SCPR CONTINUING ELECTION COVERAGE: IS HARTNETT IN DRIVER'S SEAT ON UNCOUNTED BALLOTS?

UPDATED AT 7:00 AM

As only The Stark County Political Report does, The Report obtained a listing from the Stark County Board of Elections (BOE) of these Stark County precincts in which there are "uncounted" provisional ballots (regular) and provisional absentee ballots.

There are 1217 of such votes.  But only 1175 are going to be counted.  A unanimous (all four BOE members) board vote determined that a number of said ballots (along with some absentee ballots) are defective as a matter of law and therefore not eligible to be counted.

Those 1175 votes will likely (there could be a tie, no?) the contest between Curtis Werren (the Republican who was the beneficiary of a Republican John Kasich gubernatorial appointment in June, 2013 to succeed the retired V. Lee Sinclair), and Stark County chief prosecutor Chryssa Hartnett.

Hartnett finished with an "unofficial" 29 vote lead late in the night on November 4th.

It used be that it was "finger nail biting time" on recounts mandated or paid for by a challenging candidate in this country in razor thin election results.

But not so much anymore with the advent of electronic vote counting machines.

However, with federal legislation a number years ago, we Americans have invented a new drama into our voting and vote counting process:  "the provisional 'paper' ballot."

Absentee ballots are nothing new.  But the "stragglers" that come in after election day but postmarked on election day or before are relatively few in number.

The provisionals can be and in this election are quite a different matter.  In this election they outnumber the countable absentees 1,044 to 131.

Beginning with North Canton precinct 2D (Ward 2 is represented by North Canton Council president Daniel "Jeff" Peters [a colleague of Werren's wife Stephanie who represents Ward 3]) which (2D) was a Curtis Warren precinct in this election by a margin (unofficial count) of 57 votes; it might appear - at first glance - that in the contest of whom is going to be the elected judge that Curtis Werren has the advantage in that 2D, at 17 provisional ballots, is the top provisional voting precinct in all of Stark County.

However, the SCPR's take is that overall, it may be that challenger Hartnett has the advantage.

Of the top tier (five or more provisionals) of provisional ballot precincts, Hartnett won the precinct original "unofficial" count in 50 precincts whereas Werren won in 38 precincts.

For all precincts (provisionals and absentees), Hartnett won the original "unofficial" count in 150 precincts whereas Werren won 133.  One precinct ended in a tie (Jackson #19, 153 to 153).

Of course, nobody knows for sure as trying to figure out what type of voter (Republican, Democrat, conservative, liberal, rich, poor, middle income or any other tip off) voted and how a particular voter may have voted is a guess at best.

The SCPR is being told that the Werren camp is pinning its hopes on Lake Township.

Werren won 18 of Lake's 23 precincts.

In Lake there were 95 provisional "paper" ballots and 13 "late" but countable absentee ballots cast.

Precinct 15 stands out as a possible "treasure trove" for Werren supporters.  Werren won the precinct by a commanding 133 vote margin.

Could those 11 and the one absentee be decidedly for Werren?

If so, Lake, indeed, could be "a game changer" for those Stark Countians who want to see Werren elected.

So it stands to reason that Lake could be a key in turning the overall "official" and "certified" vote Werren's way.

The SCPR has sorted a spreadsheet file provided to The Report on request by Travis Secrest of the BOE and here is result of the sort.

• SCPR Notes:
• The colors (blue for Hartnett, red for Werren) were added by the SCPR)
• Vote differentials and who won/lost precinct votes were tabulated by the SCPR; not the Stark BOE

BREAKING NEWS! SHERIFF-ELECT GEORGE T. MAIER AVOIDS "PERSONAL LIABILITY" FOR NOW.

UPDATED & REPUBLISHED

The Stark County Political Report has just learned that Judge Linton Lewis, Jr. (of DeRolfe case fame [finding Ohio's funding of public education to be unconstitutional]) has found (in a ruling made yesterday) that Sheriff-elect George T. Maier will not be liable to former sheriff Timothy Swanson for damages in the approximate amount of $90,000 for having usurped to office.

Readers will recall that the Ohio Supreme Court found that Maier was illegally appointed to office as sheriff by the Stark County Democratic Party Central Committee (SCDP-CC) on February 5, 2013 and removed him from office on November 6, 2013.

Subsequently, the SCDP-CC on December 11, 2013 reappointed Maier.

In unofficial returns published by the Stark County Board of Elections, Maier defeated Republican Larry Dordea in the November 4th election by about 3,000 votes.

Other than the defeat by virtue of the quo warranto filed by Swanson, Maier has survived every challenge to his candidacy to be sheriff including:

• a indirect attempt via a Writ of Prohibition filed by SCDP-CC challenger Louis Darrow against the SCDP-CC proceeding on February 5th,
• a challenge made to the Stark County Board of Elections (BOE) on the issue of whether or not Maier was qualified,
• which was deadlocked at the BOE with the Republican board members voting to disqualify him and the Democrat members voting to qualify him,
• Republican Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted while not saying he was qualified allowed Maier ballot access,
• the Ohio Supreme Court using an "abuse of discretion" standard said that Husted did not abuse his discretion is allowing Maier ballot access.

Local attorney and civic activist Craig T. Conley (who represented Swanson in the civil liability case) tells the SCPR that he thinks Judge Lewis erred in ruling against his Motion for Summary Judgment.

Moreover, Conley says, in granting Maier a summary judgment when the Maier attorney never filed such a motion is clearly in error and that he expects that the motion grant to "unasked" by Maier is clearly reversible error.

If Conley is correct in his assessment on the latter point and the Fifth District Court of Appeals reverses Lewis, then there will be a trial on the issue of civil liability.

The court of appeals could reverse Lewis on both rulings in which case Maier would be liable to Swanson unless his legal counsel can get the Ohio Supreme Court to hear an appeal (not as "a matter of right" as in original jurisdiction case such as quo warranto) of any personal liability determination.

As former New York Yankee catcher Yogi Berra is credited with saying:  "it's not over until its over" seems to apply with this case.

SCPR CONTINUING ELECTION ANALYSIS: WERREN THE MEAL TICKET FOR TWO DEMS TO GET JUDGESHIPS?

