GEORGE WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY OR PRESIDENTS' DAY?

Officially, the answer, according a U.S. government website, is that today is a celebration of first president of the United States George Washington's birthday (February 22nd).

But because of the celebration being designated as being "on the third Monday in February," the festivity will never "actually" fall on "the father of our country's birthday.

Here is a LINK to the government site that the SCPR as accessed for official information on today's holiday.

A WAY FOR REP. HAGAN TO HONOR A MOST VALUABLE OHIO RESOURCE?

I remember years ago being at local barber shop and having to abide a conversation by men, of course, about how much of the trouble in the world could be laid at the feet of women.

As the father of three accomplished daughters, the husband of a politically engaged professional educator,  the son of a "Rock of Gibratar" mother, my silence lasted all of a nanosecond.

One my proudest moments in life was my lashing out at those men with a litany of all the horrors visited on humanity by men.

By and large, women have been much higher quality of a human being than men have been down through the annuals of human history.

And yet, way too often have been the butt of male machismo abuse.

One of the most important factors for women to achieve their rightful status of complementary partners with men for the betterment of humanity is for men to step forward when other men degrade women and shame the male perpetrators.

Another thing to be done is for officialdom to publicly honor women for stepping up to the plate with efforts to make our world a better world notwithstanding the second class status that a male dominated world has visited upon them.

In the United States (1789) and more markedly in Ohio (1803), women outnumber men and yet in 2014 they suffer from pronounced inequality.

To the degree that women experience barriers to their development of their capabilities, humanity is the worse off for it.

That Ohio's 50th House District is held by a woman in a credit to this segment of the electorate of Stark County.

Stark County's other state legislative posts are held by men (currently Oelslager, Schuring and Slesnick) and have been going back many, many decades.

Countywide (except in judicial offices) in Stark, only one office (Nancy Reinbold - Stark County Clerk of Courts) is held by a woman.

Stark has done better at having women in judicial office.  Including the county's municipal courts (Alliance, Canton and Massillon), Family Court and Probate Court and the General Division of the Stark County Court of Common Pleas, there are 16 judges.

But not much.  Of the 16, only 6 are women.  And, in the case of countywide judicial office, 5 of the 6 achieved office through the gubernatorial appointment process.  Not by running head-to-head against men.

50th District Representative Christina Hagan has shown a propensity to offer legislation affecting women, to wit:

Many women think Hagan's focus on the Heartbeat legislation (LINK) is not in the overall interest of women.

It seems to the SCPR that way for Hagan to make her name with women and thereby strengthen all of humanity is not pushing the Heartbeat bill.

But rather to become a driving force for February 15 of each and every year as a date set aside to honor the pioneer Suffragette Susan B. Anthony and thereby putting the power of government behind women's drive toward gender parity.

BREAKING NEWS! NEW CHIEF DEPUTY AT 4500 ATLANTIC BLVD TODAY!

UPDATE:  5:00 p.m.  What some deputies are saying about Campbell hire and recent top level promotions (skipping the captain rank)

He's [Maier] making all these promotions and hiring a chief deputy yet we have no money to hire new deputies.

 Original Blog

The SCPR is told by one of The Report's inside sources at the Stark County Sheriff's office that  John A. Campbell (most recently OIU’s  Assistant Deputy Director of Enforcement) is at 4500 Atlantic Blvd today as part of his processing in as Stark County's new "chief" deputy sheriff.

It is thought by a SCPR source that Campbell will take up his chief deputy duties later this month.

Here is a biography published on the website of the Ohio Investigative Unit (formerly, Ohio Department of Liquor Control:

Ohio Investigative Unit Agent-in-Charge John Campbell was promoted to Assistant Deputy Director of Enforcement today by Colonel Paul A. Pride, Ohio State Highway Patrol superintendent, during a ceremony at the Patrol’s Academy. 

Assistant Deputy Director Campbell will oversee the northern district office operations, including the Canton, Cleveland and Toledo offices.

Assistant Deputy Director Campbell began his career with the Ohio Investigative Unit, previously known as the Ohio Department of Liquor Control, in June 1992 and was assigned to the Akron District Office. 

In October 2000, Campbell was promoted to Assistant Agent-in-Charge of the Cleveland District Office. 

He was promoted to Agent-in-Charge in February 2003 and began overseeing operations at the Cleveland District Office. 

In April 2011, he transferred to the former Akron District Office, now known as the Canton District Office.

Prior to becoming an agent, Campbell worked as a Deputy Sheriff with the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office from 1987 to 1991. 

He also worked as a Deputy Sheriff for the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office from 1991 to 1992.

In 1991, he received the Life Saving Award from the Buckeye State Sheriff’s Association and in 1999 received a certificate of Exceptional Duty from the Ohio Department of Public Safety. 

Campbell graduated from Traynor’s Basic Police Academy in Massillon in 1987. 

He also completed training at the Southern Police Institute at the University ofLouisville in 2002.

PART "ONE" OF A "THREE" PART BLOG: LAKE TWP, STARK CO. RESIDENT PETRIFIED AT THE COMING OF "NEXUS PIPELINE" TO HIS NEIGHBORHOOD

VIDEOS

Peter Zoumberakis

Lake Township Resident

on

'Fears of Explosion'

================== 

 DAVID EIGEL

================== 

GREEN MAYOR

RICHARD NORTON

==================  

DAVID MUCKLOW 

==================  

PAUL GIEROSKY

FOUNDER OF

COalition re-Route Nexus

(CORN)

==================  

WAYNE WIETHE

GREEN PLANNING DIRECTOR 

Going back to 2010, The Stark County Political Report has been doing blogs about the proliferation of Marcellus and Utica shale gas and oil wells extracted by a "fracking" process.

