(VIDEO) CAMPAIGN FINANCE: MASSILLON MAYOR FRANCIS H. CICCHINELLI, JR - WHO SUPPORTS HIM? ALSO, SEE/HEAR CATAZARO-PERRY DESCRIBE THE BEGINNING OF THE RIGHT BETWEEN HER AND CICCHINELLI?

Part I of the SCPR Mayor Francis H. Cicchinelli, Jr pre-primary campaign finance report focuses on his "general public" supporters.  Part II (coming up later this week will spotlight Massillon city employees who contributed to his campaign and a look into other office seeker/elected officials that he supports.

Mayor Cicchinelli likes to make a big to-do about having been one of the originals to ask Kathy Catazaro-Perry to consider running for office when she moved from Perry Township into Massillon proper.  When asked why she has turned against him, he sort of shrugs his shoulders suggesting a "I don't have a clue" and then speculates that his arch-enemy Johnnie A. Maier, Jr. (Massillon clerk of courts and former Democratic Party chairman as well as his chief deputy and Stark County Democratic Party political director Shane Jackson) poisoned her against him.

It appears that his account has a Paul Harvey-esque "rest of the story" which Catazaro-Perry revealed at their appearance at the Lincoln-Lions Theater in downtown Massillon last Thursday evening.

Here is the Catazaro-Perry rejoinder:



Interesting, no?  If you don't go with Cicchinelli, you get screamed at and mayoral support of your upcoming opponent?  Hmm?

The one thing that the SCPR is big about is one being one's own person.

However, as The Report has written many times, yours truly is skeptical that Catazaro-Perry is her own person in the face of her close advisers that make up the Maier-led faction of Massillon Democrats.

In comparing the pre-primary campaign finance reports of Cicchinelli and Catazaro-Perry, it is to be noted that there is very little, if any, support to the candidates from the same contributors.  An example, former Stark County Auditor Kim Perez supports Cicchinelli whereas Stark County Sheriff Chief Deputy (Kim's brother) supports Catazaro-Perry.  Of course, neither is from Massillon.

Looking over Cicchinelli's list of contributors, it seems to the SCPR Cicchinelli is the candidate of Massillon business interests and gets no union support.  Also, it appears that someone in the Cicchinelli campaign has been leaning on folks who have gotten appointments to city boards and commissioners to contribute to the mayor.

Here is the list: