONG!.

On average, the filling of the beds is well short of the 501 beds which prompted Sheriff Maier to send the completely unprepared Brian Arnold (the chief honcho of the jail) and Chief Deputy Sheriff John Campbell (an old pal of the sheriff from Maier's Ohio State Patrol days) to a June 17, 2015 meeting of the Stark County commissioners to ask for their approval of a contract to take Summit County's excess prisoners at a rate of $70 a day.

A terrific deal for Summit, which calculated its cost of keeping a prisoner at $124 daily.

But Commissioner Janet Creighton joined by Commissioner Regula was not buying.

She undoubtedly remembered her early days as commissioner when Canton civic activist Bruce Nordman showed up at a Stark County commissioners' meeting (March 6, 2013 about 1-1/2 years after the JSST levy passage) to remind commissioners of "the fear factor campaign" and demanding that the commissioners put pressure on Maier "to fill all those 501 beds."

That's when Maier was the Stark County Democratic Party politically "appointed" sheriff of Stark County was:

• in as sheriff, 
• out as sheriff, (by the Ohio Supreme Court; November 6, 2013), and 
• back in as sheriff

as his political opponents former sheriff Timothy Swanson and Stark County Prosecutor John Ferrero (mostly behind the scenes) battled to keep Maier out of the sheriff's office as being unqualified for the job.
The commissioners tabled the sheriff's request that they approve the Summit County contract.

Arrangements were made to have "the filling of the jail" issue taken up by the Stark County Corrections Planning Commission (June 26, 2015) which is made up up of a virtual "Who's Who" of Stark County criminal justice system officials headed up by Stark County Court of Common Pleas judge Frank Forchione.

Out of that session a subcommittee was formed to consider the question of whether or not it was a good idea to make Stark County jail beds available for Summit County prisoners.

The SCPR camera was at both the Commission session and the the subcommittee meeting.

Go to the blog on the Commission meeting to see that video.

Here is the video of the entire subcommittee meeting.



Take a look once again a photograph of the subcommittee assembly.

Whether by design or not, The Report's take is that the alignment of the members of the subcommittee was those favoring an average daily use of the the jail beds be for Stark County prisoners somewhere in the close vicinity of 501 beds "on the left of the photo" whereas those favoring the generation of revenues for unused beds are seated "on the right of the photo."

Commissioner Tom Bernabei may be the only member of the subcommittee who might be neutral on the question although he was not nearly of critical of the Maier Jail Space Rental Plan as was Commissioner Creighton.

Judge Forchione took the lead for "the full use folks" at the subcommittee meeting.

Front and center was a graphic put up on a large screen at the Canton Municipal Court conference room sited meeting was this tell graphic:

Municipal Court Clerk of Courts Phil Giavasis seemed to the SCPR to be the main man for Sheriff Maier and the "Rent-a-Jail advocates."

The SCPR urges Stark Countians who care about the safety of our county to take in the back and forth of the session.

At the end of the session, the SCPR asked Commissioner Bernabei and Clerk Giavasis to summarize the subcommittee session.



To the SCPR, it is hard to see how the commissioners can approve a plan to rent out jail beds to any other Ohio or federal government unit.

In 2019, Stark Countians will undoubtedly be asked to renew the 1/2 Justice System Sales Tax (JSST).

If nearly all 501 beds at the Stark County jail are not in full use occupied by those placed in the facility by Stark County judges, it certainly is going to make extending the JSST much more difficult.

Stark County jail beds are for the use of Stark County judges to make Stark County a safer place to live in, no?

(VIDEO) IS YOUR PROPERTY TAX BILL GOING UP?

UPDATED 07/18/2015

VIDEOS

SEE

CHIEF DEPUTY AUDITOR 

EXPLAIN THE REAPPRAISAL

TO COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

Earlier today (LINK), The Stark County Political Report published as an exclusive SCPR publication "the full report" of Stark County's "current" financial conditions as presented by Stark County Auditor Alan Harold (Republican) and Alex Zumbar (Republican) to the Stark County commissioners on Tuesday of this week at a work session.

Commissioners Thomas M. Bernabei (an "independent"), Janet Creighton (a Republican) and Richard Regula (a Republican) regularly meet in "work sessions" on Monday and Tuesday of each week at 10:00 a.m. in the meeting room of the commissioners located in the Stark County Office building.