BELDEN RESIGNATION 

COULD CREATE ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY 

FOR STARK COUNTY VOTERS

TO OVERRIDE A KASICH APPOINTMENT

Of course, Curtis Werren could still win election to the Stark County Court of Common Pleas post he was appointed to by Republican governor John Kasich in June, 2013.

Kasich appointed Werren to replace retiring judge V. Lee Sinclair.

One of the applicants for the appointment was Stark County "top gun" prosecutor Chryssa Hartnett who has a "top notch" reputation among Stark County jurists for her work as a prosecutor.

But she is a Democrat.

Despite the electorate's expectation that any governor - Republican or Democrat -  will appoint the best person when a vacancy occurs, many, including The Stark County Political Report thinks that Kasich let partisan politics rule over merit in appointing Werren over Hartnett.

Too her credit, Hartnett did not take a gubernatorial "no" for an answer, she went over his head to "the people of Stark County.

And she may have pulled off the improbable.

As of the end of the "unofficial" count on November 4th, she holds a 29 vote edge over Werren who had more than a year head start over Hartnett in campaigning for retaining his appointed judgeship.

Some 1175 votes remain to be counted.

Make no mistake about it, every thing that Werren did from taking office in July, 2013 had to be with "one eye" on what this or that move (except for case decisions themselves) had on his chances to retain office.

That Hartnett had any lead at all even at the end of the "unofficial" results over Werren in a year in which Kasich polled almost 24,000 votes more than than fellow Republican Werren, was truly amazing feat.

The SCPR gauge is that Hartnett cut Werren's share of the Stark County Kasich vote margin of victory (acknowledging that not all of the 24,000 votes were Republican) because she was able to convince voters that she was the much better qualified candidate.

Such is refreshing for those of us who look for merit over political connections and other political game playing.

If Hartnett prevails, she will have overcome a seemingly insuperable barrier.

Conversely, despite being a sitting judge for over a year, Werren proved to be an anemic candidate.

All of Stark's Republican "powers that be" weighed in with "purse and advocacy" on behalf of Werren.

This is contrary with what Stark's Republicans did (Commissioner Janet Creighton being the chief among them) with respect to the candidacy of Republican sheriff candidate Larry Dordea.  A highly competent policeman and a man with impeccable character.

Late last week came word in area media reports that Canton Municipal Court judge Stephen Belden is resigning.

The SCPR has to  believe that Belden has indication that the results of a disciplinary complaint pending before the Disciplinary Counsel branch of the Ohio Supreme court are not looking good.

Belden is thought by a number of local attorneys as being somewhat eccentric.

In 2009, he had what he thought was an unruly defendant duct-taped to his chair.

Belden says that he cannot talk about the particulars of the charges because they remain under investigation. 

Speculation that the SCPR has heard from a reliable includes thinking that the investigation could be about alleged abuse of discretion by Judge Belden in his use of his "contempt of court" power.

The Report is told that Belden, in his alleged misuse of a judge's contempt power, is thought by some to have created a virtual "debtors prison" in Stark County.

Being jailed for failure to pay debt has been outlawed for over 200 years in America.

From a NPR report:

Debtors prisons were outlawed in the United States nearly 200 years ago. And more than 30 years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court made it clear: Judges cannot send people to jail just because they are too poor to pay their court fines.

That decision came in a 1983 case called Bearden v. Georgia, which held that a judge must first consider whether the defendant has the ability to pay but "willfully" refuses.

The Report disagrees with Belden on his inability to talk about the investigation.  But the SCPR understands why he wouldn't want to.

When someone filed a complaint with Disciplinary Counsel on local attorney and civic activist Craig Conley for his "he is grandstanding" comment when Stark County Court of Common Pleas judge Frank Forchione ordered a defendant to make a $5,000 contribution (redirected belonging to the Stark County treasury "fine" money) to a fund for the Sandy Hook Elementary School student shooting victims (December, 2012); Conley "waived" his privacy rights and shared the sum and substance of the complaint with the Stark County public.

The complaint turned out to be bogus in that reviewing authorities found it to be without merit.

Accordingly, despite that he gave other reasons for resigning his judgeship, The Report is not buying Belden's given reasons for resigning.

For purposes of this blog, the SCPR approaches Belden's resignation as being an opportunity for Werren to "get a second bite at the apple" should Hartnett's scant 29 vote margin hold up.

Here is an e-mail that the SCPR received right after the Belden resignation annoucement:

From: ... >
To: tramols@att.net
Sent: Wednesday, November 12, 2014 10:27 PM

Subject: Disorder in the Courts

Now that Judge Belden has come out into the open about his retirement, the rumor is that if Judge Werren loses to Chryssa Harnet in the final count that Judge Werren will get the nod for the seat.  While some are also saying that Judge Kubilius wants the appointment to Judge Parks seat if the disciplinary counsel suspends her from the practice of law.

Interesting, no?

Going back to the ethics complaint filed against Massillon Municipal Court judge Eddie Elum and  Conley going after Judge Forchione on the Sandy Hook matter, things have not been going well for Stark judges.

Elum:   (received a "stayed" suspension from practice of law)

Forchione:  (compelled to retract his redirecting of Stark County fine revenue from the county treasury to Sandy Hook student support fund)

Werren (in electoral jeopardy).

Park (apparently the subject of a complaint before Disciplinary Counsel).

Hmm?

Is there something in the water that Stark County judges are drinking?

But anyway, back to Werren and the thinking that if he turns out to be the loser in his race against Chryssa Hartnett he gets "a second bite at the apple."

The intriguing part of Werren getting a second Kasich appointment is the SCPR thinks he could turn out to be "a two-time loser at the polls."

Belden's appointment replacement will have to run in November, 2015 to retain his/her office.

If Werren gets the appointment (assuming, of course, he ends up losing to Hartnett), he will have to run in the Canton Municipal Court voting district which includes: (from the Canton Muny website)

Should he get a second appointment, the SCPR thinks it is likely that his foe come November, 2016 will be the highly able and qualified (more than Werren, despite his one plus year on the bench) Kristen Bales-Aylward.

