It is a good thing that Plain Township trustee Giavasis underlines Louis P. Otherwise, people might confuse him with his brother Phil. Brother Phil is the better known Giavasis siblings.
Phil was Stark County Common Pleas clerk of courts for a number of years. When Tom Harmon decided to "retire," Phil jumped all over being Canton Municipal Court clerk of courts because of the increased pay which will jack up his retirement benefits from PERS on retirement.
On the way out the door at Common Pleas, Phil Giavasis handed that job to Nancy Reinbold, wife of former Common Pleas Court judge Richard Reinbold.
Who is one of Reinbold's chief employees these days?
Phil's brother Louis P. That's who!
Louis doubles up as Plain Township trustee.
The SCPR has complemented the Plain trustees for having probably the best fiscal operation in all of Stark County, if not all of Ohio. Louis P. deserves some of but not all of the credit.
The question becomes: would Louis P. Giavasis as a Stark County commissioner be good for Stark Countians.
The SCPR's answer is probably not.
And this may be an academic discussion because The Report is told that Louis P. Giavasis will not be running for commissioner. Reportedly, he has made a statement on his Facebook page to that effect.
Okay let's go the academic route: why Louis P. Giavasis might not make a good Stark County commissioner?
Because he is afflicted with the "perpetual bridesmaid effect" which has him cozying up to political suitors but being rejected because of some perceived "political imperfections."
Hmm? The "perpetual bridesmaid effect."
Yes, Louis P. is a wannabe type in terms of Stark County power politics who is largely unappreciated by the powers that be in the Stark County Democratic Party. Moreover, if his brother was not Phil, he likely would not be the "Title Bureau Czar" for the Stark clerk of courts office.
Though Louis P. probably works far harder on the campaigns of other Stark Democratic hopefuls than brother Phil (who likely does no on-the-ground work for others), he ends up being the Rodney Dangerfield of Stark Democratic politics whereas brother Phil is one of the key players of the Party.
An argument can be made that had Louis P. not worked day and night for Commissioner Todd Bosley in Bosley's 2006 campaign, the good commissioner would not be commissioner.
A part of Louis P's problem getting respect is that he has "apparently" taken on some powerful interests that are major players in Plain Township and Stark County as a whole. One such interest is the Giant Eagle grocery chain.
Why Giant Eagle?
Because when Giant Eagle vacated the oldish Oakwood Square shopping complex, Trustee Louis P. Giavasis fought with Giant Eagle over a provision in Giant Eagle's lease with the shopping center owners that gave the grocery chain behemoth a veto right over allowing a replacement grocery store from coming into Oakwood.
Giant Eagle moved just down the road from Oakwood to the brand new Washington Square.
So?
Well, it wasn't just that Louis P. fought with Giant Eagle, it was the tone and vitriol that seemed to be a part of Louis P's presentations and advocacy.
Stark County Democratic leaders got real nervous about Louis and the potential he posed to upset the Stark County political applecart by making a big deal out of the Giant Eagle thing. They likely got to thinking that this guy Louis P. gets off the reservation from time-to-time and therefore we cannot put him in a front and center politically sensitive situation.
Another powerful interest that Louis P. Giavasis has taken on is American Electric Power (AEP).
Several years ago AEP decided to as the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) for a gigantic increase in electric rates over three years. Louis P. Giavasis spearheaded an effort to get all Stark County local governments which had AEP users within their boundaries to send letters to the PUCO protesting the increases.
Again, the Stark County Democratic Party leaders had to be saying to themselves: "there goes Louis P. again." So, one might ask, who is Louis P. Giavasis?
Is he a maverick who makes local powerful Democrats leaders nervous or is he a political toady-up?
The answer: about a 80/20 ratio with the 80 being the "consummate party man" factor and the other 20 being Louis P. Giavasis, the political "maverick."
In a sense, it might be right on the mark to call Louis P. Giavasis Stark County's genuine political "double-agent." He has one foot squarely planted in being an agitator for the people - on the one hand, and one foot squarely planted in being "anything for you" to the Stark County Democratic Party leadership - on the other hand.
If one buys into The Report's assessment of Louis P. Giavasis, would you want him as Stark County commissioner - if he changes his mind about for running (politicians do that you know) and decides to run?
Commissioner Todd Bosley would. And why wouldn't he.
The SCPR would not be surprised in the slightest if Louis P. changes his mind on running for commissioner before the filing deadline later this month.
He has demonstrated his ability to change his mind on the efforts of The Steering Committee for the City of Plain to incorporate parts of Plain Township.
As the SCPR understands his original position was one of neutrality
However, at the December 23, 2009 meeting of the Plain Trustees he and his fellow trustees came out against the effort.
Of course, they are against the incorporation. If the incorporation wins, then the trustees will be marginalized in terms of what is left for them to govern.
The City of Plain group were hassled by county officials in getting the incorporation issue on the ballot. Hmm?
One has to wonder: what, if anything did Louis P. do - on the political backstage - to try to keep the incorporation issue off the May ballot?
The SCPR believes that there is enough of a take on Louis P. Giavasis to justify opting out on Giavasis being anything other than a township trustee.
The Report believes that Louis P. Giavasis is "up to his eyebrows" in Stark County Democratic insider politics and therefore would, if he ran and was elected commissioner, be a part of the Randy Gonzalez political machine which loves to work their "wink and a nod" deals for the benefit of party insiders.
Louis P. Giavasis is, in being a bridesmaid type politico, close to the key action but just a shade short of qualifying for being prime time (i.e. being the bride).
Because he is questing to being "bride" of Stark County Democratic political order, the SCPR believes that Stark Countians should be glad that he has not thrown his hat into the ring.
For if he did, the SCPR believes he would win a Democratic primary against Michael Stevens (Lawrence Township trustee) and be the odds-on-favorite to defeat any of the announced Republicans in the November general election.
Then Stark Countians would have Steve Meeks ("of, by, and for politics") and Louis P. Giavasis (the 80/20 man) running Stark County government.
Could Stark County survive a hit like that?
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