Bernabei and Creighton initiated the work sessions when they became commissioners in November, 2010 and January, 2011; respectively.

The SCPR has videotaped a large number of these sessions which go into great detail on a given topic and published same as a public service to the Stark County public.

Also at Tuesday's meeting, Auditor Alan Harold brought in his "expert" chief deputy of real estate Jason Frost to update the commissioners on the work he and his staff have done recently on appraising Stark County real property.

And an "expert" Frost is, to wit:



In this blog, yours truly focuses on a topic near and dear to all real property  owners (i.e. our homes, our businesses, et cetera) insofar as the owned realty is a basis for taxation which is the primary way you and I support our schools, our township governments and other Stark County political subdivision functions (e.g. children services, mental health and the like).

The county itself receives relative little of this revenue.

We are all highly sensitive to how our real properties are taxed.

We like it when the appraisal value goes up inasmuch as it is some evidence to prospective buyers of its value.

However, when it comes to the property "taxes" valuation purposes; of course, that is "horse of a different color," no?

Every three years our realties get re-appraised either as general reappraisal every 6 years and in between the general appraisals at the 3 year mark what is named the Triennial Valuation.

These events are mandated by Ohio law.

All telling graphic provided by Frost/Harold at Tuesday meeting was this one.

Take a close look.

SCPR Note:  See the icon-graphic at the left-hand side of this paragraph.  On the pdf file included in this blog below be sure to "click" on that icon so that the file expands to be much more readable



In particular, zero in on the change in the property valuation fluxusation of our properties over those 10 years.

Notice the variation of the graphic line.

Here are the numbers isolated from the base document to show emphatically the swings in valuation.

Here are some more documents that each and every Stark County taxpayer should pay close attention to in order to understand the appraisal process.

First, a document created by the Stark auditor's office to explain in great detail the Triennial valuation process.

PLEASE! do read this document.  It only takes about 5 minutes.



Next, take a look at a sample document which tailored to your specific property you will be receiving in the mail this week end.



Finally, you owe it to yourself and being a highly informed citizen of how your property is valued for tax purposes by viewing this SCPR exclusive video on Chief Deputy Frost explaining to commissioners the appraisal ins and outs.



This blog presented as a SCPR (a no advertising publication) public service to the Stark County public.

SCPR VIDEO: A "NEW" STARK COUNTY POLITICAL REPORT "PUBLIC SERVICE"

UPDATED & REVISED 07182015

SEE NEXT BLOG

THE TRIENNIAL VALUATION 
ARE YOUR PROPERTY TAX GOING UP?

STARK COUNTY

MONTHLY FINANCIAL UPDATES

VIDEO

AUDITOR ALAN HAROLD
&
TREASURER ALEX ZUMBAR
PRESENT
TO
STARK CO. COMMISSIONERS

SCPR Note:  Be sure to go to the second blog for today (LINK) which goes into detail about the Triennial real property valuation which the Stark County auditor's office is currently connecting with Stark County property owners on.

Beginning with the July, 2015 Stark County Financial Update to the Stark County commissioners presented by Stark County Auditor Alan Harold and Stark County Treasurer Alex Zumbar, The Stark County Political Report once again expands its public service in providing in this blog a video tape of Harold/Zumbar presentation made on Tuesday, July 14th.

Before Janet Creighton (a Republican) and Thomas M. Bernabei (formerly a Democrat who now considers himself a political "independent) became commissioners and before Alan Harold (a Republican) became county auditor and before Alex Alexander (a Republican) became county treasurer there was no such thing as a monthly county financial status report made by Stark County's "top 'financial' guns" for the benefit of the Stark County general public.

Of course, all of us Stark Countians are painfully aware of April, 2009 when it was revealed that Stark County chief deputy treasurer Vince Frustaci had stolen - some believe - upwards of $3 million dollars.

