CAMPAIGN FINANCE: FRANCIS H. CICCHINELL, JR - TOM RIVERA A CICCHINELLI CONTRIBUTOR; ALSO, WHO DOES CICCINELLI SUPPORT? COUNCIL PRESIDENT CANDIDATE SCOTT GRABER RESPONDS TO THURSDAY NIGHT INCIDENT ALLEGEDLY INVOLVING TOM RIVERA.

One of the surprises of last Thursday's candidates forum put on by Massillon Cable TV at the Lincoln-Lions theater was an incident wherein Cicchinelli supporter (including a financial contribution as evidenced above) Tom Rivera is alleged to have assaulted council president candidate Scott Graber in the May 3rd Democratic Primary.

The SCPR conversed via email with Graber and here is his description of and response to the incident:

 ... I was standing out front of the Lincoln theater having a smoke and talking to Dave Jennings when Mr Rivera came out of the theater with who I assume was his wife,  I said "Hi Tommy"to him and said "Looking good!" and he responded as he was walking away, stopped,  returned and engaged me, while his wife continued walking.  I was actually somewhat surprised and honored that he even recognized me by name.  I had no expectation that he would even stop to talk to me, as he was apparently leaving, and his wife continued walking.

I don't know what it was that I said that angered him, but he did become very angry and insulting, and ended up striking me on the left ear.  Subsequent conversations I have had with people who have known him since High School indicate that he has a history of tending to want to settle his differences with people with physical confrontations, which I was not aware of myself, and that he has engaged other people in a similar fashion regarding this election, also, which I was unaware of.

I was surprised, shocked, stunned, and disappointed that he became angry and lost his temper so completely, as I had always looked up to him. I did not call the police: the sole witness, a Dave Jennings did.  ...

I have no feelings about Mr. Rivera, other than to hope he gets help for his apparent anger management problem, and my best wishes to him in his future endeavors.

Graber, who is running against Massillon City Council (Council) President Glenn Gamber is mostly concerned that the incident not distract voter attention from his campaign.

Obviously, Cicchinelli has to be aghast at the occurrence of the incident.

A few days ago, the SCPR published part one of a two-part blog on the Cicchinelli campaign finance report for the pre-primary period.  In the first publication the focus was on who contributed to him.  In this edition, the focus on who the mayor is supporting.

In prior campaigns Cicchinelli is known to have supported Council candidates who are running against his political enemies.  Yesterday, The Report published a video of opponent Catazaro-Perry telling "the rest of the story" about how after she was elected in 2003 and sent a letter to her constituents not to the liking of the mayor that he became actively engaged in her 2005 opponent's campaign.  And The Report has heard various other stories of Cicchinelli soliciting candidates to run against recalcitrant council members and/or supporting their opponents.

There is once such example in his current finance report, to wit:

 

A $100 donation to "Jackie Carter for Council."  As campaign contributions to council candidates go, $100 is huge.  Wow!  

But not a surprise.  As the SCPR sees it, fourth ward Councilman Tony Townsend is one of Kathy Catazaro-Perry's most loyal supporters on Council (somewhat rivaled by Gary Anderson - Ward 2).

Moreover, Townsend has battled with the Cicchinelli administration over various issues coming before Council most notably and recently a number of votes on the administration's budget proposal for 2011 (he voted for Councilman Larry Slagle's "compromise?" final budget proposal) and Townsend's proposal for the renaming of  Shriver Park for the late T. Roy Roberson.  The latter battle was fought out between Cicchinelli's proxies on Council and the Catazaro-Perry, Anderson and Townsend alliance.

As an incumbent, Francis Cicchinelli, Jr has a significant advantage over challenger Catazaro-Perry.  He has the duty to hire for the city of Massillon to ensure that Massillon can deliver services to the Massillon taxpaying public.

Many of those folks, of their own will - as required by Ohio law -  want to help Cicchinelli remain mayor.  Campaign finance law requires that such contributors be reported in their own category.  The list follows at the end of this blog.

As the campaign winds down, The Report thinks it is difficult to predict who might win.  And yours truly will not even try.

Suffice it to say, whomever wins will have a herculean task of bringing healing processes to bear on Massillon government.  While there is a Republican opponent for the general election to be held in November, the odds are that the Democratic nominee will be the next mayor of Massillon.

