"A TALE OF TWO CITIES:" CANTON & NORTH CANTON - NEIGHBORHOODS HEADING IN TWO DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS?

VOLUME I

RECOVERING

FROM THE

BLIGHT

AFFLICTING STARK COUNTY NEIGHBORHOODS

VIDEOS

JASON SCAGLIONE

CANTON CITY COUNCILMAN

WARD 3

ON

EFFECTIVENESS OF CODE ENFORCEMENT

...

J.R. RINALDI

MAYOR BERNABEI KEY PERSON

ON

HISTORY, PRESENT & FUTURE

OF

CODE ENFORCEMENT

...

ALEX ZUMBAR

DAVID THORLEY

BOB NAU

ON

HISTORY OF STARK CO LAND BANK

In 1859,  Englishman Charles Dickens wrote concerning London and Paris:

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way ... "

Not to copy the "all things exaggerated Donald J. Trump" way of expression, the Dickensian quote is brought forward in this blog to emphasize the "stark" Stark County contrast on how two key Stark County cities are coping with decades decline of in some of their neighborhoods.

A decline that literally threatens the ongoing viability of both major Stark County cities.

The incredible progress that Canton through code enforcement is making incredible progress is exemplified in this video interview by The Stark County Political Report with Canton Ward 3 councilman Jason Scaglione:



Contrast the Canton approach of "code enforcement" (a typical Democratic Party advocated approach to governance) with that of North Canton "community reinvestment" model. (a typical Republican Party advocated approach to governance).

Canton is run by card carrying Democrats.

North Canton is run (except for Ward 1 councilman Doug Foltz) by Republicans.

So far the scorecard clearly indicates wisdom, can-do belief, enlightened, hopeful and heavenly for Canton's  "code enforcement" model as contrasted to the North Canton way of redeeming of decades of neglect of the respective cities aging neighborhoods.

But the Canton successes are very, very, very recent in the making.  Only the election of former long time Democrat Thomas Bernabei (turned political "independent" with the November, 2015 election against two-term Democratic mayor William J. Healy, II) led to the unleashing of "code enforcement" power as a key mechanism to deal with and over time eliminate neighborhood blight.

Code enforcement has been available during all the years of neighborhood decline in Canton, but council after council after council and mayor, after mayor after mayor have sat idly by and allowed Canton's neighborhoods decline.

In the following SCPR video, Bernabei top troubleshooting official J.R. Rinaldi (while crediting the folks in Canton's code enforcement department of government) describes in some detail the past, the present and the future of code enforcement in Canton.

Get this.

Since Bernabei has been mayor, Canton has increased code enforcement from some 1,500 per year to in the range of a projected 11,000 or better this year.

Isn't that something for the day-in, day-out neighborhood folks of Canton to get excited about!

Here is J.R. on Monday night:



In recent years North Canton's governors (i.e. the city council and the mayor and his administrators) have opted to take an incentive approach to entice neighborhood property owners to upgrade the city's housing stock.

But there has been a major, major, major failure in the incentive approach with the brouhaha over the misapplication (as some North Cantonians say) of North Canton's legislative scheme of community reinvestment (CRA) in favor of an apartment complex known as North Ridge Place which allowed the foregoing of upwards of $1 million (over 12 years) of 70% of real property taxes normally inherent in a project like North Ridge Place for North Canton City Schools.

North Canton  council has acted to recover from the debacle in fashioning a legislative package in which the schools recover approximately one-half of the foregone tax revenues.

But a casualty of the "failure" has been an abandonment for at least the time being of North Canton's CRA approach to neighborhood redevelopment.

It very much looks like that effective code enforcement is the better way to stop and reverse neighborhood decline than an incentive approach.

Some time ago, the SCPR lauded then-Massillon-councilwoman Nancy Halter (a Republican) for making code enforcement a top priority in the city of Massillon.

A major assist to cleaning up Stark County's blighted neighborhoods is in place with the development in 2012 of the Stark County Land Reutilization Corporation (SCLRC, also known as "Land Bank") headed up by Stark County treasurer Alex Zumbar who by the way interesting enough is a former finance director of North Canton and council member of Alliance, another Stark County city trying to reverse neighborhood decline.

Here is an example of the properties that the Land Bank is dealing with in terms of having it and others spread across Stark County demolished.

What follows is an introductory video taped snippet of Zumbar and Lank Bank colleagues David Thorley (legal counsel) and Robert Nau (executive director, Stark County Regional Planning).



Any Stark Countian who cares about the quality of Stark County's neighborhoods should be fully engaged in absorbing the material presented in this SCPR series.

While the Hall of Fame Village Project is glitzy (at a cost of at least $800 million) and in light of America's fascination with and addiction to being entertained has the attention and notice of the general Stark County public, the battle for a prosperous and a enjoyable living experience is in enhancing the qualities of neighborhoods that dot the venue of  Councilman Jason Scaglione's. Ward 3.

Fixing Canton's and the rest of Stark County's deficient neighborhoods will not cost anywhere near $800 million dollars.

The overriding question in this series of blogs is whether or not Stark County's political/government leaders possess: (a la the "A Tale of Two Cities" literary structure quoted above)

• a vision of wisdom, 
• a belief in the productiveness of the unglamorous, 
• a willingness to embrace the light of effective neighborhood management, and
• a fostering of hope that through dedication to and persistence endeavoring that one day our county's neighborhoods will by and large have a heavenly tone to them

The SCPR as a "solely in the public interest, no-advertising"  media outlet seemingly is "alone" in being willing to take on a series like this which may not be the most entertaining therefore not widely read material by the general public.

