WHO WOULD HAVE THUNK IT? MAYOR HEALY BEING REHABILITATED BY COUNCILMAN-AT-LARGE BILL SMUCKLER?

Canton mayor aspirant William Smuckler is turning out to be Mayor William J. Healy's best friend in Healy's pursuit of being re-elected next May.

May?

Isn't the general election in November?

Indeed, but Canton is such a lopsided Democratic city that the reality is that whomever wins the Democratic primary one year from now, will be the mayor of Canton for the next four years.

Mayor Healy has been on a self-destruct track ever since he took office in January, 2008.  But that may be changing.

Of late, his almost certain opponent in next May's Democratic primary, William Smuckler seems intent of appearing more political than Healy in the run up to 2011. 

And that is really hard to do.

Smuckler totally embarrassed himself during and after this past Monday's Council meeting from the Council president's chair (Council president Allen Schulman was absent) and in concert with Finance Committee chair Greg Hawk (a staunch Smuckler political ally) got it wrong (according to a SCPR source) in suggesting that $700,000 in federal stimulus money (which does not in fact exist) to hire more Canton policemen.

The Report's source says that Smuckler completely demagogued the issue by using a Public Speaks citizen's comments about bullets being shot into her home for his political purposes.

The source claims that Smuckler has not done anything to solve the citizen's particular problem (despite having three pre-Council meeting contacts with the citizen and did not even bring the matter to safety forces attention) and used the citizen's plight to advance his campaign to unseat Healy.

The Report is told that Smuckler will address the faux-$700,000 fuss he turned into a political sideshow at next Monday's meeting. Hmm?  What is there to address? 

All of this makes for good political theater.

It is obvious to the SCPR that no matter who survives the Democratic primary next year, Canton is the loser. 

The only way for Canton get off the pathway to destruction is for Smuckller to abandon his plans to run in the primary and for Healy to not seek re-election and for the surfacing of someone like service director and chief of staff Warren Price to seek the Democratic nomination.

Beyond that, Canton Republicans need to find someone who has a fighting chance to break up the Democratic domination of Canton city government.

If Canton cannot rid itself of the likes of Smuckler and Healy, it will find itself in a deeper and deeper hole. 

A hole so deep that it will take a generation of Cantonians to dig out of it!