The question is:  will the winner be able to bring the Massillon Democratic Party be able:

1. To bring the party together enough to withstand the Republican challenge, and
2. If she/he can, will the survivor be able to govern?

HE'S THE ONE! MARK CERRETA TO BE NAMED AT NORTH CANTON COUNCIL MEETING TONIGHT TO REPLACE DARYL REVOLDT AS COUNCILMAN-AT-LARGE? READ ABOUT THE POLITICAL INTRIGUE THAT TOOK PLACE IN GETTING TO THE CERRETA APPOINTMENT.

It's been "Holy Week" this past week leading up to Easter Sunday but there has been plenty of political intrigue going on with North Canton City Council nonetheless.

Not at North Canton City Hall so much as perhaps on the telephone and at Sylvesters North End Grille out on Portage Street in the Dogwood City; a favorite hangout of several North Canton City Councilmen as a more palatable (in terms of cuisine) place to mull over city business.  The Report is not suggesting that the councilmen are violating Ohio's Sunshine law as undoubtedly they keep the membership of the "Sylvesters Group" to three or less.

President Jon Snyder was hopeful that North Canton City Council (Council) would have named "Mister North Canton" (as one local describes him) Mark Cerreta to replace Kasich administration recruit (Ohio Department of Development) Daryl Revoldt who served as Council president until Governor Kasich snatched him away.

But, as he often does (out of public view), Councilman Jeff Davies played the contrarian.  The word was that since word came down from on high (Revoldt) that Cerreta would be a good man to replace Revoldt, Davies fell off the Republican wagon (Snyder, Kiesling and Davies) and was refusing to provide the fourth vote needed to select Cerreta.  As a side note, readers of the SCPR will recall (from prior blogs on this topic) that Revoldt's first choice was Jennifer Creighton Kling, daughter of Stark County Commissioner Janet Weir Creighton. 

Fourth vote?  Yes, fourth vote.  Whereas the SCPR understands that Dan Peters is a Democrat, The Report is told that he gets his marching orders from Councilwoman Marcia Kiesling which makes The Report believe that Peters is a de facto Republican. So, in an ironic fashion, the fourth vote on contested issues does not come from persuading a Democrat to cross party lines but in keeping "Davies on the Republican reservation."

The Stark County Political Report has learned that when Davies bulked at Council naming Mister North Canton (err Mark Cerreta), the name of Allen Wells was offered up as a person that Council Democrats Pat DeOrio (a former Republican) and Doug Foltz could support and so could Davies.

Coming out the Council meeting of April 18th, Repace was convinced that Wells was the person to be named tonight.  Why?

He overheard a conversation between Wells and Councilman Davies to effect that he (Davies) would be supporting Wells for councilman-at-large in the November election.  As it turns out Repace read too much into the conversation (which supposedly was also a conversation that Councilman Peters had with Wells but not within the hearing of Repace).

However, Council President Jon Snyder was intent in getting Cerreta accepted and after last Monday's meeting he started putting the "full-court political press" on Davies.  In time, Davies folded (as The Report believes he usually does) and agreed to vote for Cerreta.

The only question remaining for tonight's meeting is whether or not DeOrio and Foltz will stand their ground and vote for their original choice of former councilman Jim Repace (long time IBEW union president at the Hoover Company, and, of course, a Democrat).

The Report believes the odds are very high that DeOrio and Foltz will abandon Repace and fall in line to vote for Cerreta.

After all, they are going to have to work with this guy and its going to be just a tad "ouchy" if they hadn't voted for him in the first place.  Moreover, there is this thing in homogenous communities like North Canton (witness the drive for "public face unanimity" on the North Canton City Schools Board of Education [Board] as articulated by Board President Jordan Greenwald in a recent Board video) to have unanimity.  Any expression of dissent is seen as a sign of weakness in these kinds of political environments.

Accordingly, the SCPR will be "waiting with baited breath" to see how Foltz and DeOrio vote!

(VIDEO) CAMPAIGN FINANCE: MASSILLON MAYOR FRANCIS H. CICCHINELLI, JR - WHO SUPPORTS HIM? ALSO, SEE/HEAR CATAZARO-PERRY DESCRIBE THE BEGINNING OF THE RIGHT BETWEEN HER AND CICCHINELLI?