However, there is no doubt that an understanding of the dynamics of recovering the county's declining neighborhoods is critically necessary for all of us to maintaining and increasing the financial equity we have in homes.

Moreover, "kept up" neighborhoods are perceived by most of us to mean "less crime."

Accordingly, quality Stark County neighborhoods are "pocket book viability" and "safety" issues that each and every Stark County home owners ought to be focusing on in achieving and insisting upon.

What's more, housing stock investors (i.e. the landlord community) also have a huge financial profit stake in the quality of Stark County neighborhoods.

What's more, attractiveness in the economic development sense of living wage job producing companies start ups springing up in or established companies relocating to Stark County is inextricably tied up in the quality of Stark County neighborhoods.

ALL CLEAR ON CANTON/PERRY WATER BY SEPTEMBER 8TH?

VIDEOS  

RE:  THE ROVER PIPELINE CONTAMINATED SPILL

Service Director William Bartos

***

Water Superintendent Tyler Converse

***

Ward 7 Council John Mariol

***

Canton Law Director Joe Martuccio

***

Canton Council President Allen Schulman

(also, Chair/Canton Water Commission)

Back in April when news broke that the Rover natural gas pipeline project being installed across parts of southern Stark County experienced a spill of drilling mud which contained diesel fuel, little did about 100 Perry Township families know that the spill would eventually impact their perception of the safety of their household water supply.

The spill threatened and still may be found to threaten the safety of Canton's nearby (within a few hundred yards) Sugarcreek wellfield (located in Bethlehem Township) which is the normal source of the water supplied to Perry.  Out of a sense of precaution, Canton water officials decided to reduce the pumping from Sugarcreek and to access the city's Northwest wellfield to supply some of Canton's users of its approximate 24 million gallon daily output to Cantonians and other Stark Countians.



According to area media reports, those 100 families (living in the vicinity of Central Catholic High School) woke up one morning to discover discolored (iron) and generally described users as being "nasty" water.

Nonetheless, the Northwest water IS SAFE WATER, so Canton Water Department told The Stark County Political Report at last night's regular Canton City Council meeting.

Notwithstanding the scare to the Perry users, it appears that there was never a safety issue with their drinking water.

While it is understandable that there was a sense of uneasiness with the Perry users, they and, indeed, all water users as informed/responsible citizens ought to advantage themselves in knowing about water.

An important lesson out of the Rover spill for all Stark Countians who receive water from municipal/private company supplies is to pay close attention and to be completely informed when incidents like the Rover spill hit the headlines even though it may appear that my water has nothing to do with Canton provided water.

According to Converse, Perry users could be back on Sugarcreek water by the end of next week.

Two sources to link up with:

• Canton Water Department Website, and
• an article on "the importance of water,

An interesting observation on the latter link, to wit:

The only organism that doesn’t understand the importance of water is humans, especially in industrialized countries. Children in those societies turn on the water in a sink and never think about the trouble someone has gone for that "miracle" to occur.

There were a couple of "water" quality (in the monitoring sense of the phrase on last night's council's agenda last night) which prompted Superintendent Converse to provide amplification of and clarification of the status of Canton dealing with the Rover pipeline spill.

From the language of the foregoing resolutions passed by Canton City Council last night, it appears that the Rover spill matter could end up costing Canton water users better tens of thousands of dollars unless, of course, Canton government is successful in getting reimbursed by culpable parties for the spill.

In all, Converse spent some ten minutes updating council on the history, consequences and the path going forward on the Canton Water Department's dealing with the Rover Spill.

First, Canton service director William Bartos on the work of Linda Aller and team (Williams and Bennett) in monitoring/implementing Canton's Water Protection Plan in the wake of the Rover pipeline spill:

Second, Superintendent Converse explains/describes to council:

• the drilling mud diesel fuel contaminated removal and testing process,
• that early test results are back to Rover but that Canton has not seen those results,
• that Linda Aller of Bennett and Williams is right on top of monitoring the remediation process,
• that he understands that Canton's water is a high valuable city resource and accordingly is taking a high level approach to protecting it from the likes of a nearby spill to the Sugarcreek wellfield industrial spill, and 
• reassures council that by Ohio law testing is to continue for three years,

Third, Ward 7 councilman (chairman of Canton Council's finance committee) asks:

• Converse about Canton being made financially whole by Rover on account of expenses/damages sustained by Canton in protecting its most valuable resource, and
• Law Director Joe Martuccio about the work of the Canton Water Commission to refine its Water Protection Plan and when that product will be ready to present to council,

Finally, Canton council president Allen Schulman who has long served as the chairman of the Canton Water Commission:

• weighs-in on the refinement underway of Canton's water protection law, and
• lauds Converse for his sterling work in working through the Rover pipeline spill problem

NC-CC PRESIDENT DANIEL "JEFF" PETERS: STARK COUNTY'S "IMPULSIVE" PRESIDENTIAL-ESQUE SOCIAL MEDIA STYLE OPEN TO QUESTION?

"You know, I know, everybody knows" that North Canton civic activist Chuck Osborne can "get the goat" of the best of us with his persistent, dogged and seeming everlasting dedication to task when it comes to critiquing the process and substance of North Canton government.

And last week North Canton president of council Daniel "Jeff" Peters apparently fell victim to having had his "goat gotten."



(Note:  President Peters tells the SCPR that his FB piece was taken down by him within 24 hours of being published, copy of post provided SCPR by Chuck Osborne)

Osborne has been surveilling North Canton government for some 15 or better years now and shows no signs of slowing down.

