HARTNETT, WERREN, DORDEA & MAIER MAKE IT AN EXCITING ELECTION NIGHT IN STARK COUNTY!

PHOTO EDITED "FOR EFFECT"

UPDATED AT 8:15 AM

WILL THERE BE A COURT FIGHT
OVER
WHICH
PROVISIONAL BALLOTS GET COUNTED?

But on the other hand:

PHOTO EDITED "FOR EFFECT"

The foregoing graphics tell the story of last night's election.

It appears that Democrat Chryssa Hartnett overcame overwhelming odds and defeated "incumbent" Republican governor John Kasich appointed judge - Curtis Werren - by a mere 29 votes.

This stunning turn of events resulting in a Republican defeat (likely, the SCPR thinks to hold up, even with 1,217 provisional ballots to be counted) is to be coupled with the additional Republican defeat of Republican sheriff candidate Larry Dordea, who, appears to The Report to have "snatched 'defeat' from the jaws of victory."

In surrogate sort of way, the two results reflect "behind the scenes" activity of two of Stark County's commissioners; namely, Thomas Bernabei (a Democrat) and Janet Creighton (a Republican).

Bernabei stepped forward and chaired Hartnett's campaign.

That Republicans Dordea and Werren lost or probably lose in Werren's case is a huge indictment of the Stark County Republican Party chairman Jeff Matthews leadership.

Word just came down that Ohio Democratic Party chairman Chris Redfern has resigned in the light of the "as* kicking" Democrats took across Ohio yesterday.

Maybe Matthews ought to be resigning?

If he does, the SCPR has the perfect candidate for replacing him.

Really?

Who might that be?

How about Stark County auditor Alan Harold?

Though he is a thoroughly partisan person, the SCPR has a lot of regard for Harold.

He has youth on his side (at least compared to Matthews), he is much smarter and he has terrific social skills.

And The Report thinks he is the de facto leader of rank-and-file Republicans already.

Matthews has the support and ear of the, let's say, older, "establishment" side of the "organized" party.

Maybe just maybe under a Harold leadership, Republicans might compete once again in Canton city politics?

Matthews only lives by appointment, Harold actually gets out there and proves that he is very good at "retail politics."

Harold was there "stride for stride" with Governor Kasich yesterday in "competitive" Stark County races.

DORDEA/MAIER ASSESSMENT

Bernabei also weighed in on the Dordea/Maier match up.

From "the get-go," (he was in on the planning stages of getting Maier qualified under Ohio law) has always been an "enthusiastic" Maier supporter.

On October 1st, he affirmed same at the end of a commissioners' meeting.



Creighton slinked into political anonymity of sorts and was, the SCPR thinks, was very, very low profile in support of Dordea.

By the October  1, 2014 commissioners' meeting, when asked by an Akron Beacon Journal reporter whether or not the commissioners were going to endorse in the sheriff's race, Creighton became the Apostle Peter of the Dordea side of the contest, no?



And Creighton had the position to help Dordea pare off some 1500 votes of Kasich's Stark County smashing victory over Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ed FitzGerald total of 37,012 votes.

She served as Kasich's northeast Ohio campaign coordinator.

Early on, it became apparent to the SCPR that Creighton was likely to be AWOL (Absent Without Official Leave) from the Dordea campaign.

The Report thinks that she bought into the "spit and polish' Maier campaign and thereafter was only a "lip service" supporter of Dordea.

In sporadic conversations with Dordea during the campaign, the SCPR frequently discussed with him The Report's take on Creighton's attitude towards his candidacy.

Dordea wasn't buying and had convinced himself that Creighton was wholehearted behind his effort.

As evidence, he cited to the SCPR that he and his spouse shared a table with Creighton and her her husband at a Republican event.

The Report, in hindsight, thinks his sharing of the "sharing a table with Creighton and spouse" occasion was a Dordea denial of the obvious.

In another give-and-take, Dordea noted that the SCPR was confident that he would win early on in blogs about his face off with Maier but that the confidence seemed to be waning.

And, indeed, Dordea was onto something.

On Monday night The Report had a conversation with Canton City Council president Allen Schulman that touched on the sheriff's race.

Schulman to the SCPR:  "I think George T. Maier is going to win."

SCPR response:  "Dordea should win (with the overall favorable environment for Dordea in mind), but I certainly am not counting the Maiers out."