Part I of the SCPR Mayor Francis H. Cicchinelli, Jr pre-primary campaign finance report focuses on his "general public" supporters.  Part II (coming up later this week will spotlight Massillon city employees who contributed to his campaign and a look into other office seeker/elected officials that he supports.

Mayor Cicchinelli likes to make a big to-do about having been one of the originals to ask Kathy Catazaro-Perry to consider running for office when she moved from Perry Township into Massillon proper.  When asked why she has turned against him, he sort of shrugs his shoulders suggesting a "I don't have a clue" and then speculates that his arch-enemy Johnnie A. Maier, Jr. (Massillon clerk of courts and former Democratic Party chairman as well as his chief deputy and Stark County Democratic Party political director Shane Jackson) poisoned her against him.

It appears that his account has a Paul Harvey-esque "rest of the story" which Catazaro-Perry revealed at their appearance at the Lincoln-Lions Theater in downtown Massillon last Thursday evening.

Here is the Catazaro-Perry rejoinder:



Interesting, no?  If you don't go with Cicchinelli, you get screamed at and mayoral support of your upcoming opponent?  Hmm?

The one thing that the SCPR is big about is one being one's own person.

However, as The Report has written many times, yours truly is skeptical that Catazaro-Perry is her own person in the face of her close advisers that make up the Maier-led faction of Massillon Democrats.

In comparing the pre-primary campaign finance reports of Cicchinelli and Catazaro-Perry, it is to be noted that there is very little, if any, support to the candidates from the same contributors.  An example, former Stark County Auditor Kim Perez supports Cicchinelli whereas Stark County Sheriff Chief Deputy (Kim's brother) supports Catazaro-Perry.  Of course, neither is from Massillon.

Looking over Cicchinelli's list of contributors, it seems to the SCPR Cicchinelli is the candidate of Massillon business interests and gets no union support.  Also, it appears that someone in the Cicchinelli campaign has been leaning on folks who have gotten appointments to city boards and commissioners to contribute to the mayor.

Here is the list:

NORTH CANTON BOARD OF EDUCATION: DISRESPECTING PARENTS ON COMMUNICATING INFORMATION ABOUT THE CONFIGURATION OF "ALL DAY, EVERYDAY KINDERGARTEN?" PARENTS UP IN ARMS!

Yours truly began community involvement back in the early 1980s by attending board of education meetings in the Lake Local School District.

One of the problems then which apparently continues to be a problem today (especially in North Canton) is that board members get into their own little world and lose touch with their constituents.

Flush from a victory in November on a 4.5-mill additional levy, The Report hears that the North Canton Board of Education (BOE or Board) has ired many consumers of kindergarten education in the district with its Elementary Service Plan that has been created (by school administrators and their "hand-picked" parent-supporters; according to critics) whereby the district will transition to an "all day, everyday kindergarten" beginning with the 2012/2013 school year.

In passing the levy, North Cantonians averted a projected $2 million shortfall this fiscal year.

Accordingly, going to all day kindergarten is an interest phenomenon in and of itself given that Ohio is (as a result of Republican Governor John Kasich trashing defeated Democratic Governor Ted Strickland's Evidence-based education model) eliminating the mandate for local school districts to adopt "all day, everyday kindergarten programs" effective July 1, 2011.

And North Canton's parents seemed to be pleased that the North Canton BOE is going ahead with the program totally paid for out of local resources.  However, many are very upset with the implementation of the Elementary Service Plan (ESP) in terms of how the five buildings which currently house North Canton's early childhood and elementary education are being reconfigured to accommodate "all day, everyday kindergarten" at only two of the facilities.

A major criticism, which the Stark County Political Report buys into, is the degree to which the BOE is structuring the exchange of viewpoints on the kindergarten implementation issue in such of fashion so as to stifle the objections that many parents have with the way the ESP is likely being forced by the administration and is fully supported by the BOE (except perhaps member Thomas).

One of the beefs that dissenting parents have with the BOE is the way the Building Review Committee was put together.  They say that the ESP was a done deal from the beginning and then the Gallina administration (North Canton Superintendent Michael Gallina) set out to orchestrate a committee to dutifully follow along with the administration's template in putting the ESP together.