Perhaps, if the monthly reports instituted by Commissioners Bernabei and Creighton:

• had been in place when Kim Perez (Democrat) and Gary Zeigler (Democrat) were county auditor and treasurer; respectively, 

as a matter of regular monthly scrutiny, somebody would have picked up on something in one of the reports that indicated that:

• the numbers were not making sense, and 
• led to an earlier detection of the Frustaci theft which had been going on a number of years when detected

Stark County would not have lost nearly $3 million (#) in Stark County taxpayer money,

• # SCPR Note.  Stark County Prosecutor John Ferrero's did make a partial recovery but probably upwards of $2 million was lost

Treasurer Zumbar has instituted major changes in structures (administrative procedures and the physical layout) in place at the county treasurer's office to ensure that a repeat of the Frustaci happening will never occur again.

When view this video (18:55 in length) viewers should also open the pdf files which appear in this blog to follow along as Stark County financial officials Harold and Zumber explain the county's current financial condition to the commissions.

First, the pdf file of documents.





Next, the video.



Everyone who reads this blog as a part of being an informed and thereby responsible citizens should follow along as Harold and Zumber refer to the county's financial numbers.

Beyond viewing the video and reading the reports, citizens with questions or observations for the public good should contact Harold and Zumbar and/or Commissioners Bernabei, Creighton and Regula.

SOMEBODY HAS TOM BERNABEI ELECTED AS AN "INDEPENDENT" MAYOR OF CANTON!

UPDATED/REVISED 06:35 AM

There is no telling from one day to the next what the breaking news! in Stark County politics is going to be.

In preparing today's blog, I was serendipped with this bit of "heads up" from a prominent Alliance area politician.



Earlier this week, yours truly had a discussion with a leading Stark County politician who told me that Democrats are already lining up to succeed political independent Thomas M. Bernabei should he be ultimately certified by the Stark County Board of Elections (BOE, Board) to run in the November general election.

Those mentioned include:

• Kevin Fisher, Canton City councilman, Ward 5,
• Stephen Slesnick, 49th Ohio House state representative,
• Gayle Jackson, a former Stark County commissioner and Perry Township trustee, and
• William Smuckler, Canton city councilman-at-large

Undoubtedly, there will be others.

Folks who would never do what relatively unknown at the time former Nimishillen Township trustee Todd Bosley (a Democrat) did in 2006 in running against and defeating incumbent Republican commissioner Richard Regula, "come out of the political woodwork" when there is a political appointment to be made.

Regula has since made a comeback and defeated Smuckler for the open Bosley seat who ran for and was defeated in a race for the Ohio House, District 50 (to Republican Todd Snitchler).

While the SCPR would like to see Bernabei qualify to run as an "independent" (otherwise incumbent Democratic mayor William J. Healy, II is unopposed in the November general election), it is far from certain that he will eventuate as a candidate inasmuch as his certification will probably be decided by the Ohio Supreme Court.

So there is no doubt that Republican Mungo and the Democrats mentioned above are "jumping the gun" as the starter gun factor (Bernabei running and winning) has not gone off.

• SCPR Note:  Mungo may be pointing to the 2016 election for the Bernabei seat and not primarily positioning himself to get an appointment should Bernabei be elected mayor of Canton.

Let's say that Bernabei does qualify as an "independent" and gets elected.

What is the pathway to succeeding him in the more "immediate" sense of succession?

Well, it depends.

Were he to resign early to focus on the mayoralty campaign, the SCPR thinks his successor would be chosen by the Stark County Democratic Central Committee.

That, The Report is what Ohio Revised Code Section 305.02(A) & (B) stands for, to wit:

305.02 Vacancy in county offices filled by election or appointment.

(A) If a vacancy in the office of county commissioner ... 

(B) If a vacancy occurs from any cause in any of the offices named in division (A) of this section, the county central committee of the political party with which the last occupant of the office was affiliated shall appoint a person to hold the office and to perform the duties thereof until a successor is elected and has qualified, ... (larger font color change emphasis added)

Were Bernabei to hold his commissioner seat until elected as an independent, then - the SCPR believes, remaining commissioners and Republicans Janet Creighton and Richard Regula and Stark County Prosecutor John Ferrero (a Democrat) would appoint Bernabei's successor as indicated by ORC 305.02(D), to wit:

(D) If the last occupant of the office or the officer-elect was elected as an independent candidate, the board of county commissioners shall make such appointment at the time when the vacancy occurs, except where the vacancy is in the office of county commissioner, in which case the prosecuting attorney and the remaining commissioners or a majority of them shall make the appointment. (larger font color change emphasis added)

Of course, should Bernabei lose to Healy (the SCPR thinking that there is no requirement that Bernabei resign his commissioner seat if he qualifies as an "independent" candidate for mayor), there is no vacancy to fill inasmuch as Bernabei was re-elected in 2012 unopposed and his term runs through 2016.

