The STARK COUNTY POLITICAL REPORT (The Report) loves to find good things to say about candidates for public office.Problem is, not many provide the grist for goodness - Democrat or Republican. Unfortunately, all too many are into themselves and, perhaps, their political party but only as a means to further personal political ambitions. Very few predominate in favor of the citizenry and coming up with well-thought-out programs and policies to help everydays.
Celeste DeHoff is one of the foremost of the seriously lacking candidates. And believe me, her Republican opponent Todd Snitchler is nobody to write home about. Her main claim to fame is that she is a tried and true loyalist to Stark County Party chairman Johnnie A. Maier, Jr. When she doesn't have a carefully crafted political script, she can barely put together an intelligible presentation on an issue.
The readers of The Report well know that The Report has incurred the ire of both Democratic and Republican officeholders and candidates. Why. Because the sole quest of The Report is "to hold them accountable."
The Repository has shown that it only spasmodically gets the accountability job done. As The Report evolves, readers can expect more and more stories with incisive political analysis as to whether or not Stark County officeholders are getting an effective job done for us.
Yesterday, The Report walked into a "firestorm of one" at the Strickland endorsement event of the Celeste DeHoff 50th Ohio House District candidacy at the Canal Fulton Community Center. Who was that one? Shane Jackson who works for Stark County Democratic Party chairman Johnnie A. Maier, Jr in the clerk's office of the Massillon Municipal Court.
On three different occasions Jackson had outbursts against The Report starting off with a "wise-guy" type comment as The Report entered the community center.
Another of the outburst is represented by the graphic which accompanies this piece.
The Report compliments Jackson Township Fiscal Officer Randy Gonzales for getting a handle on Shane and calming him down. Though The Report's friend and Hall of Fame AFL-CIO president Dan Scuiry will not like seeing this (at last report Scuiry loathes Gonzalez because of Gonzalez's refusal to support Scuiry's preferred candidate for Jackson Township trustee several years back), but The Report thinks Gonzalez is one of the steadiest hands in the Stark County Democratic Party.
Another such person is Steve Meeks (who also comes from Jackson Township and is a former trustee). Meeks who is Region 9 Economic Development Director for Governor Strickland is "a cool customer."
The Report's emphasis on Gonzalez and Meeks is to point out to Maier (who in The Report's opinion more political firebrand than substance and encouraging substantive candidates to run for office) and Shane Jackson that there are figures (Gonzalez and Meeks, to name two - there are more) in the Stark County Democratic Party they ought to be emulating.
One of the immediate superficial contrasts between DeHoff and Snitchler is demeanor. Even though The Report has been highly critical of Snitchler and his overly-reliant relationship with chambers of commerce as some sort of panacea for what ails Ohio and Stark County, he has always been personally cordial with The Report. DeHoff turns her back and eschews conversation with The Report. Much like term-limited out Republican John Hagan.
Shane Jackson is a relatively young man. If he can get a handle on himself in the face of political disagreement in the public square, he will do just fine. He needs to remember that the American political system is a democracy and people will have different perspectives.
In the end, The Report takes the Jackson outbursts as a compliment. The Report is being effective in delivering to the Stark County voting public an "independent" analysis of the candidates and issues that dot the Stark County political landscape. Shane Jackson knows this. And that is what he is unhappy about. His candidate is not a good choice for voters of Ohio's 50th House District!
Question: Does the Shane Jackson outburst do anything positive to advance the cause of his candidate?
I have got to agree with "The Report" here. DeHoff is the worst candidate on the ballot from both sides of the ticket. She is a horrible public speaker and the only time she sounds acceptable is when she is reading a script. Goes to show she has no idea what she is talking about and that her handlers are writting for her what she should say. It will be a really sad day for not only Stark County, but for the entire state of Ohio if she finds victory next week. Very....very sad.
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