While yours truly was an active Democrat (now a political independnt), the, then, Stark County Democratic Party chairman Johnnie A. Maier, Jr (who is now clerk of courts for the Massillon Municipal Court), said something to the effect: "You know, Martin, the letter to the editor you wrote to The Repository might be deemed to be critical of the governor."
Heavens forbid!
A letter critical of the governor!!!
Well, if Maier thought that letter "might be deemed to be critical," he hasn't seen anything yet.
The SCPR believes that Governor Strickland has been too quick to listen to the politicos like Johnnie A. Maier, Jr and has been so politically cautionary that he blew a major opportunity to fix the funding of public education.
Some of us wanted the governor to "come out-of-the-box" on being elected, capitalizing on his 60% to 40% massive victory over Republican Ken Blackwell and take bold initiatives to fix this long-festering problem as played out over many years in the contest of the DeRelfe cases decided by the Ohio Supreme Court (four in number).
But no, Strickland listened to the professional political advisers like Maier, and decided, as he told one Stark County elected education official at a Stark County located appearance, "to keep his powder dry."
Well, Governor Strickland, the powder is drier than dry.
Stark Countians and all Ohioans should know that Ohio is now on the brink of having Strickland's "keeping my powder dry chickens, coming home to roost!"
Stark County's main Ohio senator (in terms of geography and population represented) Kirk Schuring is of 21 Republican senators playing a game of "political chicken" with the governor on gubernatorial politics being played out in the Ohio Senate.
This is the same Kirk Schuring, as a "grandstand" political move, who wanted to get a constitutional amendment on the ballot in 2008 to supposedly fix the funding of public education problem. The SCPR analysis at the time was that it would do no such thing, but that it was okay for as far as it went.
Schuring had to know that his initiative was going nowhere. He was running against one of Strickland's best friends for Congress (16th): John Boccieri. No way was the governor going to allow Schuring to pull off this political scheme.
Schuring appears innocent enough, but the SCPR believes he is as political as anyone else.
But Schuring's disingenousness is in no way excuses the governor for having blown it in the first place.
The SCPR is told by Stark County's other Ohio senator (Joe Schiavoni - who represents the Alliance area) that Republicans in the Ohio Senate are being besieged by educators from all over Ohio, including Stark County, to solve the budget impasse with the governor and save Ohio's schools from devastating funding cuts in next year's local school district budgets.
The SCPR asked Schuring what he was going to do on the impasse.
What does Schuring do?
Ignores the question.
Schuring, apparently, is adopting the ways of former 50th House District representative John Hagan (about to resume a more suited position as Marlboro Township trustee), ignore people and questions you do not want to entertain.
The SCPR has long held that Schuring is an illusion as a state representative (House or Senate side). He and his running/exchange musical chairs mate Scott Oelslager (serving in a majority/supermajority context for most of their tenue) have achieved very little for Ohio and Stark County in their over 40 years in the Ohio General Assembly.
But again, the SCPR blames the governor more than Schuring and Oelslager and, indeed, the entire Ohio General Assembly.
Strickland has failed in his self-proclaimed role as being "the education governor."
Now Ohioans including Stark Countians, of course, are left to decide next year whom among Strickland and Republican Kasich "is the lesser of two 'political' evils."
Oops, here yours truly is at the end of this blog and remembers something.
Disclaimer: "The SCPR did not get the approval of former Stark County Democratic Political Party chairman Johnnie A. Maier, Jr prior to publshing this blog critical, in part, of Governor Ted Strickland."
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