The Stark County Political Report's (SCPR) favorite account of Osborne going beyond due diligence in gathering evidence to make his point occurred when Jon Snyder was president of North Canton City Council during the big hubbub of council having the city pay for health care insurance on several of its members (Peters, Snyder, Kiesling and Werren) despite a voter referendum in which nearly 80% of North Cantonians said part-timers like the councilpersons should not get health insurance unless they had no alternative source.

Osborne traveled all the way to Buffalo, NY (the site of the headquarters of Snyder's then-employer) to learn whether or not Snyder had the option of getting private employer health insurance coverage.

There is no question about it.  Chuck Osborne is the Make North Canton Great Again "pit bulldog" of Stark County civic activism.

A good thing or a bad thing?

It depends where one is situated.

If you are Councilwoman Marcia Kiesling,  probably a bad thing.

It is likely she thinks Osborne's tenaciousness is over-the-top as exemplified by the videotaping/picture taking of her at the soccer event incident.

Take another look at the reputed Facebook posting of North Canton City Council president Jeff Peters:

Going back over Kiesling's 15 year career as a North Canton councilperson, she seems to have had some difficulty from time-to-time in making it to council meetings and also to meetings of the North Canton Planning Commission.

On Monday past (August 21st), council's work session only lasted 15 minutes or so.

Kiesling easily could have satisfied her official obligation and her desire to support her student-child school connected activity.

There are those public officials who are similarly situated who resolve such conflicts in favor of prioritizing the office they ran for and were elected to.

Can you imagine a candidate saying:  "I will faithfully attend council meetings unless my son/daughter is participating in a school activity at the same time as the meeting."

We all recognize that that there might be an exception here and there but not at the rate that Kiesling seems to have exercised in prioritizing attending a child school connected activity over her official obligation.  And Kiesling does get paid North Canton taxpayer dollars for being a councilperson whether or not she attends meetings.

One has to say "God Bless You" to any parent who prioritizes family over all else.  One of the more troubling phenomenons in American life, is that all too many parents have priorities that trump family values.

But in the case of putting family school activity matters over official duties, the appropriate remedy is, in the SCPR's view, not to run office until after the children have graduated.

Obviously, Councilwoman Kiesling "wants her cake" and "to eat it, too."  Which, of course, is, unfortunately, is a common characteristic of politicians.

As if Kiesling's too frequent absenteeism weren't enough, enter in North Canton "apologist in chief" and council president Daniel "Jeff" Peters with the Facebook entry.

It could be that for President Peters, President Donald J. Trump is a model in terms of using social media to bash those who differ with him or, worse yet,  call him/his administration of the executive branch of federal government into question.

While acknowledging that the Trump Twitter phenomenon in terms of name calling and the like is not a model for Trump or any other public official to engage in, he says that his personal history with Osborne:

• (e.g. commenting in the past as "Big Daddy" on Repository articles in response to Osborne entries, and, he says, countermeasures taken by Osborne against him), and
• His (Peters') perception that Osborne wished him dire personal consequences for his having participated in having North Canton pay health care insurance for him [note:  Peters reimbursed North Canton for the payments],

were factors in his succumbing to the temptation to publish his social media rebuke of Osborne.

Other points made by Peters:

• He assessed that some of the commenters on the piece were over-the-top on their condemnation of Osborne,
• When the over-the-top factor of some of the comments dawned on him, he personally removed the entry,
• He realizes that public officials (especially one with a special role [e.g. president of council] should not use Facebook in the manner in which he did vis-a-vis the Osborne/Kiesling matter and will not in the future repeat such an approach,
• He has reached out to Osborne to apologize, but that Osborne is refusing to accept his attempted contacts, and
• While he agrees that part of the price that public officials pay is that they often have to sacrifice family time to the discharge of public duties, he sees the latest Kiesling missing of a meeting as being understandable.  Moreover, he points out that she had no leadership role (i.e. a committee report) to share.

Peters, in a rough equivalency to Trump, is chief administrator of how North Canton city council functions.

For Council President Peters to defend what the SCPR thinks is  indefensible and then endeavor to smear via social media the messenger as being a "bully" and, to boot, a sexist, is clearly unbecoming of a president of any office including that of city council.

As the Peters' Facebook entry shows, there were those who as commenters joined in with Peters to disparage Osborne for tracking the whereabouts of Kiesling during last Monday's North Canton's Committee of the Whole meeting.

For Peters to incite, seemingly on whim and impulse, via social media a pummeling of a civic activist is clearly unbecoming of presidential leadership even at at a city council level of government.

It is however interesting that a few commenters take Osborne's side.

Could it be that these brave souls were key factors in the post being removed?

Unfortunately, Peters is running unopposed for re-election to North Canton's Ward 2 seat.  The ideal solution for conduct like Peters' is a Ward 2 voter having the opportunity via the ballot to remove him from office.

However, two of the candidates for the November 7th general election include two former council presidents.

One in particular, namely; Daryl Revoldt—at large, has a solid if not exemplary track record as a former council member/president of managing the processes/substance of North Canton council without resort to measures demonstrated by Peters with his Facebook post.

Revoldt tells the SCPR that he is not interested in re-assuming a presidency role once again.

It is likely that Revoldt will be one of the three top vote getters on November 7th and whether he wants the role or not, the SCPR thinks he will be deemed by some to be a de facto/shadow president of council even if Peters continues to occupy that role in the post-November election of a new council.

And, Stephanie Werren who has attendance problems of her own (especially, the SCPR is told, with regard to her non-attendance at Zoning Board of Appeals meetings) could be ousted by Snyder in the Ward 3 race come November.

