UPDATED: 09:23 AM
UPDATED: 09:41 AM
UPDATED: 10:00 AM
UPDATED: 09:41 AM
UPDATED: 10:00 AM
ENDORSEMENT COMMITTEE VOTED 7 TO 6 TO ENDORSE SCHURING
&
CONTRIBUTED $8,000 ON THE PRE-GENERAL CFR
CPEA ENDORSED DEMOCRAT FRIEDMAN 25 - 0
The Ohio Education Association (OEA) is "incredible!"
Which is an astonishing thing to say about a 125,000 member organization with ties to 700 Ohio local school entities in its 150 years of existence.
Which is an astonishing thing to say about a 125,000 member organization with ties to 700 Ohio local school entities in its 150 years of existence.
On the one hand the OEA is "Mad as Hell!" that the Ohio attorney general and secretary of state "ripped [public education] off re: the ECOT scandal.
On the other, the OEA gives a pass to state Representative J. Kirk Schuring who was actually as a matter of legislative authority enabled/empowered ECOT to rip off Ohio education and in 2015 took over $12,500 in ECOT connected campaign contributions.
The only solace for those of us who "truly" support public education in the context of being infuriated that the likes of 25 year Ohio General Assembly (OGA) Republican Schuring and his supermajority fellows in the OGA create conditions for the rip-off to occur is that it appears that Stark County delegation members of the OEA endorsement screening committee put up a fight to stop a steamroller effort within the committed to unanimously endorse Schuring.
Two of the OEA's Board of Directors members (56 in total) are from the Canton City Schools.
One would think that they support the position of the CPEA as set forth in this blog.
The SCPR asked the OEA for an explanation of why the organization (which this blogger's spouse was a 35 year member of as an Akron public school teacher) why Ohio's supposedly premier "representing the interests of teachers" would endorse Schuring.
The OEA spokesperson made it appear that the endorsement of Schuring was a "no doubter" and that that Canton Professional Education Ass'n (CPA) was on board, to wit:
Prater, Michele [OH] <praterm@ohea.org> Today at 2:05 PM
To: Martin Olson
“The decision to endorse Kurt Schuring was made by OEA members who are on the local screening committee, which includes a representative from CPEA, based on their belief that Rep. Schuring is, and will continue to be, an effective advocate for OEA members and their students.” -Becky Higgins, president, Ohio Education Association
The CPEA was furious on seeing the OEA response to the SCPR inquiry.
Educator members of the OEA should be ashamed of the manner in which the OEA handled the Friedman/Schuring endorsement process.
Educator members of the OEA should be ashamed of the manner in which the OEA handled the Friedman/Schuring endorsement process.
To show:
- that the CPEA was "all-in" for Friedman, here is a copy of a press release announcing the 25 to 0 CPEA endorsement of Friedman, and
- which details numerous "lack of support for public education" sins of Schuring as a legislator.
Not only was the CPEA upset with the OEA's (what a CPEA official told the SCPR) "misleading" statement about the CPEA's role in the endorsement. The CPEA was very unhappy about the way The Repository Editorial Board (singling out Publisher Jim Porter's cousin Todd Porter) questioned Schuring's Democratic opponent Lauren Friedman.
On June 1, 2018 the Stark County Political Report is told that officials (presumably Jim Porter)
sought out Schuring's wife Darlene to hire her to head up a marketing position at The Rep.
This disclaimer by The Rep editors:
(Disclosure: Kirk Schuring’s wife is an employee of GateHouse Media in a marketing position. Publisher Jim Porter recused himself from this endorsement decision for that reason.)
What a bunch of phony-baloney, no?
Jim's cousin Todd was part of the endorsements editorial committee.
Jim's cousin Todd was part of the endorsements editorial committee.
Now, pray tell the SCPR, who thinks that Todd was on his own in how he handled himself during the interview?
Jim Porter (a self-announced Republican) is so utterly laughable as being Porter has to be the most self-deceived "by virtue of his having the job of being publisher of The Rep (not because he has "real leadership ability) Stark County leader.
credible in stepping aside that the SCPR need say no more.
But The Report will anyway.
Only the politically most naive would buy Porter's feign at "doing the journalistic ethical thing" on the Schuring/Friedman endorsement interview.
There can be little doubt about it, Porter was in the room in the personage of Todd.