But if he does win as an "independent" having remained a commissioner until elected mayor, one has to think that Republican Mungo has made a smart move "in jumping the gun" and thereby capturing the attention of Republican commissioners Creighton and Regula to get the appointment as Bernabei's successor.

Another scenario - if Bernabei loses to Healy having not resigned as commissioner to run for the Canton mayoralty - is that Mungo would have a head start in opposing him in November, 2016 presuming Bernabei would run for re-election.

Mungo's number one appeal to the SCPR is that "he is a fresh face" on the Stark County political scene.

Mungo's home origin is Summit County according to material published in this LINK.

In the aforecited publication he is described thusly (restructured for clarity purposes):

He [Mungo] and his wife, Michelle, live in Stark County and have three kids. 

Dr. Mungo is:

• an exerise enthusiast, 
• [a] hunter and 
• passionate about God, history and politics. 

In his free time, Dr. Mungo can be found charging across a field on the back of a horse as a Civil War Cavalry Re-enactor. He is one of the officers in the 6th Ohio Cavalry, the largest federal cavalry unit in the country at this time.

No doubt, something that Stark County political subdivision political races need are to have more "fresh 'political' faces" like Mungo step up to run for public office.

Of course, he may have qualities that negate that appeal.

A "fresh face" is not nearly enough to base a campaign on.

CLINE & HIS ROBOTIC FOLLOWER CURT BRADEN GO 2 OUT OF 3 ON RECENT BOE ACTIONS

UPDATED:  11:15 AM

BUT THEY "BLEW IT"

ON

CANTON CHARTER ISSUE
BUT
STARK COUNTY'S DELGATION
TO THE
OHIO GENERAL ASSEMBLY
CAN TRY TO FIX THE
BOE'S
UNDEMOCRATIC
STRUCTURE

VIDEOS

WILLIAM CLINE
LEADING THE WAY
FOR
REPUBLICAN MEMBERS
OF
STARK BOE
TO DENY CANTONIANS
THE VOTE

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

COUNCILMAN EDMOND MACK
DEMOCRAT- WARD 8
POST-MOTION-DENIAL
INTERVIEW

As far as The Stark County Political Report is concerned, GOP Stark County Board of Elections (BOE, Board) members Curt Braden and William Cline got it right on 2 out of 3 BOE issues within the past 10 days.

Their votes in favor of certifying the "independent" candidacies of Stark County Commissioner Thomas M. Bernabei for mayor of Canton and Francis H. Cicchinelli, Jr for mayor of Massillon in the upcoming November general election were votes to "let the people decide."

BUT their votes to deny Cantonians the right to vote

• on whether or not to form a charter commission on the pathway to Canton becoming a charter government city and thereby theoretically be more in control of its destiny 

were an outright denial of "let the people vote."

Here is Mack's reconsideration filing with the BOE:



And here is a SCPR extract of Circulator Vaughn's affidavit:

Nobody would attribute to either Braden or Cline that they bear earmarks of having the reasoning ability of rocket scientists, but for them to vote against letting the people of Canton decide the charter government issue based on a hyper-technical interpretation of Ohio election law absolutely makes no sense in light of their votes on the Bernabei and Cicchinelli protests.

Hyper-technical?

Indeed!  In spades!!

Take a look.

And in an overall look at the petition, note that the circulator in the final count of "valid" signatures reports what?

Twenty-six (26) signatures!

So Republican William S. Cline wants to disenfranchise 26 Cantonians on the petition and thousands more in the November, 2015 general election over an absolutely ridiculous interpretation of the spirit ("let the people vote" - Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted, Maier protest case, March, 2014) of Ohio election law.

Cantonians of course have The Stark County Political Report to go to in order to see the actual hearing on a Motion to Reconsider filed by Canton Councilman Edmond Mack (a Democrat, Ward 8) who initiated the petition process in the first place (LINK to prior SCPR blog).

The video of the BOE's hearing on Mack's motion.



