NEW REPUBLICAN COMMISSIONER RICHARD REGULA & HIS DEMOCRATIC FRIENDS. HMM?

If ever there is a Republican name in Stark County, it has to be the name REGULA!

Back in 2008, long time 16th District Congressman Ralph Regula retired and has left a rich legacy which continues to endear him to many, if not most, Stark Countians; Republican and Democratic alike.

His successor, Democrat John Boccieri, tried to capitalize on being associated with the Regula name in saying nothing but good things about Ralph and indeed honoring him frequently in public remarks and, more specifically, in being a driving force in having the new federal building erected in Canton named after Regula.



The Boccieri effort proved ineffective as he was defeated in November, 2010 by current 16th District Republican Congressman Jim Renacci.

But Boccieri is not the only Stark County Democrat who jumped on the Ralph Regula bandwagon hoping to hitch a ride to Stark County political success.

Of course, Stark County's quintessential political opportunist, Canton mayor William J. Healy, II, was in the act even before Boccieri.

Here he is pictured on December 11, 2008 front and center with Regula and others as ground was broken for the construction of what was to become the Ralph Regula Federal Building.

Of course, Healy has never run outside of Canton (except maybe Canton Township and part of Perry), so we won't know that his tag-along with Regula has any political benefit.

To the SCPR, there has never been any doubt that Ralph is a true Republican, but, unlike Renacci, he identified with many Democrats and independents when he ran for office.

Richard Regula is a different story in terms of political loyalties in the estimate of The Report.

Your truly became politically active in the early 2000s and from the get-go it was a sight to behold to see Richard show up at fundraising events of prominent Stark County Democrats here and there.

To this day, if one checks campaign finance reports, he shows up at the haunts of his favorite Democrats with checkbook in hand.

Can anyone feature papa-Ralph doing any such thing?

This morning The Report spoke to Richard (immediately prior to the commissioners meeting) about his swearing-in as the successor to Democrat Pete Ferguson who chose not to run for a second term.

It was interesting to hear him describe his swearing-in last Thursday at the Massillon Municipal Court with Judges Roland Centrone (a Republican) and Eddie Elum (a Democrat and Johnnie A. Maier, Jr. political ally) doing the honors.

Two other political significants he identified included Massillon Mayor Kalthy Catazaro-Perry and her political mentor Johnnie A. Maier, Jr.  Maier is a former chairman of the Stark County Democratic Party and currently serves as the elected head of the  Massillon clerk of courts office.

It has been some time since Maier has had entre in to the halls of the Stark County commissioners' office.

You have to go back to the days that Gayle Jackson was county commissioners for that.   Maier's chief deputy is Shane Jackson, Gayle's son.

Could it be that now that he has ousted Francis H. Cicchinelli, Jr as mayor at the hand of the politically dependent (on him) Kathy Catazaro-Perry that he is looking to get back into politics on a countywide basis?

And is Richard Regula going to be "the foot in the door" person and avenue for Maier's reentry into the halls of the county commissioners' offices?

A recent interesting development in Massillon has to do with the resignation of Paul Lambert as treasurer of Massillon.

Whom got the appointment as interim treasurer from Catazaro-Perry?

Andrea Regula?

Really?  A Regula Republican?

No, not at all.

There was discussion about the appointment before today's commissioners' meeting and Richard was amused to hear about the political buzz about his former sister-in-law's appointment.

Richard says she was a Democrat even when married to brother David.

She has taken out petitions to run for the office next November.  Lambert's term ends on December 31, 2013.

And there is no doubt whatsoever that she will get the appointment to serve until then when the Massillon precinct committee persons meet in early February to select Lambert's successor.

She does have the Maier Massillon political machine behind her and there can be no doubt that the selection process is a mere formality.

But bottom line, it has to be a bit distressing for the Regula family patriarch to have the hallowed Republican saturated Regula family name implicated in Democratic politics via son Richard and ex-daughter-in-law Andrea, no?