A second objection is how the BOE refuses to spontaneously interact with the disagreeing parents.  While the parents can address the Board during a "public speaks" portion of the regular board meetings, they get no response at the meeting itself:  only stares from the five members.  The North Canton Board of Education, they say, refuse to engage them face-to-face.

Readers of the SCPR should see a video that is near the bottom of the home page of the North Canton City Schools website (http://www.northcantonschools.org/nccs/) "Community Meeting Video (2/9/11)."  It is a classic "how not to approach the public" presentation.  Simply, unbelievable!

The whole presentation is done in a very patronizing and therefore insulting - to the public - manner.  Board president Jordan Greenwald talks about appreciating the input from North Cantonians (and does a public relations piece for Gallina - as if he were his PR agent -  only to be followed by Superintendent Gallina who after an feeble attempt at comedy launches into an apology for not effectively interacting with those affected by ESP in terms of getting ESP information out to them.

But the crown jewel of the presentation is the entreaty to interact with the BOE/administration via an "exit ticket."  A what?  Yes, an "exit ticket!"

The Report looked up "exit ticket" on the Internet and it appears they are used to debrief students at the end of a course of study.  Another BOE patronizing, ill-informed, unresponsive and therefore unwise tactic.

Get this.  The meeting is billed as a "community meeting."  But there is no live interaction (just like the regular Board meetings).  Such has the appearance of a Board and administration that is hunkered down and avoiding any spontaneity whatsoever in meeting with their constituents.  After all, the decision is made:  what is there to talk about?

Much more of this kind of stuff and the levy that North Cantonians voted for in November, 2010 will be the last in a long, long time for the North Canton schools.  All North Canton's board members need to do is to talk to the members of the Northwest BOE.  Northwest went ten or so years enduring levy failure after levy failure because the Northwest voting population did not trust the Northwest BOE.

Is that where the North Canton BOE wants to be in five years?  Trying to rebuild trust in local government like Northwest has had to do and the Stark County commissioners are in the process of doing.

On Wednesday evening the BOE will be making its decision on the matter.  It is pretty much a foregone conclusion of the disaffected parents that the Board will vote (unanimously - after some internal behind closed doors dissent -  President Greenwald?) to do the Elementary Service Plan. All without any face-to-face dialogue with the North Canton public.

There is one more interesting aspect to all of the goings on in this matter.  It has to do with member Christopher Goldthorpe.  A SCPR source is suggesting that he may have a conflict in interest in all of this due to the arrangement whereby his wife Debbie (Associate Director of the North Canton YMCA) conducts a Y-Care daycare (North Canton YMCA Preschool & Child Care Center) at North Canton's unused Charlotte Street school.  As part of the ESP approach to implementing "all day, everyday kindergarten," the Charlotte building is to be torn down and the programs in place there (including the Y-Care one) will be moved to the Early Childhood Center.

The significance of the tear down of Charlotte?  One of the alternatives that the BOE has supposedly been  considering was to place the "all day, everyday kindergarten" at the Early Childhood Center.  Hmm?

The question The Report's source has is this:  With Director Goldthorpe facing the prospect of losing the Charlotte facility for the YMCA's program, did that factor have anything to do with the "quick" abandonment of the Early Childhood Center site as a potential site for the entire "all day, everyday kindergarten?"  For The  Report's source says that had the Board opted for the Early Childhood Center as the site, there would not have been any room for the YMCA program.

Perhaps BOE member Goldthorpe will see the source's concern and abstain on Wednesday evening?  But that really wouldn't solve the question would it?  Why is that?  Because, beyond the vote, what part, if any, did member Goldthorpe play in pre-vote deliberations that resulted in the Board deciding in favor of the ESP over the Early Childhood Center?

It appears that the Board never seriously considered the option that parents of affected children ("affected" by the relocation of their neighborhood school for most - not all, of course - students) really wanted.  They preferred to have kindergarten added to the school that is in their child's neighborhood as a K-5 facility.

But what do parents know anyway!

CAMPAIGN FINANCE: KATHY CATAZARO-PERRY - WHO SUPPORTS HER?

In the race for mayor of Massillon an interesting sidelight issue is:  who among the candidates represents the interests of everyday people best?