The focus until today's blog has been the dangers (i.e. mainly environmental contaminants) to Stark Countians from an accident that occurs in the "fracking" process itself.

While for some, including Stark County civic activist Chris Borello of Plain Township, the dangers from "fracking" itself continue to be a major concern.

Borello's political activist history includes being:

• a leader of the Concerned Citizens of Stark County in the "fracking" issue, and 
• also, from her days as a Lake Township civic activist monitoring the federal government clean up efforts of the township sited Industrial Excess Landfill ([IEL] about a mile south of the center of Uniontown on the east side of Cleveland Ave., NW), she serves as the head of the Concerned Citizens of Lake Township

For some Stark Countians, Borello is a person who has "cried wolf" on an impending Stark County-centered environmental disaster from "fracking" and since no catastrophe has occurred she is not to be taken seriously.

Only Plain Township trustee Louis P. Giavasis has taken her warnings to heart and tried to use local government powers (a limited as they are) to protect Plain Township residents from a nightmare experience should - over time - Borello's fears be realized.

At the February 11th regular weekly meeting of the Stark County commissioners, a new Lake Township-connected name surfaced on concerns about dangers to Stark County residents - down the line from "fracking" itself - from the production of the gas byproduct of the process and that is in the transmission (seemingly a harmless phase of delivering the product, no?) of gas from production fields to market.

According to Lake resident Peter Zoumberakis of 9283 Coblentz NW there is no "seeming harmless" about it, the proposed Spectra Energy Nexus Pipeline Project (partnering with DTE Energy) is a "real" danger, he says, to him and his family as well as anyone else in its path.

Zoumberakis, in a presentation to Stark County commissioners on Wednesday, outlined the fears he lives with day-in, day-out (along with his wife and three month old child) at the prospect that his Lake Township property is - as matters stand now - will have on it (actually buried 3 foot deep) by 2017 a 42" diameter pipeline under 1400 pounds per square inch (psi) pressure.

Watch this riveting video of Peter Zoumberakis:

Zoumberakis was the last of about half-a-dozen "public speaks" presenters including the sitting mayor of the City of Green, Ohio (a Summit County community which is adjacent to on the west to Stark County's Lake Township) and the presenters endeavored to persuade Stark's commissioners to take an active role in an effort to convince FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commissioner) to order a re-route of the contemplated Spectra Energy pipeline.  (Video about 3:30)



Backing up just a bit from the Zoumberakis video, first up at this week's commissioners' meeting was David Eigel, a petroleum engineer, himself a resident of Lake Township.

In his presentation (about 6 minutes), Eigel:

• talks about having first approached the Stark County commissioners about a month or so ago (December 23, 2014) about the commissioners on behalf of affected Stark Countians joining the Coalition to re-Route Nexus (CORN) in the coalition's effort to persuade the federal government to order a re-route of the proposed pathway of the pipeline from densely populated areas, 
• SCPR note:  the pipeline as projected is schedule to run through Stark County's Lake, Marlboro, Nimishillen and Washington townships,
• identifies his goal at Wednesday's commissioners' session as being to persuade the commissioners to schedule a work session (the SCPR's phrase; not Eigel's) so that the CORN has:
• the opportunity to provide more information to the commissioners in the futherance of the group's goal
• to persuade Stark's commissioners to join CORN,
• outlines that NPC represents property owners like Zoumberakis in 14 townships stretching from Stark County back through Ohio to the Michigan border,
• notes that local governments (e.g. Summit County and the City of Green) have signed on as being part of the coalition,
• emphasizes that the CORN is not about stopping the pipeline and says that the CORN sees the transmission of gas as being an economic asset for Ohio and America, and
• promises that CORN will develop (an unprecedented action) a re-route map to submit to FERC (he terms as being a "disinterested" party) and thereby provide a win-win (a SCPR expression; not Eidgel's) for FERC to latch onto as a solution to the disagreement between CORN and Spectra,

Next up at Wednesday's meeting was Richard Norton, mayor of Green, Ohio (located in southern most Summit County):

Mayor Norton: (might be taken as some as being a "yes, go ahead but NIMBY [not my my backyard]), as follows:

• describes the prospect that Nexus as proposed will run under or close to Green parks, schools and other public places,
• reiterates the potentially catastrophic danger even if the overall odds of an event occurring are low,
• emphasizes the importance of Stark County being on board with CORN as a big county, and
• points out that the potential of a gas pipeline explosion calamity is different from the risk one takes on getting on an airplane in that the former is an involuntary risk imposed on citizens whereas in traveling by air one has a choice
  

Next up David Mucklow an attorney working with CORN who lives in projected pathway of Nexus.

Mucklow focues on a very important factor in trying to persuade the Stark commissioners to join in with CORN, namely:

• FERC daily reads stakeholder input and therefore the effort the affect the process is a "real" one and not a futile one,

Mucklow also:

• provides a case example in describing his elderly mother (a property owner stakeholder) being insensitively handled by Nexus employees contacting pipeline pathway property owners, and
• presents an analogy that should get everybody's attention:
• "it's (the pipeline) like having a dynamite factor placed in one's backyard,"

Next up is Paul Gierosky of York Township located in Medina County.

Gierosky has been the lead person in putting together CORN.  This organizing effort started in August, 2014.  In his presentation, Gierosky make the following points:

• the purpose of CORN is to look after:
• public safety,
• property values, and
• property rights
• the mission is to:
•  "to inform, educate and persuade
• Nexus/Spectra Energy officials,
• to choose a route through a less densely populated area, probably south,"
• the goal is to create a pipeline safety corridor via
• implementing a CORN strategy designed to convince industry/FERC factors that all lines should be relocated to one pathway in the least dense that good planning can devise.

The last presenter to the Stark commissioners published in this blog is Wayne Wiethe.

