PART III: MULTI-PART SERIES ON WHY TOM BERNABEI IS RUNNING FOR MAYOR OF CANTON

UPDATED:  08:52 AM

VIDEOS

THOMAS M. BERNABEI

38 MINUTE SCPR INTERVIEW

ON HIS RUNNING AS AN "INDEPENDENT"

FOR

MAYOR OF CANTON, OHIO

========================

CANTON MAYOR
WILLIAM J. HEALY, II
UPSET WITH
THE STARK COUNTY POLITICAL REPORT

========================

COUNCILMAN-AT-LARGE
RICHARD HART
WILL BE SUPPORTING
CANDIDATE THOMAS BERNABEI
IN NOVEMBER

========================

C. DAVID MORGAN
PASTOR/COMMUNITY ACTIVIST
ON
BERNABEI MAYORAL CANDIDAC

========================

LEE COTE
CANTON COMMUNITY ACTIVIST
ON
BERNABEI MAYORAL CANDIDACY

On Sunday, The Stark County Political Report began a multi-part series on the filing on Monday, May 4, 2015 (the day before the Stark County political subdivision primary election) by sitting Stark County Commissioner Thomas Bernabei as an "independent' candidate for mayor of Canton.

As promised yesterday, the focus of today's blog is entitled:  "How Bernabei came to decide to run and how the 'last minute' effort unfolded."

But first let the SCPR deal with two things.

For those readers who cannot endure the suspense of waiting for the entire 38 minutes that yours truly spent with Commissioner Bernabei, today's blog at the very end hereof is the place where readers can access the complete interview.

Secondly, The Report approached Mayor Healy at the end of last night regular weekly (more or less) Canton City Council meeting for his assessment of last Tuesday's election and to ask him - after he has had time for reflection - for his take on Bernabei filing petitions with the Stark County Board of Elections to run against him in November as an "independent" after having been a lifetime "dyed in the wool Democrat."

Over the past seven plus years yours truly has written many, many blogs on the Healy administration.

The one that has come full circle is this one:

It has taken quite a long time, but it appears that this SCPR blog was indeed prophetic.

If he can overcome a couple of legal problems (party affiliation and residency questions), there is no doubt that Thomas Bernabei will be resigning as commissioner some time after November 3, 2015 (this year's general election date) to take up his new title:  Mayor Thomas M. Bernabei of Canton, Ohio.

From Healy's reaction to the SCPR's inquiry last night, it appears that he is not handling Bernabei's Monday filing well and the concomitant reality sinking-in that his "Ship of State" is indeed about to be submerged into the flood of his mishandling the administration of Canton city government come December 31, 2015.

Take a look at this fascinating video:  (a MUST SEE; only 1:11 in length)



After this video snippet was concluded, Healy pursued The Report as yours truly endeavored to make way to interview "independent" Councilman-at-Large Richard Hart who was a signer of one of the petitions that Bernabei filed on Monday, the 4th.

Healy was actually standing shoulder-to-shoulder with The Report thereby making it unfeasible to start the interview.

After a mini-standoff, yours truly and Councilman Hart did make our way to a location just outside council chambers and do the interview without Healy hovering over us.



But Healy was not done pursuing the SCPR.

In the exiting Canton City Chambers immediate area, Healy once again dogged yours truly and persisted in laying out his frustration to the effect that he had played nice with the SCPR over the past seven years (which is not quite accurate) with interviews and the like and all he got in return was a seeming unending train of critical blogs.

As alluded to above, the mayor has gotten quite ugly with the SCPR in the past as he wont to do with anyone (e.g. Council president Allen Schulman, Citizen Bruce Nordman et cetera) - not just yours truly - when things are not going the way he wants them to go.

That he cares what The Stark County Political Report thinks of the quality/lack of quality of his administration is flattering.

In is expressed frustration, he did reveal an apparent new tack on those who criticize his administration.

To paraphrase:  "Critiquing me is in reality tantamount to reflecting negatively on my staff, to wit:  Deputy Mayor Fonda Williams, Safety Director Andrea Perry and the like."

To which yours truly responded:  "Do not hide behind your staff.  Stand up and own what you are responsible for."

That Healy would go this route is no surprise.

Being the consummate manipulative politician the SCPR thinks he is; he will "do whatever it takes" to make himself look good.

But whether wielding "a carrot or a stick approach" is of no moment with The Report in relation to Healy or any other Stark County political/governmental person in terms of the content of SCPR blogs.

Those who read the SCPR regularly know that subjects of The Report's blogs, whether "naughty or nice" to yours truly personally, get the same unvarnished scrutiny.

In an ironic twist, the "sinking ship" theme of the January 26, 2009 blog still applies but in this version Tom Bernabei's leadership skills will likely end up righting the Canton "Ship of State beginning January 1, 2016.

Also weighing-in last night on the Bernabei candidacy for mayor last night were:

COMMUNITY ACTIVIST LEE COTE



COMMUNITY ACTIVIST C. DAVID MORGAN



Now to today's question:  "How Bernabei came to decide to run and how the 'last minute' effort unfolded."

As a precursor to going through the interview, let the SCPR say that yours truly believes that there may well be "an unseen hand" factor in Commissioner Bernabei's run for mayor.

And if there is, it has to do with the Hall of Fame Village project announced last year.

Of all the initiatives that have been advanced from various Stark County leadership quarters, the Hall of Fame Village concept is the one which far and away has the most potential to equip Canton and Stark County to become a economically thriving community.

The SCPR conjectures that "the behind the scene" Stark County leadership is uncomfortable with William J. Healy, II being at the helm of the Canton "Ship of State" and therefore have had a significant role in Bernabei opting to take on the mayor.

The mayor has been involved in far too may scrapes which he has miraculously survived for the likes of those who staff Stark County's private sector leadership element, and, likely, also for a majority of Canton voters.

So - from the interview - how did "out-of-the-blue" in Bernabei's own words the petition drive begin?

To make it easier for readers to go to those parts of the interview that are of interest, the SCPR has compiled an index to use to zero in on the desired points of viewing.

"In a nutshell," the SCPR interprets the Bernabei 38 minute interview as saying in an overall sense he running because Mayor William J. Healy, lI:

• lacks leadership skills, and
• character traits of:
• integrity and
• honesty

As is expected of the SCPR, The Report has gathered information in graphic form for readers to peruse on the matter of Bernabei's "new" - old - city of Canton residence.