Porter thinks he can make The Rep "the official newspaper" of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, be a member of the HOF Board of Trustees and have extremely cozy relationship with those whom The Rep is to critically cover and then have a colleague have the audacity to tell the SCPR that The Report is off on a tangent somewhere in thinking that Porter in managing The Rep has no "conflicts in interest."
Wow!
But The Report will anyway.
Only the politically most naive would buy Porter's feign at "doing the journalistic ethical thing" on the Schuring/Friedman endorsement interview.
There can be little doubt about it, Porter was in the room in the personage of Todd.
Porter thinks he can make The Rep "the official newspaper" of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, be a member of the HOF Board of Trustees and have extremely cozy relationship with those whom The Rep is to critically cover and then have a colleague have the audacity to tell the SCPR that The Report is off on a tangent somewhere in thinking that Porter in managing The Rep has no "conflicts in interest."
Wow!
The SCPR has heard some Stark Countians say they suspected that the Darlene Schuring hire at The Rep had to do with Schuring's role in being the lead Stark County legislator in bring state monetary and legislative aid to the Professional Hall of Fame (PHOF) village project (HOF-VP).
Several Stark County political subdivision officials have told the SCPR that Porter/The Rep just loves Kirk Schuring. And, one reporter, is said to have told the candidates running against Schuring and Oelslager that the reporter is friends with both of them.
Accordingly, neither Lauren Friedman (Schuring opponent) nor Lorraine Wilburn (Oelslager opponent) had any chance whatsoever to get The Rep's endorsement.
In its endorsement, The Rep made it appear that Schuring has been a flawless legislator
- over his 25 years of switching back and forth with Scott Oelslager in Stark County senate/house seats to override the will of Ohio's voters (1992) approving 8 consecutive years limits in either chamber of the OGA
and failed to mention his legislative participation in:
- empowering/enabling "for profit" charter schools like ECOT at the expense of revenues taken from Ohio/Stark County public schools,
- voting for numerous unfunded mandates imposed on Ohio's political subdivisions (cities, villages, townships, boards of education and the courts),
- Republican governor John Kasich's 2011 and going forward cutting of various sources of local government funding, and
- doing nothing to stop the gerrymandering of Ohio congressional and state legislative districts so as to take the competition out of most districts within Ohio,
- and blowing off the likes of the CPEA's Greg Soper which is a sure sign of unbecoming arrogance of a public official who thinks they have grown so impervious to accountability that the pick and choose only those constituents who tell them how wonderful they are, and
- the aspect of Schuring's Tax Increment Financing (TIF) economic development legislation which takes a portion of school property tax money and thereby "on the backs of local school districts" provides a taxpayer subsidy to private sector businesses
to mention just a few.
Schuring himself once told this blogger that he knew he was the "fair-haired-boy" to the bigs at The Rep.
As far as Canton is concerned his support for legislation that may take away local control of Canton City Schools is astronomical. Canton City Schools member Eric Resnick asked candidates who appeared in Stark County at a Ohio School Board Association Candidates Forum about SB 5 and HB 70.
Guess who was not at the forum to take Resnick's question.
You've got it: Kirk Schuuring (thought to be working on a HOF legislative matter with Stark County officials) and Scott Oelslager who is even more removed from Stark Countians who might ask him "hard to account for" questions.
(Schuring's Former Legislative Aide Moderated the Forum)
Guess who was not at the forum to take Resnick's question.
You've got it: Kirk Schuuring (thought to be working on a HOF legislative matter with Stark County officials) and Scott Oelslager who is even more removed from Stark Countians who might ask him "hard to account for" questions.
One should not forget that Schuring is not enamored with the city of Canton.
For a person who at the time had been a 15 year Stark County political figure, it was truly amazing to see Schuring lose to what some say was carpetbagging (from Mahoning County) Democratic John Boccieri.
(SOURCE: STARK CO BD/EL)
The Ralph Regula (long term 16th District Republican congressman from Beach City, now deceased) had to be shocked that he lost Stark County by some 26,000 plus votes and thereby left the Ralph Regula succession to a Democrat. And not just any Democrat. But one with his political roots in Mahoning County.
Schuring in proving that in particular he has no love lost for Cantonians by his support for SB 5 and HB 70.