Wiethe made two basic points:

• transportation studies and census data nominate Green and Lake Township as being urban areas, and
• a huge priority for Green in getting Nexus relocated is to allow developers, who own the land which Nexus in currently projected to traverse, to realize their plans to develop the property, which, off course, will benefit Green and its residents economically and financially.

The SCPR was impressed with the presentation made by Nexus relocation advocates (i.e. CORN) on Wednesday.

It would be surprising if CORN does not succeed.

And The Report urges the Stark Commissioners to help CORN in any way the board can.

Next Friday, the SCPR plans on publishing Part 2 of this mini-series three part blog on the Nexus pipeline project in anticipation of a work session that commissioners will be holding with CORN activists on February 24th at 10:00 a.m. in the meeting room of the commissioners located on the second floor of the Stark County office building.

Part 2 will focus on post February 11 interviews with Gierosky and Eigel.

Part 3 will deal with the February 24th work session and the results of that session.

DEMOCRAT COMMISSIONER BERNABERI: STARK CO. "PROBABLY" NOT JOINING OAG MIKE DEWINE LAWSUIT AGAINST OBAMACARE!

UPDATE:  7:30 PM - NEW INFORMATION ON THE CONTACTS BETWEEN WARREN AND STARK COUNTY BOARDS OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

VIDEO

COMMISSIONER THOMAS BERNABEI

ON

WHETHER OR NOT

STARK COUNTY

IS STILL CONTEMPLATING

JOINING OHIO ATTORNEY GENERAL

LAWSUIT

ON

OBAMACARE

Ever since Democratic President Barack Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act  (labeled "Obamacare" by Republicans which label has been accepted by President Obama) into law on March 23, 2010, it has become a political rallying point for many elected Republicans in expression their loyal opposition to our nation's Democratic-controlled executive branch of government.

Since President Obama signed the measure into law, there have been some 67 Republican attempts in the U.S. House of Representatives to undo Obamacare to one degree or another.

The fight has pretty much been limited to the national level of our federal (i.e. national, state and local government) structure of government.

However, the fight did filter down to the state of Ohio level with a 2011 Constitutional ballot initiative.

And the-then Democratic Congressman John Boccieri (then a resident of Alliance) likely lost his 16 Congressional District seat (when the district included all of Stark County) in November 2012 to Republican Jim Renacci because of Boccieri's 2010 vote for Obamacare.

Now we learn that there has been an effort to get Stark County involved in a lawsuit filed on January 26, 2015 by Republican Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine.

• (SCPR note:  lawsuit also includes Warren County and several Ohio universities)

Where did the effort to involve Stark County come from?

At yesterday's Stark County commissioners' regular meeting, Commissioner Thomas Bernabei said in answer to a SCPR question (see video below) that it came from the Warren County commissioners.  Warren County is a county as of 2010 of some 212,000 residents.

And here is verification that the initiative came from Warren County administrator Dave Gully.

And here is an interesting response to Gully from Stark County Chief Administrator Brant Luther.

Hmm?

Luther:  "Having said that ... we still have a little division here in Stark, making the outcome unpredictable."

So the question is "whom knows whom" (in the politically connectedness sense of the expression - Stark County to Warren County or vice versa - for Stark to be solicited by Warren?

We may never know, but readers of the SCPR can depend on The Report to keep digging.

While he didn't say so expressly, the SCPR thinks that the only reason that Stark County did not join the lawsuit is because of Commissioner Tom Bernabei's opposition.

Of course, Stark County's two Republican commissioners (Creighton and Regula) could override what the SCPR thinks is a Bernabei opposition.

It is interesting that they did not pass a resolution to join the-then contemplated lawsuit at the commissioners' regularly scheduled meeting of December 30, 2014 when Bernabei was absent.

In a videotaped Q&A with commissioners at the conclusion of yesterday's meeting, Commissioner Bernabei (as president of the board and the only commissioner heretofore who had not articulated his position) took most of the questions of The Report.



And the SCPR agrees with his assessment.

Moreover, Stark Countians should not be paying perhaps as much as $85,000 of Stark County Democrat, Republican, independent and "not registered to vote" taxpayer dollars to litigate on a question that has strong political overtones to it and has no better than 50/50 chance of succeeding.

The SCPR believes that DeWine's and the Warren County commissioners' motivation suspiciously reeks of the Republican Party's obsession to undo Obamacare piece by piece.

It is intriguing that the only county among Ohio's 88 counties to sign on with DeWine is Warren.

Here is some material that the SCPR has gathered from various sources on the Internet which some readers might think is strong evidence of The Report's suspicions, at least on the part of Warren County officials.

In a press release, here, in part, is what the Warren County gave as their reasons for joining DeWine's lawsuit initiative:

Warren County, like many other counties and states, has self-insured health care coverage, and utilizes a third party administration company to administer its plan.  It is therefore not exempt from these fees. 

The fees are $63 for employees and dependents for 2015, with the per person charge estimated at $44 for 2016, and $27 for 2017. Warren County’s plan covers about 1,808 employees and dependents, which means we are being taxed $113,904 in 2015, $79,552 in 2016, and $48,816 in 2017.

Warren County Commissioners opted to make the initial payment of $94,710.00 on January 15, 2015 because the ACA’s penalty for non-compliance with remitting the Transitional Reinsurance Fee is $100 per day, per covered life.  Had Warren County not made the initial payment, our penalty would be $100 x 1,808 (current employees and dependents) = $180,800 A DAY!

"The Obama administration has to understand that we don't work for them – county government is a government for the tax-paying county citizens," said David Young, Warren County Board of
Commissioners President. "We, the county commissioners, as all local county officials should, operate and fight for the honest and effective governing of county taxpayer money."

"The Obama Administration’s cavalier approach to funding the Affordable Care Act is reckless, risky, unethical and, we believe, unconstitutional."  (color added for emphasis sake)

• SCPR note:  Stark County paid a little over $218,000 in coverage of over 3,000 employees

The last paragraph, the SCPR thinks, betrays a political vitriol as a strong factor playing into the decision to be a party-plaintiff against the United States government.

As the graphics above indicate, it appears that Warren County is a "one-party-county" in which only Republicans run for county commissioner (at least, in 2012 and 2014) which seemingly encourages them to have the chutzpah to use "local" taxpayer money to advance a political party agenda.

Commissioner Tom Grossman is a former Warren County Republican Party chairman.

Stark County is quite a different story on the matter of not supporting/supporting President Obama before Obamacare and even after Obamacare.

Recently, a SCPR reader e-mailed yours truly requesting that the SCPR get into statements made by Republican commissioners Creighton and Regula as well as Canton's local newspaper to tell the full story on why Stark County getting into the DeWine/Warren County legal initiative might not be a good idea.

At issue was a January 27th Repository editorial advocating that the Stark County commissioners join the lawsuit.

Here is a copy of that readers letter to the editor of The Repository:

The Repository’s editorial board failed to tell readers important information when it urged Stark County to join Ohio Attorney General DeWine’s transitional reinsurance fee litigation (“DeWine files lawsuit over Affordable Care Act fee,” Jan. 27).

First, the editorial board failed to mention the cost of this litigation. For example, DeWine’s staff will spend thousands of hours on this litigation.  Time that could be spent putting criminals in jail and keeping us safe, as promised during DeWine’s election campaign. Further, Ohio’s Warren County has hired a Washington lawyer to be the brains behind the litigation. Top tier Washington lawyers can bill out at $1,000 per hour.

Second, the editorial board failed to discuss the likelihood of success of the litigation. The odds of DeWine winning his litigation are slim to none. 

Already a leading health care expert has told The Cleveland Plain Dealer, and confirmed to me by email, that DeWine is misreading the law. This error may cause DeWine’s litigation to fail.

Third, the editorial board failed to tell readers that what is possibly driving the litigation is DeWine’s political ambition and desire to burnish his conservative credentials. The media has speculated that DeWine will run for governor in 2018. So DeWine is using our tax money to pay for his litigation that keeps him in the public’s eye.

The editorial board should have explained the above factors to readers rather than simply cheerleading expensive litigation that seems to be driven more by ideology and political ambition than common sense.

ROBERT S. MELSON, NAVARRE

It is interesting that Mr. Melson thinks he has to turn to The Stark County Political Report in order to get "the rest of the story" out before the Stark County public.

The Report thinks Melson makes telling points.

As SCPR readers know, yours truly thinks that highly partisan Republicans and Democrats are ruining our democratic-republic as they jockey with one another for political advantage.

That is what The Report thinks this fight is about.

It is a sad day indeed when our local newspaper weighs in on the TRP issue making a recommendation without telling the complete story.

But that is what we have all come to expect from The Canton Repository.

(VIDEOS OF ALL 25 SPEAKERS [3 MIN EACH]) TIMKEN VERSUS "BEING ABSORBED" INTO McKINLEY - SOME HARSH WORDS FOR SUPERINTENDENT ALLISON!

FINAL UPDATE (02/15/2015 - 9:00 AM)

VIDEOS

PROTESTERS AT ENTRANCE

SCHOOL OFFICIALS

SUPERINTENDENT ALLISON
========================
BOE MEMBER MILLIGAN
========================
BOE MEMBER GISSENDANER
========================
BOE MEMBER ROSS-FREEMAN
========================
BOE MEMBER RINALDI
========================
BOE PRESIDENT BRAHLER


CITIZENS

BILL TRBOVICH
========================
REBECCA SCHREWSBURY
 ========================
ISIAH BINGHAM
 ========================
GAIL WHIPKEY
 ========================
PAMELA LAGODICH 
 ========================
CHRISTOPHER BARTON
========================
ANTHONY ROBERTSON, SR
========================
MICHAEL BOYDSTON, SR  
 ========================
ERIC RESNICK 
(a don't miss video)
========================
DR. ADRIENNE O'NEIL 
========================
JODI ROBERTS
 ========================
ANGELINE BONNER
(1986 grad lives in Illinois) 
 ========================
DEBORAH HODGE
 ========================
NANCY GEORGE
========================
SAMUEL MUHAMMED
========================
  CLEO LUCAS
========================
CHRIS SONNTAT
========================
MIKE MULLAY
========================
JIM REINHARD
========================
 CASSIDY JACOBS
 ========================
 CHRISTINE DYE
 ========================
RENEE SIMMONS
========================
MARGE LORETTO 
 ========================
HARRY HUGHES 
========================
GUST CALLAS 
 

Canton City Schools' (CCS) superintendent Adrian Allison, when he rolled out his initiative to "merge" Canton's Timken High School and McKinley High School tried - in the minds of many Timken supporters - to sell them 'a bill of goods."

Merger was the operative word used by Allison from the get-go.

Pro-Timken activist Eric Resnick  (a former CCS board member) was not buying and said so rather bluntly "in-your-face-style" to Allison in a meeting of a community leaders breakfast forum on January 20th.

Resnick called Allison proposal an acquisition in rejecting the "M (merger) word."

• (LINK to video of Resnick and Allison exchange)

As The Stark County Political Report entered Timken High School at last night's February 9th board of education (BOE) meeting, yours truly encountered two picketers who were mouthing the Timken supporters theme of the night that came from speaker after speaker after speaker.

"Let's be clear about this Allison recommendation.  It is not a merger; it is a takeover of Timken by McKinley!"

Last night it became obvious early on that the Timken side effort was not going to be "Come now, let us reason together on a 'merger.'"

Rather, it was, "this is not a merger, it is a takeover and we're damn mad and we are not going to take it!"

It appears to the SCPR that - to the Timken folks - for them to hear the M word in pretty much the equivalent of being "F-bombed" by someone.

They seem to get enraged whenever Allison and other school officials use the M word.

Beyond the offense of thinking that their intelligence is being questioned by the persistent use of the M word.

Today's SCPR blog is structured first to give Allison his say. Then the board of education members.

Most importantly (i.e. than putting up the Allison video and the BOE videos),The Report publishes in this blog "each and every of the 25 speakers" who took advantage of the opportunity to have his/her say on the issue before the 150, more or less, who attended last night.

One Timken graduate (Class of 1986) came all the way from the Chicago, Illinois area to speak her mind.

As readers will note on seeing the three minute videos of last night's Public Speaks (most speakers, but not all, rejecting the M Word approach). The "preserve Timken movement" seemingly is no longer open to using merger as an operative term.

FIRST, ALLISON (About 15 minutes in length)

The core of Allison's presentation was to convince Canton schools' Timken branch constituents that he has heard their objections to the "original" Phase III plan (i.e. the "M" of the high schools) and has modified the proposal and it is now time to move on with adoption and implementation.

Again, as will be seen in the constituents presentations later on in this blog, he was apparently unsuccessful in mollifying the objectors.



BOARD OF EDUCATION MEMBER
RICHARD MILLIGAN (about 10 minutes)



BOARD OF EDUCATION MEMBER
LISA GISSENDANER (about 3 minutes)



BOARD OF EDUCATION MEMBER
IDA ROSS-FREEMAN (about 1 minute)



BOARD OF EDUCATION MEMBER
JOHN RINALDI (about 4 minutes)



BOARD OF EDUCATION MEMBER
RYAN BRAHLER (president, 1:30)



CONSTITUENTS OF CCS (all about 3 minutes)

BILL TRBOVICH



Central message:  "Slow down the process!"

REBECCA SCHREWSBURY

Central message:  "Allison's plan takes away choice"



ISIAH BINGHAM

Central message:  "Saving money, could cost district money with departure of 200/300 Timken students who feel like consolidation plan makes them 'inferior' students."



GAIL WHIPKEY

Central message:  "CCS State of Ohio per student aid is going up; consolidations risk deteriorating quality of schools (study shows)"



PAM LAGODICH

Central message:  "Board's 'choice' should be to vote 'no' on consolidation; it takes a village working together to make consolidations work and the villagers are upset."



 CHRISTOPHER BARTON

Central message:  "2013 Timken graduate who is a success story.  Timken prepared him well to be an aeronautic/avionics student at Kent State University."



ANTHONY ROBERTSON, SR 


Central message:  "CCS has wasted years in preparing for bringing Timken and McKinley together.  His group has a plan that will work.  Will CCS officials sit down with and consider his group's plan."



 MICHAEL BOYDSTON, SR

Central message:  "Timken High prepared the Boydston daughters to make their way in the world.  Any rework of Canton's high school set up needs to include 'their entire community;' not just the work of one man (an obvious reference to Allison)"



ERIC RESNICK

The SCPR dwells on Resnick in this blog a tad more than other speakers.

He is an obvious leader if not "THE" overall head of the "Keep Timken the Way It Is" movement.

Earlier in this blog, the SCPR linked to a video in The Report's January 20th community leaders' breakfast hosted by the CCS.

As shown in that video, it is apparent to the SCPR that he has animus towards Allison.  But Allison should not take offense.  The Report's take is that Resnick demonstrates animus toward anyone who sees things differently than he does.

It was hard to detect ill-will towards Allison and the CCS BOE from most of last night's speakers, but not so - the SCPR thinks - with Resnick.

A few examples from his three minutes of fame last night:

• Allison and the CCS BOE hurrying the plan through in five weeks "is an injustice,"
• Allison is now contradicting himself, to wit:
• What was good on November 15th (i.e. expanding educational programming at Timken) is on February 9th now "an injustice and [- get this -] an abomination,"
• Really? When did Allison ever say "abomination?"
• Allison, Resnick says, is presenting "a half-baked plan that changes almost daily"
• Would Resnick rather Allison present "a half baked plan" that is cast in concrete?
• Allison, Resnick says, is playing the role of an unbecoming, unthoughtful salesman that has no place in the CCS,
• Allison's plan presentations are full of:
• "half-truths and nuances" indicative of "results driven advocacy; not thoughtfulness,"
• Allison's "proposal is all about robbing Timken to pay McKinley and mostly about athletics [that] runs counter to best practices for high poverty districts and ... unconscionable at any price,"
• (color added for emphasis)

 Wow! no?

The video:



It will be interesting to see whether or not Resnick's approach "plays in Peoria" (err Canton-at-large) which is to say outside the Timken High School family?

If Resnick carries the day, it is hard to see how Allison stays on as Canton City Schools superintendent, no?

Wouldn't a rejection of Allison's plan be tantamount to "a vote of no-confidence?"

DR. ADRIENNE O'NEIL
(Stark County Education Foundation)

Central message:  Timken has national and international renown in career technical education; do not harm that reputation.



JODI ROBERTS

Central message:  Costs of conversion to one high school are sheer speculation and have not been adequately accounted for.



ANGELINE BONNER
(1986 Timken grad, now of Illinois)

Central message:  "Don't throw the baby [Timken High School] out with the bath water [the problems which need fixing."



 DEBORAH HODGE

Central message:  "Fix Phase I & II before moving onto Phase III."



NANCY GEORGE

Central message:  "Slow this down, plan this out, really listen to your teachers and people who education licenses and certificates."



SAMUEL MUHAMMED

Central message:  Ramp up Timken to provide superior services to Canton's socially and financially disadvantage as a way to save the school's place in the community.