Accordingly, even if Peters remains as council president in a new term, he is likely (at least behind closed doors) to be admonished for acting impulsively and thereby "unpresidentially" as council president should he do a repeat of the removed Facebook post.

It is not enough that the Facebook post has been taken down and relatively soon after it was published.

Peters ought at North Canton council's next public meeting apologize to the North Canton public for being irresponsible and unpresidential in his functioning as North Canton City Council.

As for Oborne, in general the SCPR thinks he has done productive work in holding North Canton government accountable.

However, Osborne is not flawless in approach and demeanor and therefore has not and does not and will not get unfettered support from the SCPR even though The Report is sympathetic with the civic activist model.

He like those who he unmasks as falling short of what they ought to be as public officials is himself as a civic activist accountable for how he conducts himself.

He, along with Peters, needs to be responsible in the way he handles himself in the interaction between government and citizens participating in government.

POLITICAL SATIRE BLOG: "ORGANIZED" STARK GOP & DEMS EXCEL AT POLITICAL PROPAGANDA! THE SALVATION OF CIVIC EDUCATION?

One thing that President Donald J. Trump works hard at is "twittering" his personal political propaganda.

Whether one gives his tweets credence or think they are totally incredible, "you know, I know and everybody knows" that they are compellingly entertaining.

We all know how disgustingly boring that k-12 school civic lessons are.

It is an utter waste of money for schools to buy study materials, while educational and objective, put American students to sleep.

Following the lead of the president, it appears that he has had a highly positive effect on our Stark County political parties.

Just take a look at some of the material on their respective Facebook sites:

Really?

Must have missed it!

Wake up SCPR err Rip Van Winkle.

Thanks Stark GOP for getting me straight!!!

A Stark Dems FB article really, really, really pis**s the SCPR off.

No, Randy.  People are not apathetic, lazy or busy and therefore not voting.

Man!  They are bored!!!  B-O-R-E-D!  Flat out bored!!!

We need to school our kids with Twitter, Facebook and other sensationalized social media to get them motivated to vote.

Forget those god awful civic lessons.

Reality TV is the thing!

Apparently, getting Stark Countians engaged in the political process is hopeless as evidenced by the former Stark Dems' chairman coming out against highly entertaining Reality TV.

What a political fuddy-duddy, neanderthal Gonzalez is, no?

Begin your (note:  send your impressional high schoolers, too)  high quality civic lessons at these Facebook sites:

• The Stark Republicans
• The Stark Democrats

Chairmen Jeff Matthews and Phil Giavasis:  Stark County's superstars of civic education!

ELECTION 2017: NORTH CANTON CITY COUNCIL—KIESLING AS TARGET?

PLUS

COUNCILMAN DAN GRIFFITH DEBUNKS NOTION OF COUNCIL MEETING LESS

VIDEOS

COUNCILMAN-AT-LARGE
DAN GRIFFITH
"MISUNDERSTANDING ON HIS MEETING CHANGE PROPOSAL"

...

WARD 4 COUNCILMAN
DOMINIC FONTE
ON
GRIFFITH PROPOSAL

It is apparent to The Stark County Political Report (SCPR) that veteran North Canton City councilwoman Marcia Kiesling is the target of some of those North Canton citizens who want to see a change in the membership of council in the wake of the upcoming November 7th election.

Pictured above is a collage going back over the past two years or so of council group photos in which Councilwoman at Large Kiesling is absent.

A council member absence is not an unusual happening for councils across Stark County's cities and villages, but, in some instances, it seems as if some members are absent far more frequently than others.

In North Canton, the SCPR take is that Kiesling and fellow council member Stephanie Werren (R, Ward 3) take the prize over their council peers for absenteeism.

After last night's meeting (which started at 7:00 p.m. and which lasted 11 minutes), the SCPR learned that a group of North Canton citizens had gathered at North Canton Hoover High School's soccer facility to capture on video council meeting absent Councilwoman Kiesling attending her daughter's first soccer match of the season.

That effort showed to the SCPR that a main issue on the part of the involved citizenry indicates that Kiesling will be targeted for her spotty attendance record at council meetings, at least over the last five years of so.

In 2015, the SCPR published this chart showing attendance of then council members for the period December 1, 2011 through September 9, 2013:

As far as the SCPR knows, no compilation of Kiesling attendance exist but as the photo at the head of this blog is evidence of, it is not unheard of for Councilwoman Kiesling to be among the missing at a council meeting.

As a matter of blog traditions, the SCPR has annually published a January 1st New Year's Day "public official" Resolution for the New Year blog.

Included in the 2014 blog:

Only Ward 1 Democratic councilman Doug Folts  (the only Democrat on all of North Canton City Council) exceeds Kiesling in longevity on council who goes back to in the neighborhood of 2001 as an elected councilperson at large.

But she has lost a council-at-large arge election along the way:

The question:  Is she going to be the odd person out in this year's election?

Kiesling not only has the "absenteeism" to contend with, but she has been at the center of a number of controversies that have occupied council since her return to council in 2005; nearly 12 years ago.

Before it became apparent to the SCPR (as of post-council-meeting last night) that Kiesling is being targeted to be fourth person in vote tally in the council-at-large race for three positions, the conventional wisdom is that Councilman Dan Griffith is the most likely candidate to become an ex-councilperson.

Probably the very best council member that North Canton has had going back to the late 1990s and into the 2000 to 2015 era (with a stin as mayor) has been Daryl Revoldt who at one time was on the congressional staff of the recently deceased 16th congressional district Ralph Regula.