And a post-decision video interview with Mack on the outcome and plans going forward.



Note that yours truly focuses on Cline on the matter of Monday's vote.

Why?

For a couple of reasons.

First, everybody knows that whatever Cline decides, Curt Braden follows like "a lost puppy dog looking for his master."

The same for Democrat William V. Sherer, II on the Democratic side with Stark Dems' lawyer member Sam Ferruccio, Jr.

Second, Cline, a lawyer, should know better.

A North Cantonian, Cline as president and of course a member of the North Canton Zoning Board of Appeals (has a reputation for being " more than a stickler or crossing every "t" and dotting every "i" in his work there.

Zoning regulations are one thing, but disenfrancising citizens is quite another.

The SCPR thinks William S. Cline clearly in this vote shows his anti-democratic bias.

Cline was president of the Stark BOE when the Board denied back in 2012 the SCPR the right to videotape BOE meetings.

It is interesting that after yours truly called the Ohio secretary of state's office how the decision got reversed almost immediately.

The Report believes that Cline likely is the moving force to keep the SCPR video camera at the back of the room some 30 feet from where the BOE members sit to make it as difficult as the Board possibly can for the people of Stark County to hear/see the particulars of Board functions.

He probably thinks he is putting the SCPR down.  The slam however is not with The Report but on the Stark County public's right to the best possible hearing and seeing of the shenanigans going on at the Stark BOE with the board members.

And, of course, on the 6th of July, Cline rudely interrupted The Report post-hearing interview of Bernabei attorney Raymond Vasvari, Jr.

Do you think he would have disrespected Carl Monday of Channel 19 that way?

All of which is to point out that yours truly and obviously Cline to not think well of one another.

Of course personal disaffection is not relevant to the administration of Stark County government and if The Report is correct that Cline is on a personal vendetta with this blogger, the he ought to be ousted from the Board.

Moreover, if the "organized" Stark County GOP has any appreciation at all of bending over backwards to ensure the greatest possible latitude in empower the people to decide and not let some isolated from the voters guy like Cline thwart stand in the way, it will send a message loud and clear to Cline by removing him as a GOP representative from the Board immediately!

But guess who works for Cline and the three other members of the BOE?

Jeff Matthews.

What is Matthews other job?

He is chairman of the Stark County Republican Party.

You talk about "as big as they get CONFLICT IN INTERERST;' this is it folks.

The Report understands that one of Stark County's top Republican official has told Mattews to his face that he should not be a party official and Stark GOP chairman at the same time.

To be fair, this same official is said to think the same of the Democrats with Phil Giavasis being both the Canton Municipal Court clerk of courts and Stark County Dems' chairman.

John Ferrero when he became Stark County prosecutor resigned as the Dems' chairman.

But Giavasis himself, Randy Gonzalez, Shane Jackson, Johnnie A. Maier, Jr all served on the BOE while being public officials.

The SCPR has gotten facetious with Maier, Jr. et al in saying what used to be organized labor's seat on the BOE (now reclaimed - apparently - with Sherer, II being a board member) became a Dems' clerk of courts keepsake.

In a comedic-politically-tragic sense, such incestuous relationships damage the public's take on the integrity of our BOE processes.

The SCPR would say to Canton voters, "punish Braden and Cline" and the next time they come up for election.

Unfortunately, there is no elections that Cantonians can weigh-in on (except if they happen to be members of the Stark County Republican Party Executive Committee).

For Ohio's Board of Elections structure is the MOST UNDEMOCRATIC/REPUBLICAN government institution in the structural scheme of Ohio government.

One would think that Stark County centered Ohio General Assembly members:

• Scott Oelslager (Ohio Senate, Republican - Plain), 
• Kirk Schuring (Ohio House, Republican - Jackson),
• Christina Hagan (Ohio House, Republican - Marlboro)

and last but certainly not least the most politically worthless of all

• Stephen Slesnick (Ohio House, Democrat - Canton)

would want to correct this fraud on people of Stark County and indeed of all of Ohio.

SCPR Note:  Slesnick is rumored (term limited out of the OGA after his current term) to be in the running to replace Commissioner Tom Bernabei if he gets elected mayor of Canton as an "independent" candidate.

Don't hold your breath Stark Countians.