CLEO LUCAS

Central message:  "Separate is never equal.  Its been known for 15 years that Canton needs to be a one-high-school city."



CHRIS SONNTAT

Central message:  Make courses and services available throughout CCS secondary schools.



MIKE MULLAY

Central message:  "Create win-wins in high school consolidation retaining the best from Timken and McKinley."



JIM REINHARD

Central message:  "Canton is the third poorest school district in all of Ohio.  There are 'bigger fish to fry' (the SCPR's expression; not Reinhard's) that fighting over having one or two high schools."



 CASSIDY JACOBS

Central message:  "Can't fix by tinkering when the overall approach is flawed."



CHRISTINE DYE

Central message:  "Daughter has benefited from Timken education in field of Robotics.  Slow down, think out eliminating Timken."



RENEE SIMMONS

Central message:  "It is unfair to close Timken on students who would have chosen another school had they know that closing Timken was in the offing."



MARGE LORETTO

Central message:  New high school needs to include Timken name, colors and traditions.



HARRY HUGHES
(1953 Timken grad)



Central message:  "Keep Timken open.  Canton schools are in chaos."
GUST CALLAS

Central message:  "Don't do what I did on prior reorganizations and get mad.  Support what is best for the students."



CONCLUSION

So does the SCPR have an opinion on the Timken/McKinley matter?

Indeed.

First, The Report agrees with those who want to slow down the process.

What is the hurry?

Prior consolidations were not rushed through.

One urgent factor in compelling immediate consolidations and its attendant efficiencies might have been the concern by Superintendent Allison and presumably the BOE members could have been the cessation of State of Ohio guaranteed money for distressed urban districts.

But that evaporated last week when Ohio education officials published a database showing that CCS will not be losing the financial guarantees over the next three years.

It will in fact be getting more State of Ohio taxpayer money.

While the CCS and all Ohio school districts whether financially strapped or not have a "operating in good faith" obligation to taxpayers to be as efficient as they can be, they have an equal if not higher obligation to ensure that the graduates they produce are prepared for higher education and/or immediately employable.

The CCS should use the financial buffer they now how by virtue of the new money coming the district's way to extend the study of whether or not to bring Timken and McKinley together.

For the SCPR, one of the more powerful arguments is - in the context of educating new generations of Cantonians - "smaller is better."

Canton schools, because of many complexities of family, social and financial factors that students bring to school with them need to get the teacher to student ratio to the lowest that school finances can abide.

So, yes, CCS officials:  Slow the process down.

What appears to be a pell-mell rush to have one large high school might well deprive financially and socially disadvantaged Cantonian children of the greatest opportunity they will ever have to be educationally equipped to compete and thrive in the American economic system.

The SCPR thinks that those who say "smaller is better" are making the more persuasive argument.

PART 3: SCPR ANALYSIS OF STARK CO. CANDIDATE FILINGS ON 02/04/2015 - CANTON

As far as The Stark County Political Report is concerned, city of Canton Democrat voters, beyond veteran council member Bill Smuckler, have a Hobson's Choice as to whom to select from among Jimmy Babcock, Mary Cirelli and Tom Harmon to fill out the remaining two Democratic Party slots for the November election.

THE MAYORALTY FACE-OFF

With the Canton mayoralty race all but decided, in the opinion of the SCPR given the following:

• as of December 31, 2014 Mayor William J. Healy, II $115,000 in campaign funds available and opponent and Treasurer (City of Canton) Kim Perez - less than $10,000, and
• the advantage of being mayor enabling Healy to benefit from having an agenda in progress for example:
• oil and gas shale development in the Canton/Stark County area,
• a relatively low unemployment rate unfolding over the course of seven years being mayor,
• Note:  with their attendant increased income tax collections
• Canton economic development and enhancement projects/plans like:
• the Citywide Comprehensive Plan which is to be unveiled likely before the May, primary election
• the VXI Calling Center employment numbers,
• the Onesto Lofts project,
• the Hall of Fame Village development planning,
• the Mahoning Road/12th Street corridor rehab projects,
• the revitalization of Canton parks and recreation infrastructure, and
• safety force employment being beefed up

unless Mayor Healy steps on his p**-p** (which he surely is capable of) between now and May 5th, the only races which mean anything this year are Canton City Council races.

Over the nearly seven years of the publication of the SCPR, yours truly has done many, many blogs on Healy detailing numerous goof ups and yet he lives on as perhaps Stark County's most skilled politician.

He indeed has to be the envy of the proverbial "cat with nine lives" in that he seemingly survived way more than nine times in escaping from one scrape after another scrape after another scrape over his seven plus years in office.

Even the competitive 2015 Canton City Council contests are of minimal significance, if any, in terms of producing new leadership that has to potential spark Canton to an accelerated and higher level of economic, financial, cultural recovery from decades of decline.

COUNCIL-AT-LARGE

A Hobson's Choice is one in which there is only one substantive choice but appearances indicate otherwise.

Of the four Democrats running for three Canton City Council positions, the only who is prepared and who has demonstrated that he belongs there is the dean of council; namely, Bill Smuckler.

All the rest are in the opinion of the SCPR "no choice at all."

Jimmy Babcock did impress The Report in raising meaningful questions to the Healy administration in recent council deliberations on whether or not to pass the Onesto TIF (Tax Incentive Financing) whereby Stark County entrepreneur Steve Coon's enterprises will benefit the tune of about $2 million (a SCPR gestimate) over 10 years while costing Canton City Schools, Stark County government, Stark County mental health and children services, Stark Parks a like amount in revenue.

Why Babcock and and others (Morris, Fisher and Smith) were correct in voting "no" on February 2nd, the SCPR thinks, is that Coon was going forward anyway.

But Babcock is mostly silent in council sessions and does not appear to have qualities as a legislator that make him an overall asset on council.