While the SCPR repeatedly wrote that the circumstances of this campaign were such that Dordea was clearly advantaged.

The only disadvantage was that Maier, as the Stark County Democratic Party "appointed" sheriff, got to parade around Stark County seemingly 24/7 in his sheriff's uniform with his Coffee With A Cop program and the like.

But Maier has plenty of political baggage as pointed out by The Report in repeated blogs.

The Report does think that Dordea did an effective job in emphasizing Maier's foibles, especially in the latter days of the campaign.

However, he needed help to keep at least 1,500 Republicans who voted for Maier at home with him - the Republican candidate.

Here is where Creighton and Kasich campaign officials failed him.

Given that the SCPR thinks the Maiers (George and his political operative and power politician Johnnie A. Maier, Jr; a former Stark County Democratic Party chairman) are highly arrogant people, The Report thinks it is likely over the next two years that George with the advice and counsel of Johnnie, Jr. will pull an Eddie Elum caper.

An Eddie Elum caper?

Indeed!

Elum  (who's wife Margaret is the Maier campaign treasurer) got into a political fuss with Massillon Chief of Police Robert Williams in January, 2010 which the SCPR thinks was an instance of Elum "being too big for his britches" and which, in part, resulted in his being disciplined by the Ohio Supreme Court on October 18, 2013.

One of those speaking up for Elum before the high court was guess who?

You've got it:  Johnnie A. Maier, Jr.

As far as the SCPR is concerned is that Elum and the Maier brothers are a perfect fit for each other.

So watch out Stark County.  And watch out Stark County commissioners Janet Creighton, Thomas Bernabei and Richard Regula.

• (SCPR Note:  Richard Regula, the SCPR thinks, though a Republican, has a very, very close relationship with the Maiers.  After being defeated by Democrat upstart Todd Bosley in 2006 as incumbent commissioner, he resurfaced in November, 2012 and was elected once again as commissioner.  
• He was sworn into office by Maier confidant Judge Eddie Elum.

George T. Maier, the SCPR thinks has the potential, (a likelihood in the mind of The Report) to embarrass Stark County along lines (i.e. an abuse of power of office) that could equal or exceed the travail that the county went through with the Vince Frustaci theft in office chain of events that surfaced on April 1, 2009.

If Maier "goes off the reservation," he and Stark Countians can be sure that The Stark County Political Report will be tracking him "every step of the way."

And, of course, The Report will be reminding Stark Countians whom among Stark County officialdom supported Maier's election and/or "dropped the ball" in supporting Larry Dordea.

Maier never was asked during the campaign by Stark County's only countywide newspaper about allegations made according to a Columbus Dispatch article about his conduct while second in command in the Ohio Department of Highway Safety under the Strickland administration.

A job, the SCPR believes, he got through the efforts of politico brother Johnnie, Jr. who appears to have had gravitas with the governor by orchestrating a Stark County Democratic Party endorsement of Strickland (the very first county party to do so) when Strickland was locked in a Democratic Party primary battle in 2006.

Prior SCPR blogs have referenced other alleged incidents of George T. Maier that indicate that this guy might have a problem handling political power properly.

HARTNETT/WERREN ASSESSMENT

While the SCPR thinks that as between Hartnett and Werren either will do a competent job as judge, The Report thinks Hartnett has the potential to be one of Stark County's all-time quality jurists.

It could be with only 29 votes (unofficial) separating the two that this election might - ironically - end up in the courts and ultimately be decided by the Ohio Supreme Court.

Really?

Really!

Provisional ballots (Ohio SOS Link) are provided to voters when there is some question about a given voter's qualification to vote.

Many political observers think (stereotypical thinkings) that the provisionals are likely to be predominately Democratic voters and therefore it is likely that Hartnett's 29 vote unofficial win is likely to hold up.

But, of course, supporters of Hartnett/Werren, respectively, (think there aren't a bunch of lawyers at the ready to put the legal magnifying glass to these ballots?) will be hovering over Board of Elections officials as these ballots are judged as to whether or not they should be counted (see this LINK), no?

We in Stark County could be about to witness Bush v. Gore in our very own backyards.

WRAP-UP

Since the Frustaci story broke in 2009, this has been one thing after another and after another, no?

So will Stark County be facing:

• "Provisional-ballot-gate" in the immediate future, and

Down the road:

• A George T. Maier "abuse of power-gate?"

Of course, the SCPR will be your source of all in depth information and analysis!