Moreover, he has had interspersperced employment with Ohio Department of Development, a private sector business located in Wooster and with Stark State College.

Everybody that the SCPR talks to thinks that Revoldt will dominate the results come November 7th.

Which, of course, presents the question who is going to be out?

If there is an alternate target to Kiesling, it would be Councilman Griffith.

He caused a furor in recent days in suggesting to council that it modify council's meeting formula to this:

Councilman Griffith on video after the meeting answered the questions of  the SCPR as to whether or not a concern on the part of some North Canton citizens that his proposal was designed to further isolate council in interacting with the North Canton public.

Councilman Griffith:



As you have seen, he thinks the opposite is the case and appears somewhat troubled that not one North Canton citizen approached him before last night's meeting about the effect of his proposal.

Councilman Dominic Fonte (who faces a formidable challenge of his own to his being re-elected Ward 4 councilman) had this to say about Griffith's effort:



In any event, no matter who one believes; it appears that the Griffith proposal is DOA.

However, his raising the question of restructuring North Canton meetings scheme of things will not help him come November.

He may, however, breathing a sigh of relief that Marcia Kiesling seems to be the councilperson with the BIG TARGET on her back for being retired as a North Canton councilperson.

It appears to the SCPR that there is likely to be significant change in the membership of North Canton City Council this November (and, perhaps, the mayoralty) which should be worrisome to some un-elected officials in North Canton government.

"PONDER" RON PONDER' 'S OP-ED QUESTIONS RE: TRUMP'S STARK COUNTY REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP SUPPORT

"A picture says 1,000 words," the adage goes.

As the picture above shows, Stark County's leading Republican leaders:

• Stark County commissioner Bill Smith (then candidate Bill Smith),
• Stark Count commissioner Richard Regula,
• Stark County treasurer Alex Zumbar,
• Stark County GOP vice president Jane Timken (now Trump supported Ohio GOP chair),
• Stark County Republican chair Jeff Matthews, and
• Stark County 50th House District Christina Hagan 

in deciding to show up in September, 2016 to a Donald J. Trump campaign rally were "all-in" with the most outrageous major political party candidate to ever run for president of the United States of America.

Not there because of a "prior commitment,"  but equally supportive of the incorrigible Trump at that time, was Stark County commissioner Janet Creighton.  Countywide, Creighton is the most powerful vote getting candidate that today's local Republican Party has to offer.

In an Op-ed piece in The Repository yesterday former WHBC talk show host Ron Ponder (Points to Ponder) in writing about the Trump presidency to date  (Sometimes I hate to be right) had these poignant questions to ask of our local/Ohio politicos:

But what about local Republicans in locales like Stark County? Where do they stand? With Trump? And where do the candidates for state offices stand, such as the Republican candidates for governor? Do they support this man? Do they support his policies? Do they support his methods? 

Will the Republican Party itself be identified as being racist? Will this perception of the Republican Party “trickle down” to DeWine, Husted, Renacci and Taylor, Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidates? Would it be fair to do that? Should they answer for the sins of Trump?

It is "fitting and proper" to ask the posed questions of politicians that many of us rub shoulders with.

Compliments to Ponder for devoting yesterday's piece to pointing the "accountability" finger at local/Ohio political leaders.  The only thing missing was at the Stark County level; naming names.

The Stark County Political Report (SCPR) does name names and, of course, show pictures of those named "in action."

Look at Stark GOP chair Jeff Matthews clapping for Trump.

Moreover, it was a bit bizarre to see the 50ish Jane Timken acting the high school cheerleader at the Trump sited Canton rally of September, 2016.

Back to the Ponder piece:  "Should they answer for the sins of Trump?"

Indeed, they should except perhaps for Mike DeWine who seems to have kept a "I'm not too sure about this guy" distance from the irrepressible president.

Ponder does not mention him, but Republican and Governor John Kasich is to be lauded for his sense of political decency and his intuitive reflect of "ya know, there is something highly troubling about this guy" as a president of the U.S. stance.

Back on July 28, 2016 (right after Trump in mid-July had been nominated as the Republican Party candidate for president), Ponder emceed, in the wake of police/African-American citizen confrontations sprinkled across the nation, a local forum on police/community relations at the Canton Memorial Civic Center.

Before the event got underway, Ponder asked me what I thought of the Trump phenomenon.

My response:  "I can't get beyond (the largely Trumpian) lack of 'civility' aspect" of his rise to the head of the national Republican Party let alone his inflammatory policy pronouncements along with his disrespectful of women, Muslims, African-Americans and others rhetoric.

Who can forget his over-the-top aspersions cast on his fellow candidates.  Here are a few:

• Lying Ted,
• Little Marco,
• "Many lies by Ben Carson,"
• "Nasty," (Jeb Bush), and
• "No honor," (Lindsey Graham),

Daresay that none of the Stark County/Ohio Republican leaders listed in this blog would engage anyone who insulted them in the manner in which Trump insulted and continues to disparage those who differ with him.

Nor should they.

However, in embracing Trump (September, 2016), they all showed an incredible lack of sound judgement on discerning minimally acceptable political campaigning behavior or, alternatively, are so blinded to and by Republican Party political interests that they reveal themselves as being suspect in assessing and acting in the public interest over and above their political party identity.

As they stand now, the likes of Matthews, Hagan, Smith, Regula, Creighton, Zumbar, Timken, Renacci, Taylor and Husted have a lot of explaining to do.

Moreover, they carry the burden of offering that their "all-out" support of Trump was a rare mis-step in judgement not to be repeated.

Silence is not good enough.

