09/20/2015 CANDIDATES FORUM: SLESNICK/SMITH FOR COUNTY COMMISSIONER

A DRAW OR PERHAPS A SLIGHT EDGE TO SLESNICK?

As readers of The Stark County Political Report know, The Report has a negative view of state Representative Stephen Slesnick in his performance as a public official.

LINKS to prior Slesnick oriented blogs starting with June 27, 2016:

Another link:

• June 15, 2016,  "Hiding from the SCPR,"

So the bar was pretty low for Slesnick going into last night's League of Women Voters/Repository sponsored candidates forum featuring him as the Democratic candidate and Bill Smith (currently a Canton Township trustee [going back 15 years]), the Republican candidate.

Here is the SCPR "on the issues" analysis of the responses of the candidates:

CANDIDATEPEFORMANCE AS AN ELECTED OFFICIAL
PRE COUNTY COMMISSIONER CANDIDACY

By far the worst question of the night for Slesnick in terms of his response.

Slesnick claims to have brought back tens of millions dollars in capital improvement dollars to Stark County during his eight years of being a state representative for the Canton area.

This grandiose claim has a tint of Republican presidential candidate Donald J. Trump's "I'm the greatest" to it which lacks chapter and verse substantiation.

Knowing how this kind of thing happens, the SCPR thinks that Democrat Slesnick is appropriating to himself the work of the entire Ohio General Assembly which is overwhelming controlled by the Ohio Republican Party.

He also made a claim about saving pension benefits for United Steel workers which the SCPR did not follow at all.

The SCPR has written at least one blog detailing how ineffective Slesnick as been as a state legislator.

It is more reasonable to believe that bringing state money back to Stark County is much more the work of Republican Stark County based legislators Oelslager, Schuring and Hagan.

Smith, on the other hand, talked about his effort to work with the city of Canton as a Canton Township trustee to avoid having some 880 acres of the township annexed by Canton in the form of negotiating a CEDA agreement.

A demonstrably concrete achievement.

On this question:  advantage Smith

Video (4:20)



MANAGEMENT OF $64 MILLION COUNTY BUDGET & STEWARDSHIP

Slesnick started out alright on this question in discussing his experience in working in a leadership role with state of Ohio ($8 billion) but devolved into talking about his plans for economic development in Stark County.

Why did he get off topic?

Maybe because he had nothing in the way of particulars on how he affected budgeting for the state of Ohio the "stewardship" aspect of the question presented.

Smith bested Slesnick on the responses to this question in sharing his work on Canton Township's finances in specificity in doing what he needed to do to keep Canton Township fiscally solvent.

Video (5:03)



RESOLVING STARK'S DITCHING/FLOODING PROBLEM

A clear win for Slesnick.

He at least was thinking of ways and means of coming with the millions of dollars to solve the flooding which takes place annually in many places in Stark County.

Smith as commissioner would want to continue to piecemeal.

The SCPR thinks the piecemeal approach is a mere "treading water" approach that will, if ever, take decades to get an upper hand on the perennial problem.

VideO (3:53)



TOURISM AS A ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TOOL

Another win for Slesnick.

The SCPR shares with Slesnick his view that economic development should be at the top of priorities for whomever sits in a Stark County commissioner chair and agrees that one has to be mystified at the obvious distancing on the part of the current set of commissioners in helping with the $500 million plus needs for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Village Project.

And The Report agrees with him that in the nearly nine years of SCPR coverage of the coverage, the commissioners in toto have not embraced economic development as a top priority in terms of direct involvement.

Only former commissioners Todd Bosley (now a Nimishillen Township trustee, a volkswagen plant) and Tom Harmon (now a Canton councilman, equine center), both Democrats, have shown much interest in economic develop.

On the Republican side, Commissioner Regula has on the U.S. 30 upgrade and bringing broadband to Stark County.

But by and large the commissioners have been "hands-off" in favor of contributing to the Stark Development Board and letting that be it.

Slesnick in his response to this question distinguishes himself in a manner had heretofore thought he was not capable of.

Candidate Smith said nothing on this question to separate himself from the stance of the current board of commissioners.

Video (5:19)



ADVISABILITY OF CHARTER GOV'T FOR STARK COUNTY

An interesting question, but a non-starter in Stark County except for some the county's cities.

Canton recently rejected a move towards charter government despite the herculean effort of Canton Ward 8 councilman Edmond Mack.

Both Slesnick and Smith came down with about the same answer.

More study needed to determine whether or not charter government would be beneficial for Stark Countians.

Accordingly, the two tie on their answer to this question.

Video (2:11)



MOST IMPORTANT THING TO ACCOMPLISH AS COMMISSIONER

Another win for Slesnick in the view of the SCPR.

From the previous footage in this blog, readers undoubtedly have gotten the often repeated theme from Slesnick is that his foremost attractiveness as a candidate for commissioner is his aggressive stance (compared to opponent Smith) on the issue of economic development.

It is apparent to the SCPR that Slesnick has been schooled by his cousin Canton councilman Bill Smuckler (a Democrat who in 2012 ran for commissioner against Richard Regula) since the debate hosted back in June by the NextChapter book store.

Slesnick would do well to soak in every bit he can from the studious but practical Smuckler.

One would expect from his comments, should Slesnick be elected is that he will not rest until the commissioners hire an economic development director.

On this issue, both candidate are in favor of economic development and fiscal responsibility.  But for Slesnick the county picking up the pace on direct involvement on economic development is his top priority whereas for Smith it is fiscal responsibility first and then economic development somewhere down the line in what commissioners do.

A particularly weak response on the part of Smith was his apparent "let others do it" coupled with a passive role for the commissioners themselves.