Actually, it could be Republican Lee Brunckman.  He is a Stark Area Transportation Authority (SARTA) driver who has had to miss a number of campaign events because he doing what?  Out doing his job:  driving a bus over the roadways of Stark County.  Can't get more everyday than that.  But, then, why does he bill himself as a Republican who many people think are anything but working for the financial interests of everyday people?

Democrat Kathy Catazaro-Perry has tried to position herself as the working class candidate.  But when one looks at her pre-primary campaign finance report it is really hard to garner from the list of contributors that everydays are the bulk of her contributors.  Unions have a significant place among her financial supporters and undoubtedly are providing a huge part of her "on-the-ground" door-to-door campaign workers.

The SCPR's impression of Catazaro-Perry (which is substantiated by the identity of many of her contributors - see the list below) is that she is about as well of a politically connected person as one can get in Stark County politics.  Granted, she does espouse union positions (for Project Labor Agreements [PLAs) and is against Senate Bill 5), her campaign finance report suggests that he has at least one foot planted firmly in the camps of the pooh-bahs who control the Stark County establishment.

In this regard, this only thing little about the Catazaro-Perry list is the amount - per contribution - of most of the contributions.  Mostly, they are under the $100 mark with only a few over $100 and $500 being the top contributions.  But one should not be fooled by this phenomenon.  In the opinion of the SCPR, Kathy Catazaro-Perry is a player in the very top strata of Stark political, economic and social stratosphere!

Here is here list of contributors:

A SCPR POSITION: STARK COUNTY SHOULD HAVE A COUNTYWIDE LIBRARY SYSTEM, SOONER THAN LATER

 UPDATE 04/22/2011 AT 2:30 PM

Bob Richmond, who is president of the Canal Fulton Public Library Board recently told the Akron Beacon Journal (Stark asks libraries to look at funding, Kathy Antoniotti, April 16, 2011):

Kent [Oliver - executive director of the Stark County District Library] has been pushing for consolidation for years. Although it's not a part of this proposal, I think that might be the ulterior motive to force consolidation.

Richmond was reacting to a letter (the full text of which is a the end of this blog) sent by Oliver on March 15th to the Stark County Budget Commission proposing that distribution of the state of Ohio Public Library Fund (PLF) monies be henceforth distributed according to population base of the school districts that Stark County's seven libraries serve.

Back in 2003 Oliver was a part of discussions on the possibility of Stark County library consolidation.  However, due to turfism, which is rampant in Stark County, the exploration went absolutely nowhere.

The SCPR believes that Oliver does favor consolidation.  However, it is not a conspiratorial thing as Richmond suggests.  Moreover, The Report does not think that considation is a bad thing.  A countywide library system like a countywide 9-1-1 system financially enables Stark Countians to participate in state-of-the-art advances.

As Oliver points out in his letter, the Stark County District Library (SCDL) is in a league of its own as far as libraries in Stark are concerned when it comes to keeping up with technology, programming, having a mobile service and a book transfer service. 

Though consolidation is desirable as far as the SCPR is concerned, it will not be happening in the next year of two.  It will come in time.  But down the road five or ten years.

Oliver in his letter makes a persuasive case for the SCDL to get a greater share of Stark's PLF money.  Knowing the budget commissioners as The Report does, Oliver's SCDL will not be getting the $800,000 plus he is asking for in additional revenue.  But it appears, SCDL will be getting more in 2012.  And it should.

Over a phase-in period the current formula should be abandoned and Oliver's population base adopted.

Here is how the SCDL population formula works out on the current funding (2011):

The SCPR agrees with Mr. Richmond in the implicit point that he is making that as state aid subsides and if the budget commission agrees to increase the SCDL's share (as The Report believes it should and will do) coupled with the difficulty that Alliance, Canal Fulton, Louisville, Massillon, Minerva (which has no loal levy) North Canton certainly have in getting future levies renewed/increased, the survival of these libraries is a matter of time.

What they ought to be doing is to initiate a dialogue with the SCDL with an eye toward creating a structure of consolidation to take place in a phase-in overtime.

Or, they can - if the want to bury their heads in sand - wait until they suffocate.

Hopefully, they will get real and make the transition a win-win for for Stark County as a whole and their respective communities in particular.

Here is a copy of the SCDL letter.