What can one say about Mary Cirelli?

Mary is Mary, God Bless her!

However, her main value has been to be council's "naysayer-in-chief."  While there is a time and place for voting "no," the SCPR's take on Mary is that she votes "no" seemingly for the mere sake of voting "no," while not offering positive alternatives.

The most that can be said for Tom Harmon is that he apparently is running at the behest of Bill Smuckler.  Harmon was involved in Smuckler's campaign to be county commissioners in 2012.

While it is comforting to know that there is a close association between Harmon and Smuckler, should the long term former Canton Municipal Court clerk of courts, short term Stark County commissioner be elected to Canton City Council, one wonders what contribution he would make to the improvement of Canton (other than to follow the lead of Smuckler)?

The SCPR got to know Harmon from his days as commissioner and to say the least The Report was not impressed.

His big economic development project as commissioner was to promote the building of a horse show arena on the Stark County fairgrounds.

And, of course, we all know where that went:  absolutely nowhere.

Unfortunately, Canton may end up with two at-large councilpersons (as among Babcock, Cirelli and Harmon) who in the judgment of the SCPR have little if anything to offer towards the revitalization of Canton.

Hopefully, independent Councilman-at-Large Richard Hart will run for reelection (filing deadline, May 4, 2015).

Hart does have a vision for Canton possessed by neither neither of the three mentioned above, at least, as demonstrated to date.

While Cantonians will elect three at-large council persons in November, in terms of substance there may be only one choice; namely Bill Smuckler, should Hart decide not to run.

And that is how the SCPR comes to equate the at-large candidacies as perhaps being a Hobson's Choice.  The only "real" choice (absent Hart) being Bill Smuckler.

WARD 1

l

Greg Hawk is probably Canton City Council's most adept financial councilperson.

And, before Mayor Healy had his way in getting him removed as chairman of the finance committee for one term (2012 - 2013), he was a festering sore to the mayor.

Well, guess what?

He's back!

With the change in the composition of council in the elections of 2013, he regained his coveted finance chairman post.

And Hawk does have a mouth on him.

He often weighs-in during council work sessions and has a decent handle on city finances.

It was painful though to hear him talk (several weeks ago) about the Onesto TIF as the "to be cut out of 75% of tax revenues" Stark County political subdivisions as getting 25% of something rather than 75% of nothing.

The SCPR thinks (as stated above) that Coon was going ahead with the Onesto project whether the TIF passed council or not.

So it appears that the TIF is one gigantic taxpayer give-away.

In most instances, The Report agrees with Hawk's financial take and believes him to be an effective watchdog of Canton taxpayer money but not on the Onesto thing.

Tim Porter does not seem to have any particular agenda/point-of view and likely would be like a potted plant waiting for the mayor or a city administrator to water the plant.

WARD 2

Long time Ward 2 CouncilmanThomas West may be the most talented of all Canton City councilpersons IF one looks at the "potential" of a person.

The SCPR sees him as:

• being intellectually sharp,
• having high grade communication skills,
• being politically sophisticated,
• having a astute awareness of Canton's problems, and
• demonstrating passion for issues he cares about

However, The Report sees him as excessively self-serving and prone to sophistry and "out-of-touch with reality" on some issues and largely misguided in how to achieve fairness for Canton's African-American residents.

If West could ever "get his leadership act together," he could be a dynamo in providing Canton Council with substantive issue expertise (meaning well researched and urbanely presented).

His work on the proposal to bring traffic cameras was impressive.

However, he failed to be in touch with the sentiments of the constituents of his fellow councilpersons (also, likely his own) and therefore was unable to close the deal.  

West does aspire to leadership, witness his (in the opinion of the SCPR) disruption of Canton City Council getting going in its current term (ie. 2014 - 2015) in dragging out the selection of a new majority leader (vice president of council,)  in competing with ultimate winner Ward 9 councilman Frank Morris.

That he competed was desirable.  That he dragged the process out in technical legal grounds was not.

The SCPR thinks, though generally liked by his fellows on council, hurt himself in the leadership regard they hold for him in his "gilding the lily" on his vying with Morris.

The question with Councilman Thomas West if whether or not he can learn from experience and grow as a councilperson so that he can achieve a leadership role.

For West will be around as Ward 2 councilman for as long as he wants.

He seemingly has a nemesis opponent in Gloria E. Norris. 

This year's May 5th Democratic Primary will be her third try going back to 2011.

West has trounced her but good in two tries to unseat him (once in the 2013 Democratic Primary and once in the 20122 general election).

In 2013 he pushed for a change in Canton Council's election cycle from two years to four years.

What was that all about?

The SCPR longs for Ward 2 Councilman Thomas E. West to reach his potential as a Canton City Council leader and concomitant as an effective Canton/Stark County African-American leader.

One thing about West that absolutely drives the SCPR up a wall is his constant bellyaching about the futility of African-Americans achieving elected office proportional to their over all numbers place in Canton/Stark County.

More numerous African-Americans in Canton/Stark County government would be, the SCPR thinks, a good thing.

However The Report has seen nothing from West in the way of creating/developing a political, educational and "preparation for governance" structure that will enhance the prospects for African Americans to attain leadership posts.

West himself has shown (November, 2006) that he has wide political appeal across Stark County.

Note that West substantially out polled a well known former Stark County judge running for the same state senate position only four years before.

There are not 55,541 African-Americans living in Stark County.  And there certainly not 55,541 registered to vote African-Americans.

Moreover, President Barrack Obama won Stark County in 2008 and 2012.

So it is utter nonsense that African-American cannot win in Canton citywide and countywide.

• Note:  One of the reasons West is opposed to charter government for Canton is his concern that he fears that it could lead to less minority representation on council.

If a person like West and his enormous potential would focus more on action than bellyaching, he could be the catalyst to bring increasing numbers of African-Americans into leadership roles in the county and the county seat.