Video (4:07)



TIMING OF COUNTY COMMISSIONER MEETINGS

A SCPR Shame! on Stark County citizens for not attending weekly Stark County commissioners' meetings in greater numbers at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesdays in the commissioners' meeting room on the second floor of the Stark County Office Building.

Currently, if half dozen members of the general public attend any given meeting, the commissioners would likely be doing cartwheels in celebration.

But just let some hot issue surface and its SRO.

Such is irresponsible citizenship.

The SCPR has had plenty to say about malfeasant, misfeasant public officials who serve in various elective capacities throughout Stark County.

The time meetings is held is irrelevant to a citizenry that is engaged.

Accordingly, there is no better answer as between candidates Slesnick and Smith.

On this question, it is a tie.

Video (3:36)



MAKING STARK COUNTY GOV'T MORE USER FRIENDLY

Stephen Slesnick was completely out on lunch break on this question.

To repeat from above in this blog, he appears to have been preprogrammed to response wherever remotely relevant in his own mind Economic Development, Economic Development, Economic Development despite his caveat in his response to this particular question that economic development is not a cure to everything that ails Stark County.

His lack of familiarity with Stark County's administrative infrastructure in dealing with businesses and citizens was telling in his missing the mark completely in his response.

Smith, on the other hand, scored a bullseye in giving a specific action already taken by Stark's commissioners to facilitate the interaction between the general public and county regulators in going to a one-stop-shop for permits and the like.

It should be encouraging to Stark Countians that Smith is committed to following the Stark County Building Department model as a template for future consolidations of county government services that makes local government more user friendly.

Slesnick completely blew it on this question.

A hands down win for Smith on this question.

Video (4:34)




STATE LAW & ACTIONS THAT HAVE AN EFFECT STARK CO GOV'T

On the fiscal side of county government, the state of Ohio with its 2010 Republican dominated legislature and Republican governor combo did serious damage to the county and other local governments (villages, cities and townships) with his cuts in local government funding and its elimination of the Ohio Estate Tax.

More recently, a change in federal regulatory law is going to cost Stark County $1.9 million in loss revenue having to do with not allowing Ohio's sales tax to be applied to Medicaid matching funds.

Slesnick did during this forum beat the drum for local officials to lean on state government to restore some of the state perpetrated cuts.  But he said not a word about the $1.9 million.  Probably because he is unaware of the change.

To his credit, Smith brought up the $1.9 factor.

But his solution was not impressive.

The SCPR takes it as "roll over, accept the state not make up the shortfall" and take the nearly $2 million from Stark's $14 million carryover.

Some like to call the carryover as surplus.

But that is not how the SCPR sees carryovers.

Every level of local government have unmet needs, show how can one term carryover as being a surplus?

Both candidates missed the many "unfunded" by the state of Ohio mandates that cost local taxpayers millions of dollars.

Shocking, absolutely shocking!!!

Overall SCPR evaluation of these responses:  a tie.

Video (3:09)



ONGOING POPULATION DECLINE AND "BRAIN DRAIN"

Neither candidate had a "real" answer or proposed solution for the point of this question.

Slesnick:  glittering generalities.  Work with Stark's higher education community, push economic development.

Smith:  hope and prayer that the Professional Football Hall of Fame Project will be successful and be the attraction that reverses the trend in Stark County population/brain power decline.

Grading the two candidates?  A tie in their lackluster dealing with the question.

Video (4:34)



COUNTY INFRASTRUCTURE IN LIGHT OF STATE FUNDING CUTS & COUNTYWIDE BROADBAND

Candidate Smith says that local governments, which includes, of course, county government, needs to square up with the reality that state support with local government funding is not coming back and develop ways of doing needed infrastructure with the resources available.

Broadband, he says, is a private enterprise function and not one government at the county level ought to be getting into.

For his part, Slesnick contrasts himself to Smith in being for county government being involved in the provision of 1Gb broadband across Stark County.  And he reiterates that he will press on in pushing for a restoration of some measure of local government funding from the state of Ohio.

One does not see it all that often.

But that Smith is a Republican and Slesnick is a Democrat is a telltale in explaining their positions on broadband.

Republicans in general want things done where feasible by private enterprise.

Democrats in general favor government takeovers of a normally private enterprise factor when the private sector is not measuring up when it comes to providing services.

The SCPR's assessment is that both in their responses are reflecting their political party differences.

Accordingly, the SCPR rates the response to this question as being a tie.

Video (6:34)




REPAIRING STARK COUNTY'S SOON TO BE OUT OF DATE RADIO SYSTEM
(MARCS) "MULTI-AGENCY RADIO COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

Another instance of Slesnick appearing to be without a clue on the topic.

While the county's radio system is tied to the county's 9-1-1 emergency response mechanism,  by and large Stark's 9-1-1 system is healthy.  MARCS or some viable alternative needs to be in place by 2019.

Smith in that Canton Township uses MARCS is familiar with what is going on with the county's need to update it radio system.

It was surprising that Smith did not give maintaining a healthy carryover (currently about $14 million) is the way to deal with looming expenses such as adopting and implementing MARCS.

Perhaps county officials can come up with some creative financing to meet

Smith does imply that renewing the county sales tax in 2019 is an imperative.

And it is.

On this question, the SCPR gives the edge to Smith.  The video show that he is aware and conversant on the topic.   To say it again, Slesnick appears to be "out-to-lunch" on the matter.

Video (4:54)



CONCLUSION

On balance the September Slesnick/Smith candidates forum was pretty much a tie.

Back in June at NextChapter it was obvious that Slesnick was not having a good night.

However, if one measures the vast improvement in Slesnick's grasp of county government issues; one might want to give an edge in the overall gestalt grounded in dramatic improvement from June to September.