In her losing effort against Republican Rosemarie Hall for a place on the Stark County Domestic Relations bench in November, 2012; Bales-Aylward (deputy chief counsel of the Canton Law Department) was "highly recommended" by voting members of the Stark County Bar Association.

The best Werren could do was a "recommended" rating.

So that should give SCPR readers a clue that Werren is being carried along by his political and family connections having not been a practicing lawyer for a number of years prior to his appointment to replace Sinclair.

The SCPR thinks that should he lose to Hartnett and gets "a second bite at the 'appointment' apple," he could be the pathway for another female Democratic aspirant to a judgeship in Aylward-Bates to achieve "her heart's desire."

The Report did take a look at the vote between Hartnett and Werren in the Canton Municipal Court election.

The good news for Werren is that he did win over Hartnett by almost 1,000 votes in the Canton Muny district.

Heartening news for a Bates-Aylward candidacy is that in the mix of precincts that make up the Canton Municipal Court jurisdiction, there is plenty of opportunity to overcome Werren's demonstrated plurality.

The dynamics of a Bates-Aylward/Werren face off could make for another "down-to-the-wire" race.

Could we in 2015 be to the end of November before we know who the winner is?

PART 2 - A SERIES - STARK COUNTIANS GET "SHORT CHANGED" BY THE CANTON REPOSITORY?

UPDATE:  12:15 PM

The substance of an e-mail to the SCPR on today's blog:

List of "mistakes" made by Rep. during this campaign.

Food for thought?

.

Subject: Details of Rep's "mistakes"

1.  Refusal to print the campaign chairs' letter to the editor even though it was clearly stated that their positions were unpaid with the excuse that because they had a title it would not be printed.

2.  After refusing to print the letter mentioned above, the printing of a letter from Sal Pelegi without any identification of him as an employee of the sheriff's department even though Alan Harold assured me that Gayle Beck had been given a list of hires with Pelegi's name on it.

3.  The printing of Lou Giavasis' letter without identifying him as the person running the sheriff's campaign. It was known by the public in general that Giavasis was one of two people running the campaign with the other person being the candidate's brother.

4.  Omitting Larry Dordea's questionnaire responses on line for more than a week (until they were called out on it) and putting in the place where the responses were to be printed the words "No Response" even though Chief Dordea's responses had been submitted within the time line given. There was no apology given whatsoever.

5.  Overlooking and refusing to explore the information about the sheriff being involved in an investigation in his previous Ohio Safety Department position regarding his intimidation, threats and poor treatment of officers under him.

6.  Being told in the candidate interviews by Chief Dordea that there is no working relationship whatsoever between the sheriff and the prosecutor's office and refusing to investigate that charge.

7. No publication of the former Democratic sheriff endorsing the Republican candidate??? Has it ever been done before? Is that not news worthy?

8. The story of officer Thomas's successful law suit to get his rightful promotion. The story NEVER mentions the undeserving person that was promoted in front of him was "George Maier's son" WHILE George was the Safety Director with his Campaign manager the Mayor of Massillion making that decision??????????

ORIGINAL BLOG

It was interesting to read in Saturday's Repository editorial about the sentencing of Stark County businessman Ben Suarez to federal prison.

Suarez was convicted of witness-tampering (found not guilty on all other charges) in a case brought by federal prosecutors on the basis of a Toledo Blade investigatory journalism piece on allegations that Suarez had violated federal campaign finance law in prompting key Suarez Industries, Ltd employees (and in some cases their spouses)  to contribute to the 2010 campaigns of Republican congressman Jim Renacci (16th Congressional District) and Republican Josh Mandel who was running for the United States Senate seat held by Democrat Sherrod Brown.

(A SCPR extract)

Interesting?

In what way?

The Repository editorial board chose to credit political party or candidate "opposition research" using the Internet as the medium to make the contribution pattern by which Suarez fell on legal hard times, to wit:

But the fact of the matter is that The Blade scooped The Repository with first-rate investigatory journalism.

Investigatory journalism is "virtually" non existent these days at The Rep.

Which, the SCPR thinks, is further evidence that those Stark Countians who still subscribe to The Rep are getting short-changed.

The primary reason the SCPR is writing this series is to goad The Rep and its parent company Gateway Media, Inc.  to meaningfully engage "the first calling" of any daily newspaper serving a major metropolitan area (Stark County has a population of about 380,000) which is:

to hold politicians and those participating in the American democratic-republican system of government accountable for their actions.

Not only did The Rep fail the Stark County public in the Suarez matter; in the SCPR's assessment Stark County's "only" countywide newspaper failed Stark's "participating in the November 4th voters" on getting relevant information out on George T. Maier and whether or not he merited - on character issues - being elected Stark County sheriff on November 4th.

As to Dordea, there has never been one suggestion that he is of the finest character.

On Maier, the SCPR wrote a number blogs which provided citations to:

• a Columbus Dispatch journalism piece regarding allegations of improper conduct by Maier as second on command in the Ohio Department of Highway Safety, 
• a chapter and verse account by Lawrence Township trustee Michael Stevens (in the context of his being a Massillon streets department supervisor) of being bullied by Maier,
• specific allegations by Maier's opponent in the sheriff's race (i.e. Republican Larry Dordea) of "unbecoming" conduct by Maier connected campaigners

as well has other tangential conduct such as

• Maier soliciting employees of the Stark County sheriff's department "by rank" to make a certain level of contributions,
• a presumptive "we assume you want a George T. Maier for Sheriff" sign in your yard unless you indicate otherwise,
• campaign workers prompting two Canton auxiliary police officers to hang a "Maier for Sheriff" T-shirt outside a Canton Police Department cruiser (see "yard sign" link) during Hall of Fame festivities, and
• denying a highly decorated U.S. Marine and honorably serving 27 sheriff deputy "a reserve deputy commission" apparently because he opposed Maier remaining for sheriff

which the SCPR believes are matters that The Repository, the countywide monopoly it is, had a duty - for the benefit of a 'better informed' Stark County voting public - to deal with.

It is rather obvious that "the bigs" in the upper floor offices at 500 Market Avenue, South pretty much totally ignored anything that might reflect negatively on Maier's character qualifications to be Stark County sheriff.

Moreover, the editors ignored the wholesale politicization of the sheriff's office by Maier from the day he took office as a political appointee.