Schuring in proving that in particular he has no love lost for Cantonians by his support for SB 5 and HB 70.
What a disappointment to the SCPR. As readers know, The Report regards Bernabei as the highest quality political/government leader in all of Stark County.
Schuring went along with the Kasich program of dramatically reducing/eliminating various forms of local government funding which put the city of Canton into running a deficit and necessitating Canton voters passing an income tax increase this past May.
Schuring went along with the Kasich program of dramatically reducing/eliminating various forms of local government funding which put the city of Canton into running a deficit and necessitating Canton voters passing an income tax increase this past May.
Undoubtedly, Bernabei has to work with Schuring and in particular on the Market Square Project at 3rd and Market, N for which Schuring is reported trying to get $6 million of Ohio taxpayer money for an "iconic' structure to be built on the site in what the SCPR thinks is a desperate attempt to get PFHOF visitors to downtown Canton.
But even if he gets the $6 million, Schuring has done much more damage to the Canton City Schools in the millions of dollars and a possible state of Ohio takeover of Canton's school system (which Bernabei's daughter works for) that $6 million pales in comparison to (i.e. the millions of dollars lost to ECOT and other "for profit" charter schools).
Schuring appears to have been stung by the SCPR's hammering away on him and Oelslager on their legislative work to undermine public education in Stark County.
At the end of this blog are three flyers that he has put out trying to make himself a "friend of public education."
Kind of like the national Republican candidates now trying to appear to be in support of Obamacare's mandate that insurance companies must not deny healthcare coverage because of "pre-existing" conditions.
Schuring and the national GOP candidates in their political "sleight of hand" show the contempt the have for thinking Ohioans/Americans.
Schuring and the national GOP candidates in their political "sleight of hand" show the contempt the have for thinking Ohioans/Americans.
Mark the word of the SCPR, Kirk Schuring has proven in supporting the general Republican legislative hostility to public education that "talk is cheap" and "actions speak louder than words!
It is hard to imagine any Stark Countian who cares about the financial viability of public education voting for Kirk Schuring.
It is hard to imagine a Cantonian who cares about respect for the city voting for Kirk Schuring.
Nevertheless, The Report thinks Schuring will win . Of course, most of us thought Eric Cantor (#2 in the U.S. House) would handily win a number of years ago. But he did not.
Anything is "possible," if not likely.
If Schuring does win as expected, this blogger does not want to hear complaints when as state senator he supports the Republican Party positions (i.e. anti-public-education; anti-Ohio-urban-areas)
The SCPR thinks that Kirk Schuring (a short-lived Speaker of the House) is all about Party Over Community!
He can be sure that the SCPR will be tracking his every move as state senator over the next four years.
Of course, The Stark County Political Report is another that Schuring refuses to answer questions from.
Everybody knows that despite his 25 years in the Ohio Legislature, he would be hard pressed to account credibly to the SCPR for his deficiencies as a legislator which clearly outweigh the good he has done.
And be sure, Schuring has done some good for Stark Countians and Ohioans.
However, on the SCPR "scales of helpful/undermining," the "undermining" significantly outweighs the helpful.
It is hard to imagine any Stark Countian who cares about the financial viability of public education voting for Kirk Schuring.
It is hard to imagine a Cantonian who cares about respect for the city voting for Kirk Schuring.
Nevertheless, The Report thinks Schuring will win . Of course, most of us thought Eric Cantor (#2 in the U.S. House) would handily win a number of years ago. But he did not.
Anything is "possible," if not likely.
If Schuring does win as expected, this blogger does not want to hear complaints when as state senator he supports the Republican Party positions (i.e. anti-public-education; anti-Ohio-urban-areas)
The SCPR thinks that Kirk Schuring (a short-lived Speaker of the House) is all about Party Over Community!
He can be sure that the SCPR will be tracking his every move as state senator over the next four years.
Of course, The Stark County Political Report is another that Schuring refuses to answer questions from.
Everybody knows that despite his 25 years in the Ohio Legislature, he would be hard pressed to account credibly to the SCPR for his deficiencies as a legislator which clearly outweigh the good he has done.
And be sure, Schuring has done some good for Stark Countians and Ohioans.
However, on the SCPR "scales of helpful/undermining," the "undermining" significantly outweighs the helpful.
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