Oleslager, Schuring, Hagan and Slesnick are guess what?

Of course, card-carring Republicans and Democrats.

By the silence and inaction Oelslager, Schuring, Hagan and Slesnick show Stark Countians and Ohioians (most of whom, by the way, carry NO party identification but rather are shown on election rolls to be political "independents") that they care about the own personal political interests and that of the political parties' labels they wear than the do the integrity of America's/Ohio's/Stark County's democratic-republican form government.

Such teamed up with other erosive factors also present in the administration and structure of "our" government leads to one Canton precinct in Canton in the 2014 primary election voting at a rate of 2.03%.

Will we wake up one day to realize that our democratic-republic is only in the history book.

If we do, then the likes of Oelslager, Schuring, Hagan and Slesnick will have to own up to themselves that they had the opportunity to make a correction but instead let their personal political interests and party affiliations prevail.

This blog should fire folks up to pressure these legislators to push for reform of our elections institution of government.

Back in October, 2014 county officials (including "unelected" BOE members) celebrated the re-location of the Stark BOE from its decrepit facilities for years on 3rd Street NE in Canton.

One can change the cosmetics, but the interior remains the same.

The Ohio BOE scheme of things is an absolute disgrace!

And the Stark County BOE as managed by the organized Stark County Republican and Democratic political parties is our home grown disgrace!!!

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

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

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

VIDEOS

OKEY FINAL ARGUMENT

CONLEY FINAL ARGUMENT

MEMBER CLINE

MEMBER BRADEN

MEMBER FERRUCCIO

MEMBER SHERER

THE VOTE

CONLEY & CICCHINELLI
COMMENTS

OKEY DECLINES

WITNESSES

MASSILLON COUNCILMAN
SHADDRICK STINSON
"I was a little pissed"

STARK DEMS CHAIR
PHIL GIAVASIS

MASSILLON COUNCIL PRESIDENT
TONY TOWNSEND
HIS NON-APPEARANCE

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

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

PROTESTER
MELVIN SCHARTIGER

CICCHINELLI PETITION SIGNER
ALAN CLIMER
FORMER SERVICE-SAFETY DIRECTOR

JILL CRAEMER
DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE
WARD 4 MASSILLON

MASSILLON COUNCILMAN
PAUL MANSON

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

JOY CICCHINELLI

 FRANK CICCHINELLI

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

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

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

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

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

was a testimonial "fatal flaw" in that:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

THE WRAP UP

OKEY'S FINAL ARGUMENT



CONLEY'S FINAL ARGUMENT



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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

THE BOARD MEMBERS VIDEOS

MEMBER CLINE



MEMBER BRADEN



MEMBER FERRUCCIO



MEMBER SHERER



THE VOTE



POST VOTE COMMENTS

CONLEY AND CICCHINELLI
OKEY REFUSED COMMENT



WITNESSES - CALLED BY CONLEY

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

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

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

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

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

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

Way to go Steve Okey, no?

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

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

Really?

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

The Stinson video.



PHIL GIAVASIS
IN HIS ROLE AS STARK DEMS CHAIR


Giavasis confirmed:

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

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


Conley calls Tony Townsend to testify:

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

WITNESSES CALLED BY OKEY

PROTESTER
BOB RICHARDS

Okey establishes that Richards:

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

On cross-examination, Attorney Conley establishes:

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

PROTESTER 
MELVIN SCHARTIGER

This Okey witness testified:

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

On cross-examination, Attorney Conley establishes:

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

ALAN CLIMER
FORMER CICCHINELLI SERVICE-SAFETY DIRECTOR
CICCHINELLI PETITION SIGNER



A strange Okey witness to say the least.

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

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

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

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

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

JILL CRAEMER
MASSILLON DEMOCRAT CANDIDATE WARD 4



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

PAUL MANSION
COUNCILMAN AT LARGE
MASSILLON





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

Wow!

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

Wow, again!

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



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

The Report believes the converse was understood between he two.

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

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

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

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

The statement was not allowed.



JOY CICCHINELLI
WIFE - FRANK CICCHINELLI


An intriguing choice by Okey.

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

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

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

To replied, "Yes, I did."

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



FRANK CICCHINELLI
THE INDEPENDENT CANDIDATE