The Rep has never in the 40 years that The Report been a resident of Stark County been a superlative guardian of the public interest.

Nowadays, it appears that the newspaper has slipped to the bottom rung of the ladder as a credible source for county voters.

It may be co-incidental, but it is also interesting how many, if not most, of the big time contributors to Stark County Republican countywide campaigns were largely absent in Dordea campaign finance reports, at least through the pre-general filing which cut off on October 15th.

Stark County's two Republican commissioners (Creighton and Regula) refused to endorse Dordea.

It has been suggested to the SCPR that Stark County's political power brokers were very worried that Dordea would be elected in a landslide Republican year (Republican governor John Kasich outpolled Dordea by some 19,000) and that he would be a "I don't care who you are, who you are connected to" sheriff and would thereby uncover a huge "underside" of Stark County society which would send shock ways once again across Stark County.

Once again?

Yes.

When news broke on April 1, 2009 that federal authorities had charged Stark County chief deputy treasurer Vince Frustaci for (as it turned out) stealing upwards of $3 million to support an alleged gambling habit, confidence and trust in Stark County government officials plummeted to the depths.

Powerful Stark County political interests - the thinking is - would not likely want someone like Dordea poking around and finding skeletons of some of Stark County's supposedly "finest."

During the days that George T. Maier was the Stark County Democratic Party appointed sheriff, the SCPR is told that heroin use has magnified.

The problem is said to be out-of-control in Maier's hometown of Massillon.

The Report has a source saying that Stark County Prosecutor John Ferrero recently held a training session on dealing with the growing Stark County drug problem and that nobody from the sheriff's department showed up.

Could it be that Maier political differences with Ferrero (Ferrero made out an affidavit that Maier was on February 5, 2013 unqualified to be sheriff) was behind the alleged "failure to show?"

If accurate, is this any way for a sheriff to act?

Larry Dordea (now the Hartville Chief of Police) made his reputation as an effective policing authority for reining in criminal drug activity during his nine (9) years or so as police chief of Alliance.

While the SCPR is not much on "conspiracy theories," the hands-off "the character question" by The Repository bigs does give The Stark County Political Report "pause for thought" as to what was going on in the upper reaches of 500 Market Avenue, South in its coverage of the Dordea/Maier match-up.

Whatever the motivation may have been for The Repository not fully vetting the Maier character issues, should the failure to vet backfire in the form of another major county government scandal as the SCPR thinks it may well (most likely and "abuse of official power"); then The Repository will have to take the major share of the blame.

It is obvious that The Repository is no Cleveland Plain Dealer, no Columbus Dispatch and certainly no Toledo Blade, "One of America's Great Newspapers," which, of course, The Repository is not.

In the meantime, we here in Stark County are left with what politicians can dig out on each other in the age of the Internet.

Rather than vet, rather than investigation, it appears that The Rep is relying on politicians to police themselves with charge and counter charge.

Such a stance may save Gateway Media money, but it certainly does not speak well of the willingness of the Stark County centuries old newspaper to protect the public interest.

Of course, for being a one--person-operation, The Stark County Political Report does a pretty good job of holding local politicos accountable.

The SCPR receives many, many "for the scope of what you are able to do with one person; it is a no-contest between you and The Rep."

The Canton Repository is a "for profit" enterprise that seems to know who it can afford offend or dare not offend in discharging its journalistic obligations.

The Stark County Political Report is  truly (pay attention Randy Gonzalez, a former well-paid local government employee) "a public service" that is totally independent of those about whom The Report writes, whether favorably or unfavorable viewed on a personal basis.

Was being too independent Larry Dordea's unpardonable "political" sin that prompted The Repository to ignore Maier's character issues in a thoroughgoing public discussion mode and for the Republican "bigs" to abandon him with financial and advocacy support?

Whose toes was a Sheriff Dordea going to step on, anyways?

PART 3 - "TROUBLES, TROUBLES & MORE TROUBLES:" MASSILLON MUNICIPAL COURT & MASSILLON CITY COUNCIL

UPDATED:  09:12 AM

VIDEOS

JUDGE C. ROLAND CENTRONE

JUSTIFYING A PAY INCREASE

FOR COURT EMPLOYEES

IN

THE FACE OF

NO RAISES FOR ANYONE ELSE

IN MASSILLON GOVERNMENT

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

COUNCILMAN PAUL MANSON

ON

COURT/COUNCIL

RELATIONSHIP

As written in the previous two blogs concerning the "troubles, troubles & more troubles" being experienced in Massillon government these days, "every which way" Massillon officials turn these days there are seemingly nothing but troubles, to wit:

• November 12, 2014 - "BAD TIMES IN MASSILLON," Part 1, and
• November 13, 2014 - Part 2 - MASSILLON'S "TROUBLES, TROUBLES & MORE TROUBLES," THE LEGENDS GOLF COURSE

The SCPR's analysis is that the troubles for the most part are owing to the belligerence of the Katherine Catazaro-Perry adminstration vis-a-vis a majority of Massillon City Council members as fueled by her two key "kitchen-cabinet-esque" political advisers; namely, Massillon Clerk of Courts Johnnie A. Maier, Jr. and his sycophantic associate and deputy clerk of courts R. Shane Jackson.

The shame of all this is that the citizens of Massillon are caught in the middle.

The constant bickering and infighting between the "looking for a fight" mayor and council is making day-in, day-out citizen victims of their own government in terms of less and less services.

It has been a tortured road since Catazaro-Perry prompted the State of Ohio Auditor on October 8, 2013 to declare Massillon to be in a state of fiscal emergency.

As primarily responsible individuals are apt to do, Mayor Kathy in pointing her finger at others.

She blames council and at a deeper lever former mayor Francis H. Cicchinelli, Jr. for the city's current financial troubles.

With respect to council, she is the one who has exploded in anger several times over her three years as mayor at various council members and squared up her jaw and glared at a disagreeing council members and thereby made it clear that she is a "my way or the highway" public official who brooks no opposition.

The result?

She and council find it difficult at best to abide one another.

She opposed the first tax issue and "sat on her hands" on the second one and thereby bears responsibility, in part, for the measures' defeat leaving the city in desperate need for cash.