Councilman West needs to:

• forget the likes of "The Rooney Rule, and
• put his innate abilities to work on devising ways and means for getting African-Americans into their rightful place of being competitive across Stark County and Canton,
• for example:  create an education and training structure which citizens are recruited to participate in so that a pool of candidates are at the ready to run in wards and at-large.
• now that would be leadership

The SCPR will say it again.  

Thomas West has the potential to be one of Canton's and Stark County's finest leaders.

But time is moving on faster than he apparently thinks.

It could be that when his time has come and gone, the talk will still be about "the potential of Councilman Thomas West."

WARD 3

Late last year Ward 3 Councilman Jim Griffin announced he would not see another term as the ward's councilman.

The lingering memory of the SCPR is a campaign appearance a number of years ago in which the councilman's main point was "how much I enjoy being councilman."

Well, as far as The Report is concerned, that doesn't quite cut it in terms of qualification being a Canton councilperson.

So the news that Griffin was steeping aside was good news to the SCPR in the hope that more vigorous and intent in being engaged candidates might emerge.

And perhaps in Ryan Brahler and Jason Scaglione such might be in the offing.

However, they, despite their relative youth when compared to Griffin, may prove more of the same.

Scaglione has showed some fire in taking to the lectern during Public Speaks at Canton council.

Here is a LINK so that readers can get a sampling of Scaglione's approach.

Brahler is a member of the Canton City Schools Board of Education (president of the board, believe it or not) which is mired in a controversy about whether or not Canton's two high schools (Timken and McKinley) should be merged beginning with the 2015/16 school year under the banner of McKinley with all of Canton's grades 10 through 12 being sent to the current McKinley facility.

How he votes on February 25th on the CCS merger, could go a long ways in determining whether or not he realizes his dream of being a Canton councilman.

Two years ago Brahler toyed around with running as an independent but was denied ballot access by the Stark County Board of Elections.

It appears (given that he's jumping ship this election cycle) that his running for and being elected a CCS-BOE member in 2011 (unopposed) was not because he has passionate about being a BOE member.  But rather as a way-station waiting for Griffin to step aside.

Brahler strikes yours truly in having an anemic public presentation tone to him that if elected suggests that he will be a Jim Griffin-esque city councilman.

Scaglione on the other hand appears to be a forceful personality.

WARD 7

Zutali has run for Ward 7 councilman before.

He is an able candidate but he has the misfortune insofar as the SCPR is concerned to be running against one of Canton City Council's more energetic, thoughtful and visionary councilpersons.

Mariol is one of a group of four "young" councilpersons, except, perhaps for Majority Leader (vice president of council) Frank Morris which group, in addition to Morris, includes Ward 5 councilman Kevin Fisher and Ward 8 councilman Edmond Mack.

Mariol has a visionary quality about him.  He is a major proponent of the Market Square (3rd St, North/Market Avenue, North) project now being talked about and planned.

While the SCPR sees Mariol as one of council's better thinkers, he can get ahead of himself when he allows his enthusiasm for moving Canton forward cloud his judgment in considering whether or not council ought to be funding this or that project.

An example is to be found on the Onesto TIF project.

Mariol's reasoning for voting to approve the TIF is to put Coon's company in the best possible position to repay a $2 million loan which Canton has underwritten with its bonding power.

So you probe deeper with a company that you question whether or not it can repay a substantial loan?

Doesn't make any sense to the SCPR.

And, of course, "the going in deeper" costs Stark County political subdivisions some $2 million over ten years for a project that some think is going forward even if the TIF is not passed.

More vetting needed to be done by Mariol and other supporters of the TIF in order to make sure that BUT FOR council approving the Onesto TIF the project would not have gone forward.

The vetting was not done.

The SCPR expects more of Mariol and Mack.

Morris deserves accolades for penetrating the hype and cheerleading for the TIF in stepping back and looking at the Onesto thing and saying:  "You know what, this guy (Coon) is going to complete the Onesto Lofts EVEN IF Canton does not give away $2 million of Stark County political subdivison money!"

That's what the SCPR expects of a thoroughgoing majority leader of Canton City Council.

Morris being the oldest of council's newest and youngest foursome may well also by virtue of greater life experience be the wisest, no?

CONCLUSION ON CANTON FILINGS

All-in-all, the SCPR is not impressed with the filings for Canton mayoralty/council candidates.

While Fisher, Mack, Mariol, Morris, Hawk, Smuckler provide consistent and well thought out leadership; it is "hit and miss" with the rest of them and in the case of a few "completely miss."

The Stark County Republican Party has shown itself to totally unworthy to call itself the "Stark County" Republican Party by virtue of its complete abandonment of having candidates for Canton government posts.

Get this.

Not one Republican is vying for Canton government office.

One lady did take out petitions for Ward 3, but she did not file.

Jeff Matthews should have been dumped by the Party long ago.

Under his leadership, the Stark GOP is irresponsibly ignoring its obligation to put competitive heat on the supermajority (Richard Hart, a former Republican and now independent is currently councilman-at-large) Democrats who control Canton government.

Here's a guy who The Report is told by super-knowledgeable Republican "in-the-trenches" workers not to bother encouraging everyday Republicans to seek election as precinct committeepersons.

Why?

Undoubtedly, the SCPR thinks, because he is unsure whether or not he can control them.

When citizens do not run for the office, guess who gets to appoint them?

You've got it!  Chairman Matthews.

Shame on Chairman Jeff Matthews and the "Stark County?" Republican Party for being absentees in Canton's and Stark County's political/government mix!

Had there not been what local civic activist Craig T. Conley names as being Zeiglergate (2009 - 2011); one  has to wonder whether or not Republicans would hold any countywide non-judicial elective offices, no?