A recent poll shows that most Americans including many Republicans are embarrassed by the rhetoric of Donald J. Trump.

The question is as a follow up to the Ponder Op-ed:  Are our Stark County Republican leaders sufficiently embarrassed in having supported Trump for president willing to admit in having made a "mistake in judgement" that has brought harm to the United States of America?

If not, Stark Countians should weigh-in on the lack of an apology in their having engaged the insupportable misjudgment in having  backed the caustic Trump in any their future election/re-election bids.

CONTINUING SERIES ON REDISTRICTING: CLEVELAND.COM, A RESOURCE PAR EXCELLENCE!

The Stark County Political Report has published a number of blogs over its existence (nearly 10 years now) on the unfairness of Ohio's elections on account of "organized" Republicans and Democrats going back well over 100 years of contorting state legislative and congressional election districts to ensure in varying degrees that incumbents of whichever of either party get re-elected.

Recently, the blogs include:

• October 26, 2016,
• June 12, 2017, and
• July 7, 2017

One of the more interesting and disturbing factors that came to light in the development of this series was Stark Countian (a former vice president of the Stark County GOP) and now Ohio Republican chair Jane Timken's assertion that she does not see redistricting as something she can support, to wit:  (from a Cleveland City Club appearance on July 7, 2017)

Question.

"Do you and the Republican Party favor setting up a commission to redraw [congressional] district to provide more equitable division between parties in congressional districts?

Answer.

"I tend to think elections have consequence and we have a history of being able to draw congressional districts based on our [Ohio's] apportionment board.  I tend to want to keep that system unapologetically.

Catherine Turcer of  Common Cause Ohio (Fair Districts = Fair Elections) which is behind a petition drive effort to make congressional districts fairer had this reaction to the Timken statement:

Catherine Turcer <CTurcer@commoncause.org>  Today at 9:37 AM
To:  Martin Olson 

Mr. Olson, 

Good morning!  I am surprised by Jane Timken's statement.  The state legislature is responsible for drawing the congressional districts, rather than the Apportionment Board.  In 2015, more than 71% of voters supported creating the bipartisan Ohio Redistricting Commission to draw state legislative district lines.  Issue 1 of 2015 was supported by both the Ohio Republican Party and the Ohio Democratic Party.   

I do agree that elections have consequences but I also believe that districts should not be artificially manipulated to favor one political party over the other.   Fair elections are the cornerstone of a robust democracy.  Computers have made gerrymandering or mapmaking for partisan advantage much easier and have created truly uncompetitive elections. 

We deserve more compact districts that keep communities together and more robust elections. Because -- as Ms. Timken's said-- elections have consequences.  These consequences should not be determined by mapmakers but by the voters. 

Thanks,
Catherine 

It appears that Timken is out there somewhere all on her lonesome.

Witness, the outcomes of an election held in 2015 in which Ohio/Stark Countians voted overwhelmingly to require redistricting on a fairer basis than is currently in place.

Most encouraging that a congressional district version of the 2015 passed state legislative districts mandate for fairer districts is the work that the Cleveland Plain Dealer and Cleveland.com (a work of Advance Ohio) through numbers analyst/reporter Rich Exner is doing so that Ohio can get a very clear picture of the monstrously unfair congressional districts Ohio currently has.

Readers who care about fairness in our elections should follow Exner's effort very closely.  Here are two links to recent (August 16th and August 17th) article published on Cleveland.com

• August 16th article,
• August 17th article

Exner's work is outstanding and the SCPR urges readers to keep in touch with the Cleveland.com continuing coverage of the need for fairer redistricting in Ohio.

$800 MILLION DOLLARS, PERHAPS AS MUCH AS "ONE BILLION" FOR CANTON/STARK COUNTY REHAB ALL ON 100 plus ACRES. A MIRACLE IN THE MAKING: YOU NAYSAYERS

SCPR POLITICAL SATIRE

PRESIDENT TRUMP WEIGHS IN

UPDATED:  1:30 p.m.

Many of The Stark County Political Report's blogs have a tinge of political sarcasm scattered among its letters, words and headlines.

A little over a week ago, the SCPR honored The Repository's executive editor Rich Desrosiers with the first of The Report's full-blown satirical piece.

Here is a refresher of the definitions of satire/sarcasm for those who do not often run into such material.

But sarcasm is a little harsh, and, it gets missed by readers all too often.

I decided I needed to change my ways and go to a milder form of getting my point of view across in my blogs.

A master of satire is The New Yorker's Andy Borowitz.

He is my inspiration for doing political satire on local political and public figures.

So brace yourself Stark County elected officials and public figures.

You are about to become the stars of Stark County's only political satire outlet.

Here is a LINK to the first SCPR satirical blog>

Today, the cheer/LEADER(S) of/for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Village Project (HOFVP) with a very, very, very special nod to executive director—America's greatest visionary EVER—C. David Baker.

That descriptor came from our Make America Great Again—Greatest President EVER—Donald J. Trump.

His visit to the HOFVP on September 14, 2016 as presidential candidate Donald Trump was an omen that things were only going to get greater for the HOFVP, Canton and all of Stark County.

The Donald was absolutely thrilled to hear from the SCPR of this "in-the-works" blog (note:  a imaginary conversation).

He says he believes that the HOFVP is the greatest infrastructure ever undertaken in the land of "from sea to shining sea," bar none.

Might Trump borrow the HOFVP model as a model for his promised U.S. infrastructure rebuild?

Has to be tempting to him, one has to think.

However, there are those locals who say that pro football is in decline and heading for marginal existence, long term and the HOFVP will one day stand as a dinosaur skeletal remains.

