SCPR "ELECTION 2009 SERIES" (VOL 31): CAN CANTON AFFORD A COUNCILMAN WHOSE MAIN JOY IN LIFE IS "BEING COUNCILMAN?"

First, let's get the niceties out of the way.

Undoubtedly, 3rd Ward Councilman James Griffin (Democrat) is a grand guy.

So the SCPR's failure to recommend him for re-election has nothing to do with his personality.

Now, let's get to the dire need of Canton to have all the energetic, forward and innovative thinking council persons that the city can find among its nearly 80,000 inhabitants.

Recently, the SCPR was at the Neighborhood Associates Votes Empower (NAVE) candidates forum videotaping the candidates.

It is okay for a candidate to say that he enjoys being councilperson.   But when such seems to be the emphasis and that same candidate has very little of substance to say about the question asked, then it may not be okay.  More appropriately, the "I enjoy being councilman should become troublesome to Canton Ward 3 voters when the substance is largely missing.

The Ward and Canton (both in huge need of someone with a robust bent towards problem solving) require more from a councilman than contentment on being a councilman.

It was okay for incumbent councilman Griffin to talk about his spouse, the length of his marriage, his children, his grandchildren and how Ward 3 used to be, but such should not have taken up the bulk of his alloted time to answer the presented question at NAVE.

His only substantive talk was to speak of  how he was fine with tearing down abandoned premises in the Ward, but that he preferred not to.  Nothing else.

Compare what yours truly has written about Griffin as well as what you see on the video below to what his Republican opponent Christopher Hoetzle had to say in selected parts of his answer to a questionnaire he submitted to The Repository:

I will bring the people of my ward together, show them how much we can accomplish if we work as a team, and we will create an environment where business can move in and be successful.  ... Once neighborhoods are safe, schools are stable, and streets are consistently safe to drive on we will see an incline in residential development. People aren’t moving to Canton, they are leaving Canton. I will give our neighborhoods a voice in city government, give the community the chance to better itself and together we will create an area worth building homes in.

If Canton Ward 3 voters want to give the Ward a brighter future and help the entire city at the same time, the ought to be voting for Hoetzle rather than Griffin.

Here is the video on Griffin at NAVE (focusing on his substance and his stated pleasure at being councilman).