A nuance example of differences between the administration and council came Monday night with the appearance of Judge C. Roland Centrone before council.

Really?

What does the court and council having differences have to do with the administration?

The SCPR's take is that the mayor is not her own person as a public official and is propped up by and controlled by three people all of whom happen to serve in the Massillon Court system together like hand-in-glove.

And the three are?

Maier, Jackson and Judge Eddie Elum.

Here is a LINK for readers to check out.

The link is to the Canton Municipal Court.  See any of this "honorable" stuff there?

Here is another LINK (Alliance).

Okay, Judge Zumbar is described as the Honorable Andrew L. Zumbar.

And the SCPR is okay with that inasmuch as it has been "traditional" to address courts that way.

But the clerk of courts?  

Only in Massillon!

Not Canton, not Alliance.

Does this tell just a little about Johnnie A. Maier, Jr's ego?

Being "honorable" does not come from a title, it comes from honorably perceived conduct by those of us who observe from the sidelines.

Or, as Mother Olson used to say:  "pretty is as pretty does."

And we all know that Judge Elum has had his issues with his conduct as pointed out by the Ohio Supreme Court.

Back in 2010, he wrote the SCPR an intemperate, derogatory e-mail and threatened to file a disciplinary complaint because The Stark County "Political" Report had the audacity to chime in on his political dispute with the Massillon Police Department chief of police.

Yours truly has been waiting for an apology ever since.

Undoubtedly, "Hell will freeze over first."

The "Honorable" Judge Edward J. Elum apparently does not apologize to anybody unless "brought to heel" by the Ohio Supreme Court.

And even at that, he got a mere "slap on the wrist."

But the SCPR is a big boy who signs his name to everything The Report writes, unlike, The Report thinks, Elum's pals Maier and Jackson who yours truly believes to have been "the anonymous" factors behind the now defunct Massillon Review.

An example of bluster and bombast from "behind the curtain?"

Hopefully, Judge Elum has schooled himself on the SCPR's and others' right under the United States of America Constitution to write political opinion pieces.

Now to the real story behind Judge Centrone's appearance at Massillon City Council.

The issue?

The Massillon court wants to raise the pay of four court employees a total of some $6,000.

And Massillon's council needs to authorize the raises.

Six thousand dollars and council objects?

You've got to be kidding me, no?

Not really.

And you might ask:  Doesn't that make council look bad?

Perhaps.

It could be that some members of council don't have real objections to Centrone's request but know of the mayor's close ties with Elum, Maier and Jackson and therein lies "the real rub."

These council folks might be "bound and determined" that they are not going to be a party to having something "rammed down their throats," no?

Councilman Paul Manson, the SCPR thinks, is the primary person who carries the ball in resisting any additional expenditures on the part of the court - especially in these financial hard times.

Over the years that the SCPR has covered Massillon City Council, Councilman Manson (Democrat councilman-at-large) has consistently opined to The Report that what was once a manageable obligation for Massillon to foot most of the bill for the operation of the Massillon courts has gotten completely out of hand.

In this video of a SCPR interview with him on Monday, Manson adds to Monday's discussion by council with Judge Roland Centrone the issue of whether or not council will approve the requested pay raises.

As was pointed out (see Centrone/council video below) by Councilman Ed Lewis, IV (Republican - Ward 5 and the SCPR thinks a likely candidate to oppose the mayor in the 2015 election) it is hard for him to swallow getting pay raises of any description given that nobody else in Massillon government is getting raises.

Councilman Milan Chovan (Republican; councilman-at-Large) plans on meeting with Judge Centrone within the next week or two in order to seek common ground with the court on the matter of the pay raises.

What the SCPR does not recall being articulated in the back and forth between Centrone and council is this question which certainly implied if not expressed stated:

"How does giving four court employees a raise make them more productive?"

Centrone, The Report thinks, in a subtle way, in saying that he (presumably in concert with Elum) considered ordering council to do the will of the court on the matter raised the spectre that such could actually end up being the resolution if council did not fall into line.

Moreover, Centrone brought up his assessment that the court could use two additional employees to deal with additional duties placed on all Ohio courts by Ohio General Assembly "unfunded mandates."

Apparently, his bringing up the "we could use two additional employees" argument to make the "give us $6,000 or so additional" seem to be "small potatoes" by comparison.

Judge the exchange for yourself.  Here is a video of the entire Centrone/council interaction.

Note Centrone's seeming promise to council that the proposed raises were to be limited to the specific employees proposed for a raise and would not carryover to their replacements when they terminate their employment, presumably at retirement time.

To the SCPR, such an approach on the part of a judge is unbelievable.

To be funny, Councilman Lewis interrupted him to say:  "Martin, did you record that."

Even funnier, was the judge saying that he did not mind being recorded.

So there are light moments in all the infighting.

The real point of the exchange was a concern by the inquiring council members that they were not being snookered into agreeing to a structural change in permanent classifications which would balloon into costly and enduring additional costs to Massillon taxpayers going indefinitely into the future.

The Report liked this line of inquiry by those council persons doing such in that it was a demonstration of the proper role for council to be taking on.

An interesting twist to the exchange between the court and council is that two weeks ago Judge Elum was present at a work session to make the argument for the court.

The Report is told that he left because he had another obligation and he was not going to able to get before council on a timely basis and still meet the other obligation.

But the SCPR is somewhat skeptical of the reason given.

Could it be that Elum figured out he was not likely to get a friendly reception and therefore thought the better and perhaps more productive route was to back off and send Centrone in?

Other than the Maier connection, there is the fact that his wife Margaret who is an administrative assistant (coming full circle) to guess who?

You've got it!

Massillon mayor Katherine Catazaro-Perry who the SCPR thinks a number council persons "really" do not like.

As seen in the video of Centrone's time before council, he did not exactly get treated with "kid gloves by council.

Council members were civil but persistent in challenging the judge to justify the court's request in light of the city dire financial condition.

All too may times, especially in North Canton, the SCPR has seen council abrogate its duty to the taxpaying public to vet administration officials on money issues and on policy implementation matters.

Certain Canton council members (Morris, Fisher, Mariol, Mack, Schulman, Smuckler, Hart and West come to mind) are first-rate "inquiring minds"

The Report thinks that they have made William J. Healy, II a better mayor however reluctant he may be to learn that in running a city he must have a working relationship with council.