The truth?  BIG, BIG time FAKE NEWS!

Professional football is "the cat's meow" for America's "hooked" on entertainment' devotees.  Pro football fascination continues to grow while professional baseball is fading.

The smasher/basher tackling, the slashing running, the artisan quarterbacking command the attention of thrill seeking Americans glued to the tube.

In the former glory days of American dominance, the heart and soul of the nation was industrial might which Canton and Stark County was part of.

But in this day and age folks, ENTERTAINMENT is the way to go. Every U.S. town needs a P.T. Barnum-esque character to distract us from our "real" everyday life cares, concerns and troubles, no?

The  visionary C. David Baker was brought in by local leadership seers to keep professional football in a growing mode.

So what if he has a troubled past.

That's what his detractors point to.

My God! folks, give it up!!!  That was some 30 years ago.

There is atonement, there is forgiveness, there is redemption and the Johnson Controls Hall of Fame Village "refuge" is the place of restoration for C. David Baker.

C. David Baker:  definitely an example of being "born again," no?

Pro football "alone" will do the job that yesteryear local captains of industry could not sustain of Canton and Stark County having a economic bulwark.

Industry has no sex appeal.

Entertainment at its base is glitzy, glitzy, glitzy in sex appeal and therefore is in a "the sky is the limit" mode in sustainability.

And a Entertainment economic base is cheap to staff.

High return on investment (ROI) on the backs of low-paid service workers?  What a terrific financial model, no?

And think of it, right here in the most deserving place sited in a nation that has welcomed hordes of immigrants who in turn made Canton, Ohio and the USA the greatest industrial juggernaut EVER.

After all, it is not every community that can call itself home to a past president who has had one America's great mountain named after him (even before he actually became president)  obviously as an attestation of him being one of our truly great leader destined to become one of our greatest presidents inasmuch as McKinley (err Denali/2015; renamed by Obama administration executive action—Go Figure, no?) is the HIGHEST mountain peak in the Greatest Nation ever to don the face of the earth.

"When they go low, we go high," to turn the Michelle Obama quote upside down in topic application.

Who can forget the gallantly successful effort of recently passed Stark County native Congressman Ralph Regula in 1975 staving off the re-naming of McKinley to Denali.

 Koyukon Athabaskans who inhabit the area around the mountain have for centuries referred to the peak as Dinale or Denali. The name is based on a Koyukon word for "high" or "tall"  (Source on history of Denali/McKinley:  Wikipedia article on Denali/McKinley) 

For the SCPR, that mountain will forever be Mount McKinley no matter Obama and his politically correct ways and compatriot leftist leaning activists.

Indeed, GREATNESS is undoubtedly in the genetic make up of Canton, Ohio.

And, therefore, it should surprise nobody that Baker should be brought to the Hall of Fame city which is on life support to do a Lazarus-esque resurrection on a very, very, very special type of infrastructure development.

Just what America needs, just what Ohio needs and for sure just what Canton and Stark County needs.

A gigantic entertainment complex that Baker, with his keen sense of appropriateness, likens to Disney World.

What a perspicacious human being!  Without parallel, no?

Sorry for the big word, but Baker is literally a big man and more importantly a man of really BIG ideas and drive all wrapped up in a humble spirit that can only be described a the GREATEST paradox of all time.

Yes, when Stark Countians scatter across the nation on vacation, visiting family and friends, on a business trip or whatever; when asked about their hometown, they are at the ready.

"CANTON, OHIO is where I'm from!  We have the MOST FABULOUS high school football stadium in the land."  Who else can brag about having a $150 million high school football stadium?

A true measure of greatness, no?

Canton/Stark County is the home of "the memories"of the famous and great.

McKinley (Stark's esteemed president), Brown (the greatest NFLer of all time) to name just a couple.

And one day in the wild blue yonder, our streets will be paved in gold.  A city foursquare that challenges Heaven itself.   What a joyous day that will be. We have David Baker to thank and thank him we will.  For locals will no longer refer to Canton by its official name.  Like the locals in the vicinity of that GREAT mountain in Alaska, we will call our home Bakerville.

"One more thing.  We owe all to the 'Bakerville Times' (err The Canton Repository) which locked arm-in-arm with Baker et al promoting the development of the HOFVP as "the official newspaper of the Pro Football Hall of Fame."

Just think about it.

Canton and Stark County saved from oblivion by the intense development of a mere 100 plus acres (about 1/2 square mile), more or less, in a town of about 25.5 square miles and a county of about 575 square miles

Its a miracle!

And it only cost $800 to 1 billion dollars in largely private sector funds.

A true testament to American Enterprise!

Leveraging at its best, no?

WHAT IS THE CURE FOR THE NORTH CANTON TO ALLIANCE "ANTI-DEMOCRATIC" SPREADING INFECTION?

UPDATED:  7:33 AM

OKEY FOR CLIENT LESLIE YOUNG
ON APRIL 6, 2017 FILED
 "PROPERLY" MOTIVATED LAWSUIT AGAINST ALLIANCE GOV'T!

--------------------------------------------------------

2017 ELECTIONS TO SOLVE NORTH CANTON PROBLEM?

In this day and age, it is not unusual for city governments to compete with one another especially on economic development matters.

A few years ago, North Canton lured a Massillon company to what used to be officially known as "The Dogwood Tree" city by advancing $400,000 (more or less) of upfront money to buy a crane for the company.

Insofar as the SCPR knows, there is no such history between North Canton and Alliance.

However, it does appear that Alliance and North Canton are vying with one another in a race to the bottom in disrespecting its citizenry's right to know, to be heard and to participate fully as a critically important factor in how we Americans govern ourselves.

