It was surreal. State Representative Todd Snitchler (Republican - Lake) on the stage with radio personality Matt Pattrick in downtown Canton (the seat of Stark County government) at the April 15, 2009 "coming out party," locally, of the tea party movement bashing Ohio (and, as a political subdivision of Ohio) and, by implication, Stark County for being in line to receive federal stimulus dollars.
The country, Ohio and Stark County was in the throes of a near 1920's/1930's depression and Snitchler is more interested (see the video below) in being the political ideologue than helping the people survive.
Contrast what Snitchler says about the stimulus with the view of Stark Development Board CEO Steve Paquette in the same video.
Quite a difference, no?
While the SCPR thinks well of Snitchler on a personal level, The Report believes his being consumed with right wing politics does not serve Stark County well.
Had Snitchler prevailed on his wish not to have stimulus money, two very important "private sector" economic development projects (Schearer's Foods and Signet Healthcare/Mercy Medical) would not have gone forward. No ifs, buts, and ors about it!
Moreover, Stark Countians would have suffered in other ways. Federal stimulus dollars helped Ohio plug a gigantic budget deficit. Had the plugging not occurred, Stark Countians could be sure that Ohio would have made cuts in services and funding (e.g. to Stark County's school districts) that would have impacted Stark Countians.
The SCPR believes that Snitchler and his "rightest" political agenda is about to strike again.
Work is already filtering out through the media that some of the more extreme Republicans (which The Report includes Snitchler) are planning to abolished Ohio's estate tax.
What Snitchler and his fellows in the Legislature will NOT publicize is that eliminating the estate tax will cost Ohio's townships, villages and cities dearly. Just take a look at what the local goverment take (80%) has provided local government elsewhere in Ohio:
So the moral of the story is that Snitchler maintains his ideological purity at the expense of Stark County's local government?
Here is the video of Snitchler dissing stimulus whereas STB CEO Steve Paquette praises it. Hmm?
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