Citizens "by name" going public and holding public officials accountable is the very high calling for us all in this our democratic republic of the United States of America.

There is no doubt that there are a number of Stark County elected officials (The Report' focus) who think they are unaccountable.

If anyone dare hold them accountable, they are apt to "huff and puff" and threaten "to blow the house in."

To the SCPR, such behavior is antithetical to the effective functioning of our "check and balance" system of government.

The bullies, the unaccountables fail to reckon with the reality that there are other public officials and a core of citizens and some of us in the media who will stand up to them.

The clash of "the accountability faction" and those who deem themselves unaccountable is why in Massillon and many other places across this "Great Land of Ours" are plagued with "troubles, troubles and more troubles."

So be it.

Democratic-republicanism is messy.

But there is no better system across the globe for non-titled persons to live in.

Out of these political conflicts a terrific society called America the Beautiful has emerged!

God Bless America!!!

PART 2 - MASSILLON'S "TROUBLES, TROUBLES & MORE TROUBLES," THE LEGENDS GOLF COURSE

UPDATED:  11:00 a.m.

VIDEOS

COUNCILWOMAN DEL RIO-KELLER

PRESENTS AT COUNCIL MEETING

PARKS & RECREATION PLANS

FOR

"THE LEGENDS GOLF COURSE"

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

SCPR INTERVIEW
OF
COUNCILWOMAN MICHELLE DEL RIO-KELLER

In the slickly done "Fall, 2014" edition of Massillon Magazine in line with Catazaro-Perry/Maier penchant for doing a "Madison Avenue" style cover up of brewing troubles beneath the surface, the mayor portrays herself as Saint Kathy of Massillon in being on the brink of saving Massilon from a financial crisis that may never have existed in the first place.

A case can be made that Her Honor forced the issue with the State of Ohio Auditor (SOA)  which on October 8, 2013 made a thinly justified finding (only one of six assessment criteria met) that Massillon is in fiscal emergency.

As Mayor-elect Catazaro-Perry in December, 2011 she was writing the SOA asking that an audit be done which she was confident would result in a finding that Massillon was in fiscal emergency even before the man she defeated in the Democratic primary election of May, 2011 (24 year mayor, Francis H. Cicchinelli, Jr) was officially out of office.

The SOA refused her "out-of-hand" because a superficial look at Massillon's numbers showed the state auditors that the mayor didn't understand basic math which clearly indicated that no emergency financial condition existed in Massillon.

The SCPR sees the Catazaro-Perry initiated effort of December, 2012 as possibly being a political set up engineered by the "all things political" duo of Johnnie A. Maier, Jr and R. Shane Jackson.

Though the two are public officials (clerk of courts and chief deputy clerk of courts, respectively) supported by Massillon taxpayers. The Stark County Political Report sees them primarily as politicians working up or on one political intrigue after another, after another.

Johnnie is a former Stark County Democratic Party chairman who many think still controls the Dems through current chairman and Canton Municipal Court clerk of courts Phil Giavasis.

And before him through Randy Gonzalez (a former chief deputy clerk for the Canton Municipal Court) who immediately after Maier's tenure as chairman until the Giavasis appointment was chairman of the Stark Dems.

Jackson is a long time political director of the Stark County Democratic Party.

So it is hard to believe that this duo don't look at all of life as being "one big political playground" and they are having "one big ball" playing "political football."

And that it appears to the SCPR is what they and their group of loyalists are doing with Massillon and Stark County government.

It may be "having fun" to Maier and Jackson.

But the consequences of them romping in the "political sandbox" could prove damaging to Massillonians and to Stark Countians in terms of a lack of quality of leadership and government.

In Massillon, the government unit which has to deal with the political mischief which seems to be being "dealt out is spades" by Maier and Jackson is Massillon City Council.

It was quite revealing to the SCPR, in sitting through council's work session Monday night as a number of troubles which currently plague Massillon were being addressed, to see the hands of Maier/Jackson all over "the troubles, troubles & more troubles" which had boiled to the surface.

Today, we cover the effort of Councilwoman-at-Large Michelle Del Rio-Keller's (a Democrat) to fix the long time broken problem of the Massillon City Government Legends golf course.

SOURCE OF PHOTOS:  
THE LEGENDS WEBSITE)

The city owes about $5.4 million in a mortgage on the 27 hole course which is currently being paid out of the .3% of income tax revenue approved by Massillon voters in 1995.

Formerly, the mortgage was paid out of Massillon's general fund.

The SCPR thinks the notion of a government unit owning a golf course to generate revenues to finance usual government services to taxpayers is one huge mistake.

Massillon started off with 18 holes in 1995.

However, Cicchinelli decided that things were going so well with 18 holes that "the more, the merrier" was in order and 9 holes were added in 1998.

Now he admits that the addition was a mistake.

But, of course, Massillon taxpayers are "left to pick up the pieces."

And such is exactly what Del Rio-Keller is trying to do.

Here is a video of her presentation on Monday.



And here is a post-meeting interview by the SCPR.





Just to spice things up a bit, the SCPR cannot pass up this opportunity to show how gullible Mayor Catazaro-Perry and her close-in political advisers are in terms of thinking they could solve The Legends' troubles by placing a "aquarium/waterpark" at the location.

From a April 11, 2014 SCPR blog:

Last month an out-of-state developer stepped forward with a project which should have been a "no-brainer" in terms of Catazaro-Perry and council working together to bring the proposal (an aquarium/waterpark combo) to reality.
But that hasn't happened and the SCPR will not happen as long as the site contemplated is the city owned "The Legends" golf course. 

Originally the plan was for the developer to lease the "excess" (i.e. the 9 holes added to the original 18 holes) part of the golf course for $10 per year for a term of 30 years. 

The neighborhood surrounding The Legends is one of Massillon's posh neighborhoods and to have a very large aquarium/waterpark in the daily eyesight of the residents in an idea that is never, ever going to fly.

As sweet as it would be for Massillon to be out of the golf course business for many Massillonians, there is indication that council may reject any such overture because members would not want to leave those who live in the vicinity of The Legends having to deal with the visage of the proposed commercial enterprise ... .