At least since September, 2012 and the hiring (by North Canton City Council) of Tim Fox as law director, North Canton appears to The Stark County Political Report (SCPR) to surge to the lead among Stark County's political subdivisions in a dubious category:  a marked decline in respect for and implementation of fundamental democratic-republican values.

Under Fox's reign, North Canton has had problems"

• being transparent, 
• providing requested public records, 
• complying with its own charter requirements, 
• councilmembers' attendance (Stephanie Werren, a primary offender) at public meetings, and 
• respecting the will of North Canton voters as expressed at the ballot box.

And there are a number of  other things concerning the undermining of core democratic values that one could cite North Canton government for.

Some think that the Alliance parallel to North Canton's Fox is Safety-Service Director Mike Dreger.

Dreger was appointed by current Alliance mayor Alan Andreani in September, 2014.

A number of Carnation City residents think that Alliance has not been the same in terms of basic democratic-republican values (e.g. first and foremost, administrative transparency).

A big brouhaha broke out into the open at the Alliance City Council on August 7 when Councilwoman Julie Jakmides took it on herself to walk out of council when she was worked over by council president Arthur Garnes for discharging a prime legislative function of questioning Andreani's safety-service director (Dreger) and the independently elected law director (Jennifer Arnold) and various and sundry questions on policing, administrative oversight issues and spending volume for legal services.

Nobody should be surprised by the anti-democratic actions of Alliance government which took place on August 7th.

In April of this year, at the request of Alliance citizen Leslie Young,  Attorney Steve Okey (a former Alliance councilman, a former council president and a past candidate [against Andreani] for mayor of Alliance) filed a lawsuit against Alliance government alleging that the Andreani administration violated Ohio's open meetings law in not complying with Ohio law (on legal advice provided by Arnold) with regard to a proper "in accordance with law" motion to go into executive session as presented to council which ultimately passed:  4 votes to 3.

Here is a copy the suit:



Kudos to the citizen and Okey for standing front and center for Ohio's open records law.

Here is Alliance's answer:



Trial is set for February 12, 2018.



Back in 2014, Okey filed in his own name a lawsuit against certain members of Alliance City Council with Larry Dordea as the lead-named and pleading referenced defendant which the SCPR said at the time appeared motivated to embarrass Dordea, who, at the time was in the midst of Stark County sheriff campaign seeking to unseat Okey political ally George T. Maier.

Okey said that it was unconnected with the Dordea/Maier matchup and the litigation was filed because of Okey's devotion to Ohio's Sunshine Laws.

This Stark County Political Report was not buying Okey's protestation that the 2014 litigation was all about Ohio's Sunshine Laws.

The SCPR wrote a number of blogs castigating Okey for having filed the case on account of what appeared to be obvious political implications of Councilman Dordea running against Okey political friend George T. Maier.

So it is a touch more than ironic that Dordea was among three councilpersons (Jakmides and Edwards also voting NO)  on presented motion for council and certain Andreani administration officials and Law Director Arnold to go into executive session which prompted the Leslie Young lawsuit.

What should disturb the citizens of Alliance is that under the Andreani administration lead, seemingly based, in large part, upon the legal counsel of Jennifer Arnold (Alliance's independently elected law director); it appears that Alliance is heading in the same direction as North Canton in curtailing compliance with core democratic-republican values and perhaps in the process violating Ohio law.

However, as the SCPR sees the matter, it is likely that Okey/Citizen Young will, if the lawsuit goes to trial, prevail.

Of course, it is possible that the Andreani administration on counsel by Arnold will drop defending the suit and implement the asked for remedies.

Either way, there might be these Alliance taxpayer costs, either agreed to or ordered by the court:

• up to $1,000 in damages,
• court costs and plaintiff's attorney fees, and 
• legal fees paid by Alliance government for outside legal counsel

Shouldn't there be a "moral obligation" for those who participated in the manner in which the executive session was presented for an up or down vote to reimburse the city treasury?

Perhaps the Young lawsuit will prove to be curative of the Andreani administration's flirtation with its seeming unlawful manner of going into executive session.

One more thing.

An important point that Okey raises in the lawsuit is that governments MAY but is not required to go into executive session for reasons enumerated in the underlying Ohio statute cited in the Young lawsuit.

The SCPR's take on executive session use among Stark County local governments is that elected officials are all too quick and prone to invoke the permissive right to go into private session without considering adequately the necessity of doing so.

The taxpaying public has a right to know to the greatest degree as is practical and feasible to have discussions which serve as the basis for decisions made in public, be "public" themselves.

Government propensity to overuse is to deny, via out-of-view executive sessions, public access to the deliberations constitute the foundation upon which decisions are made in public session.

Such is a key ingredient among a number of others as why citizen trust of government grows by the day.

 In terms of the taxpaying public having confidence in the integrity of government, the processes of governing can be more important than the substantive decisions themselves.

Alliance council members Dordea, Jakmides and Edwards as well as Leslie Young and his attorney have courageously stepped forward to bolster democratic-republican values.

In North Canton, it appears there is no elected official on the inside at city hall (except perhaps a fleeting moment here and there by Councilman Foltz) who has the moxie to stand up for core government democratic enhancing process values.

All the city's councilpersons and the mayor seem to be good at is patting one another on the back in self-congratulation while they foster North Canton's democratic processes decline.

Accordingly, it  appears that the only North Canton cure is that its voters will take matters in hand in the November general election and place in office council members and a mayor who respect citizens' fundamental democratic-republican values.