VIDEO: COMMISSIONER BERNABEI) 3RD & FINAL INTERVIEW TODAY FOR STARK COUNTY CHIEF ADMINISTRATOR?

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COMMISSIONER TOM BERNABEI UPDATES

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Today at 11:30 a.m. the Stark County commissioners are set to interview Stark County Family Court guardianship director Brant Luther and Canton Township trustee Chris Nichols for the third time in the commissioners quest to find a replacement for current Stark County chief administrator Mike Hanke who is retiring effective March 1st.

There were about 30 original applicants.

The commissioners winnowed the list of 30 down to five for the initial interview on January 23rd.  In addition to Luther and Nichols, the list included:

• Mark Cozy, Canal Fulton's city manager,
• Vince Marion, Alliance's planning and economical development director, and
• David Lair, Geauga County county administrator

Here is a list of blogs done previously by the SCPR on the matter of hiring a new county administrator:

• Blog of January 29, 2013,
• Blog of January 28, 2013,
• Blog of January 24, 2013,

Being the jokester he is, Commissioner Bernabei reminded everyone this past Wednesday's commissioners' meeting that Hanke only had 29 days left.

The SCPR has been following this selection process very closely inasmuch the county administrator position is key insofar as the performance of the person who holds this office is a key component in the commissioners' overall effectiveness vis-a-vis governance and in how they are perceived by the Stark County public.

It is critically import to them and to Stark Countians generally that the commissioners get this hire right.

It is looking more and more that commissioners will be naming Hanke's replacement on the 6th of this month, if not before.

Here is a video that the SCPR did with Bernabei after Wednesday's meeting so that Stark Countians can keep in touch with the process in the words of the president of the Board of Stark County commissioners.



RE:  LUTHER

Brant Luther has a number of  jobs since his first listed employment according to his Linked-In listing, to wit:

• Director, CASA/GAL [guardianship] Program Stark County Family Court
  January 2007 – Present (6 years 1 month),
• Part-Time Private Law PracticeMay 2002 – Present (10 years 9 months),
• Magistrate / Staff Attorney Stark County Probate Court
  January 2005 – December 2006 (2 years),
• County Auditor [Republican] November 2003 – December 2004 (1 year 2 months) [having been appointed to succeed current Commissioner Janet Creighton when she was elected mayor of Canton and which he lost to Democrat Kim Perez in November, 2004],
• Chief Fiscal Officer of Stark County, Ohio,
• First Ward Councilman Alliance City Council, Alliance, Ohio
  January 2000 – November 2003 (3 years 11 months)
• Law Clerk Stark County Family Court
  January 2000 – April 2003 (3 years 4 months)

In April 2011, he applied for the Stark County  judgeship that went to Rosemary Hall.

He ran an unsuccessful campaign as the Republican candidate state representative (the "old" 61st Ohio House District) in 2006.

RE:  NICHOLS

Chris Nichols is an interesting candidate mostly on the basis of his having been a Canton Township trustee (Republican) for over 12 years.   But his administrative experience has all been in the private sector.  The Report believes that the commissioners are looking to hire someone who has government administrative experience.

Here is his Linked-In listed experience:

• Director, Revenue Assurance First Communications Privately Held; 201-500 employees; FCOM; Telecommunications industry May 2002 – Present (10 years 9 months 
• Township Trustee Canton Township January 2001 – Present (12 years 1 month) Canton, Ohio Area