As it turned out, the excitement bought into The Legends "solve a problem" matter by the naive Catazaro-Perry entourage has to be disconcerting to Massillonians inasmuch as it appears that the developer(s) may have been looking for a government give-away and the Catazaro-Perry folks appear to have been biting.

The Report thinks the naivete was born of the administration's frustration of "having something on the table" to deal with Massillon's many troubles only one of which is what to do with The Legends.

In getting back to the Del Rio-Keller presentation, the questions is which of her ideas is likely to float with council and, probably, more importantly Mayor Kathy Catazaro-Perry and her behind-the-scenes-prop-ups?

Hire a full time manager? (favored by Del Rio-Keller and Paul Manson)

Bring in a full/part-time management firm?

Develop a Master Plan?

Off the table is a reduction of the course to an 18 hole course (opposed by Ward 4 residents who live next to or in the vicinity of the course), at least, as far as council is concerned contrary to the wishes of Massillon's Parks and Recreation Board which meets tonight to once again mull over the future of the the course.

The answer to "the future of The Legends" question, the SCPR thinks, is wrapped up in Massillon government politics.

Look for the decision, whatever it turns out to be, to be one grounded in "political muscle" and not "on the merits" of whether or not Massillon should be in the golf course business in the first place.

There probably isn't a poorer time to try to deal with "troubles, troubles & more troubles" in Massillon with the city being on the cusp of an election year.

In 2015, all of city council and the mayor's office is up for election.

Accordingly, the SCPR predicts that there likely will be no solution to The Legends problem because it is hard to see how the political objectives of the Catazaro/Maier/Jackson crowd can square up with the interests of the various council persons running for re-election.

And that 'ain't' all.

The Report thinks it is likely that Francis H. Cicchinelli will not challenge the mayor in Democratic primary in May but that she will be challenged by Republican Ed Lewis, IV (Republican, Ward 6, and chairman of the 'powerful' finance committee).

The Maier group is still smarting from having lost control of council (i.e. the Democrats losing control) to the Republicans in 2011.  Though Democrats regained control in 2013, the 'ain't' Maier group Democrats except for Shaddrick Stinson and council president Tony Townsend (who only votes in the case of a tie).

Look for Maier et al to try again to gain at least a plurality on council.

One of the seats that they will have to go "all-out" to defend with be that of Shaddrick Stinson (Democrat, Ward 4) as he is said to be the target of Ward 4 citizens who live in the area of The Legends.

The Report does not know where he ended up on supporting Stinson.  But Frank Cicchinelli was flirting with the idea of supporting him in 2013 face off with Republican candidate Jim Triner.

Stinson did not get a majority of the votes in the 2013 race.

Stinson was telling Cicchinelli that he was not a Johnnie A. Maier loyalist.  The SCPR's analysis is that he is beholden to the Maier Massillon Political Machine.  And his stances on most if not all issues between council and Catazaro-Perry have been with the mayor.

If Republicans can talk Triner or a viable alternative person (perhaps from among The Legends interest group) into running next year, it appears that the campaign factors on The Legends' issue are enough to put Stinson on the political sidelines.

Losing in Ward 4 would be  on the order of being stunning for the Maier Demcorats.

For they understand that notwithstanding the "political spin" they have tried to put on the "success" of the mayor's administration, the truth of the matter is within the perception of voting Massillonians as to whether or not Catazaro-Perry deserves her self-serving billing.

Should Catazaro-Perry get through the 2015 election year successfully, a second term will be disastrous for her and Massillon if she continues to be at odds with a majority of council.

That the Maier faction will be focusing on council as well as reelection of Catazaro-Perry enhances Lewis' chances, so the SCPR thinks.

Lewis is one of the unique elected officials who comes off as being "non-political" in nearly everything he does.

Even as Catazaro-Perry has tried to insult him, badger him; he has come off as looking like the statesman and she as the thorough going politician.

Should Lewis decide to run, the SCPR is saying now that it is likely he will win in November, 2015.

Already, the SCPR is told, scores of Republicans are organizing at the prospect of a Lewis candidacy.

One of his prime encouragers has been Stark County Republican commissioner Janet Weir Creighton.

However, a question of her reliability as a supporter of Republican candidates is in doubt insofar as the SCPR is concerned.

She could have been the person:

• in her role as a if not "the" leading Stark County Republican in terms of popular support, and
• as one of Republican governor John Kasich's hugely successful (wining by some 37,000 votes in Stark) 2014 campaign as northeast Ohio campaign coordinator 

to put Larry Dordea "over-the-top" in his race against Maier Loyalist Group candidate George T. Maier (Johnnie's brother, of course).

But she didn't lift a "significant" finger for Dordea.

She even refused to endorse Dordea when asked in public.

It would have been one thing had Dordea's qualifications to be sheriff was in question.

On the policing experience factor, it appears to be pretty much of a wash as between him and Maier.

However, on "the character question" the SCPR thinks Dordea was "head and shoulders" superior to George T. Maier.

The SCPR suspects that Creighton has ties to at least one in the Maier Loyalty Group that caused to her to withhold out-and-out support for Dordea.

If that is the case, the question for Lewis has to be:  Will she do the same to me if the Maiers use their SCPR suspected avenue to Creighton to prevail on her to back off on supporting the Ward 6 councilman.

Nobody should underestimate the ability of Maier (Johnnie) to worm his way into the councils/counsels of the Stark County Republican Party.  

Republican Stark County commissioner Richard Regula is a pretty obvious example of that, so the SCPR thinks.

If Lewis decides not to run, the SCPR thinks that the Creighton factor could be the deciding factor.

BAD TIMES IN MASSILLON: PART 1

Last week "the roof fell in" on Massillon.

For "true" Massillonians, the most devastating thing had to be the annihilation of the Tiger football team on Friday last:  56 Perrysburg, 7 Massillon.

Things were so bad that the Massillon superintendent of schools apparently couldn't take any more and left in the 3rd quarter.

And it wasn't long after that he announced that the highly successful football coach was fired.  A coach who was the second most winning coach in all the glory of Massillon Tiger football.

Those of us who live outside of Massillon instantly think "football" when Massillon is mentioned.

Though the Massillon "football" Tigers are never, ever likely to be the Tigers of the Paul Brown era ever again; football will be repaired and "hope springs eternal" will once again be "the heart throb" of the "true" Tiger fans.

One Massillon City Council person did tell the SCPR that the days of Massillon football glory are over and the fanatics (the SCPR's word) will just have the deal with "the new realities."

Another person who has trouble dealing with "the new realities" in Massillon is Mayor Katherine Catazaro-Perry.

Mayor Kathy is one of those "splash and dash" politicians who dot the Stark County government/political landscape who the SCPR thinks has very little substance and consequently is not a match for the daunting problems which currently plague Massillon city government.

So what does one do?

Go into denial?

Maybe she has been spoofing Massillonians all along.

Look at this chart that she had placed in the glossy public relations quarterly.

And view this video of long term Councilman Paul Manson (Democrat, at-large) as he says he now has reports that the deficit Massillon now faces is not $2.6 million, not $1.1 million (see April 4, 2014 SCPR blog), but rather $700,000.

• From the October 17, 2013 SCPR blog:
• The SCPR is being told that Massillon's unions are doing their own audit of Massillon's books and are reporting that the deficit is not the reported $2.4 million

While she was spouting her $2.6 million stuff, the SCPR alone of all Stark County media wrote questioning the validity of her number.

Before she became mayor, she wrote the State of Ohio auditor asking that "the once great city of Massillon" be placed in fiscal emergency.

This move rather obviously was designed to make former mayor Francis H. Cicchinelli, Jr "the fall guy" for all the troubles that Massllion and every other Stark County city is facing as a consequence of drastic State of Ohio local government funding cuts.

Catazaro-Perry  took Cicchinelli on and defeated him in the May, 2011 Democratic primary as the candidate of Massillon clerk of courts Johnnie A. Maier, Jr (a former Stark County Democratic Party chairman and long time antagonist to Cicchinelli) who, in the estimate of the SCPR should be billed as Massilon's "co-mayor."

So maybe she has been (on the advice and instruction of Maier and his appendage R. Shane Jackson [Johnnie's chief flunky err deputy) gaming Masillonians with "phony-baloney" financial numbers all along during her three years as mayor and the voting Massillon public has figured that out in twice defeating an income tax.

It is appearing more and more that her game plan all along since (actually as mayor-elect) becoming mayor has been to paint a bleaker picture than she knew to be the case so that she could appear at re-election time (next year) to have been a managerial wizard of sorts and brought Massillon from the dire to nearly break even.

And in the process she - in her and Johnnie's mind -  will have played Massillon City Council for being "the fool" in taking her seriously.

Catazaro-Perry and Maier may find out soon that the fools are not the city council folks at all but the two of them.

With the failure of the latest levy effort which Mayor KCP only gave lukewarm support to (having outright opposed the first levy effort), it appears that there is no way to make up even a $700,000 deficit and that the city department of governments may be looking at 15% across-the-board cuts which will be the equivalent to "cutting into the bone" of the provision of city services and will be felt by rank-and-file citizens in virtually every aspect of what Massillon does; not just police and fire.

Relations (see the Manson video above) between the mayor and council continue to deteriorate.

Catazaro-Perry has not attended Committee of the Whole work sessions for some time.

If Catazaro-Perry and Maier are gaming council, they will find one thing, after another thing, after another to "go to war" with council over in order to make council appear to be the culprit come the elections of 2015.

To the SCPR, Catazaro-Perry and Maier are into political gamesmanship, pure and simple and, of course, the citizens of Massillon are the real victims.

If Cicchinelli decides to take her on in the May, 2015 Democratic primary; undoubtedly, she will say that a return to Cichinelli will be the pathway to insolvency.

In such an eventuality, should she win; the SCPR thinks that she is looking at facing Republican Councilman Ed Lewis, IV in the general election.

She will once again attempt to scapegoat.

She and Lewis have been at each other from time-to-time over the past three years and she will drag those confrontations up as evidence that council's voting majority (following Lewis' lead) are to blame for Massillon's troubles.

Never mind that she is the one who lashed out at council (not an uncommon phenomenon) and even called council racists for questioning the financial underpinnings of the Dwan St. John hiring.

The essence of this blog is that the SCPR sees co-mayors Catazaro-Perry and Maier playing it "every which way."

On the one hand, in her glossy Massillon Magazine she portrays the city as coming out of the difficult times.

Look at what she wrote in the Fall 2014 Massillon Magazine:

• I began my term as Massillon’s mayor in 2012, we started with a token carryover of only $416.79 in our general fund, and inherited $2.6 million dollars of unpaid bills. Massillon was in serious financial trouble as a result of habitual deficit spending, and our city had been going deeper into debt for five consecutive years. As we conclude my third year in office, Massillon has made great strides in lowering that debt.  Our city is on the right track and headed towards financial recovery.This did not come easily. We made tough decisions, cut spending, and created the change necessary so our city grows and is able to best serve our residents. Massillon is moving forward again. There is still much work to be done ... .

But the reality,  as the SCPR sees it, is that such is the equivalent to Mister Rogers' "Make Believe."

Massillon was once the City of Champions.

Nowadays it appears that those days are long gone and, whether Catazaro-Perry realizes it or not, Massillon these days is a city of "troubles, troubles & more troubles" much of which is the making of an intransigent mayoralty.

She is a "my way or the highway" type person just like her mentor and co-mayor Johnie A. Maier, Jr.

The end game for anything Maier touches, as the SCPR sees it, is for his personal political aggrandizement.

It is hard to see how the "do it my way, or else" and personal political benefit game plan gets Massillon truly on the rebound.

On Monday night a number of issues came up:

• some discussion of the levy failure, the 2015 budget and the path going forward,
• Councilwoman Michelle Del Rio-Keller's work on resolving what to do to make The Legends golf course a profit making activity,
• the location/relocation of the Massillon Health Department, and
• the Massillon Municipal Court's (represented at the meeting by Judge C. Roland Centrone) dicey relationship with council

The SCPR has extensive video to share with SCPR readers on these troubling issues that Massillon faces.

Accordingly, this introductory blog is billed as "Part 1."

Additional parts will be published in coming days to cover all the Monday night discussions.