First today, are a couple of political/governance photos taken yesterday in our time in Key West, FL.
Toured TRUMAN'S "LITTLE WHITE HOUSE," Earnest Hemingway's Key West Home and Fort Zachary Taylor
Tomorrow, we embark on a cruise to Cuba and the Cayman Islands.
TODAY'S BLOG
Stark County "organized?" Democrats like Dem party organizations throughout most of America choose generally to "fight rather than switch."
The text in the Will Rogers pictured in the opening image of this blog was used several years ago when Stark's Democratic Party organization "made peace" with the William V. Sherer, Sr. family when at the motion of "eating 'political' crow Johnnie A. Maier, Jr." nominated William V. Sherer, Jr (the 2nd) to be a Democratic member of the Stark County Board of Elections.
Rogers description of Democratic Party is really apt to, under usual circumstances, of the Stark County "organized" Democratic Party.
There are the Maier, Jr, the Ferrero, the Perez, Democratic unionist, and likely, more divisions that make up the party loclly.
But the dominant factor is the Johnnie A. Maier, Jr. factor and it appears to the SCPR that Maier, Jr. grouping resort to "political" warfare against those in the overall party who oppose the Maier, Jr. forces.
A number of years prior Maier Jr. went to William, Sr. and told him that he needed him to step aside so that Maier, Jr. could satisfy other political objectives.
The gracious person William, Sr is; he agreed, although he really did want to stay on as the "informally" recognized "organized labor" seat on the BOE which he had been a member of for 13 years, to step aside on Maier, Jr's request.
In the background however the Sherers were not happy with Maier, Jr. and the rest of the executive committee of the Stark County Democratic Party.
Ever since, the Sherers have bided their time to reclaim as key Stark County unionists (as de facto leaders of Stark organized labor) to a large seat at the table of the Stark Dems.
The restoration of William V. Sherer, II to the BOE seat was merely the first step (the SCPR believes) that the Sherers (principally the 2nd) have ruminated upon in organized labor's effort to be respected and "not taken for granted" by the formal leadership of the Stark Dems.
Tomorrow with be a second step.
With the following e-mail to the 29 members who constitute the Canton factor of the Stark County Democratic Party Central Committee, perhaps, Stark County Dems "best ever" peacemaker, Joe Martuccio, who service as Canton Law Director for 18 years in a 30 year career in the department in avoiding what could have been a "damaging to the party" (already in pathetic shape) for years to come:
From: <princesm@neo.rr.com>
Date: December 15, 2018 at 10:47:13 AM EST
To: princesm@neo.rr.com
Subject: Monday's Committee Appointment Meeting
Dear Central Committee Members,
As you know, I had submitted my name to this Committee for its consideration regarding who would succeed our late friend, Allen Schulman, as Canton City Council President. Since then, I've enjoyed the opportunity to speak with most of you personally about my qualifications for the position as well as my likelihood of keeping the seat in Democratic hands since I had been an elected city official for almost two decades. Still, some of you reminded me that casting a public vote in this Committee is often burdened by other considerations that are unique to this forum. That, in turn, puts many of you in an extremely uncomfortable position and might even cause an undue risk of division within the party.
I don't want you or the party to be in that situation. Therefore, I am withdrawing my name from consideration at Monday's vote of this Committee. Instead, I filed my declaration of candidacy for Council President at the Board of Elections yesterday, and I intend to submit my name and qualifications directly to the voters in the spring primary. I have respectfully informed Mr. Sherer and Chairman Ferruccio of this decision.
I want to sincerely thank you for your time and for your candor. May peace be with you and your family as you enjoy this holiday season.
Sincerely,
Joe Martuccio
The SCRP believes that when Martuccio retired as law director, top party officials promised Martuccio that he would be appointed council president should circumstances eventuate to require long time council president Allen Schulman to be replaced.
But then enter the Sherer Dems' political agenda and things were all of a sudden changed and Martuccio was not going to have "a walk in the park" passage into becoming Schulman's replacement.
Make no mistake about it, Joe Martuccio has many, many, many admiring and supportive members from among Canton's Democratic precinct committee members. And, he might well have won in a showdown vote tomorrow night.
But at what price?
A reopening of festering organized labor wounds that might make a party which the SCPR thinks is a lethargically-led party that could eventually lose most of Stark's countywide seats to the historically much more unified Stark County "organized" GOP, that's what!!!
If the Stark County Democratic Party is to be energized, it will be at the hand of the likes of William V. Sherer, II.
The current Stark County Democratic Party leadership regime needs to be infused with new aggressive, forward thinking, less self-serving managers if the Party is to avoid becoming countywide what Republicans are in city of Canton governance and politics.
Republican Stark County GOP chair Jeff Matthews and his leadership team have "thrown in the towel" in Canton politics and governments and hence there are only Democrats in elective office in the city of Canton.
Not a good thing for Canton,
Just like Republican dominance of statewide offices is not a good thing for quality governance for the state of Ohio.
Recently voters for federal office (the U.S. House of Representatives) corrected across-the-board GOP dominance of federal government in electing a majority of Democrats to the House.
Political competition with its attendant oversight function is always a desired factor in achieving some semblance of accountability for the benefit of any electorate at any level of government.
Canton needs viable political competition as does the state of Ohio and, indeed, the United States of America.
It will be interesting to see whether or not William V. Sherer can make his presence shown beyond Canton (where there is not political competition) to the countywide level (e.g. all three county commissioners are Republicans) so that citizens can benefit from the accountability that political competition brings in its wake.
At the diplomatic level, the SCPR believes that Joe Martuccio would make for a more skilled council president.
But as far as "political infighting" (hopefully directed to challenging Republicans officials countywide to governing excellence; not at fellow Democrats), William V. Sherer, II is better suited than Martuccio.
Joe Martuccio is a "peacemaker" and it is a sad state of affairs that a "political 'street' fighter" is more crucial to the Stark County Democratic Party these days than a diplomat is.
A SCPR "hats off!" to Martuccio for stepping aside.
A SCPR challenge to William V. Sherer, II to be a force in making the Stark Dems competitive countywide which The Report thinks it is not when Democrats lose an office for whatever reason (e.g. the the Stark County auditor's office, the Stark County treasurer's office and the county commissioners).
Of course, the SCPR will be watching to see how effective William V. Sherer will be.
Given what he has told this blogger that he is done with being a "backgrounder" within the party and with the announcement of this candidacy for the Schulman vacancy should be taken as a signal that he intends, if nominated, to "shake up" (the SCPR's interpretation of the gist of what he had to say) the Stark County "organized" Democratic Party.
Interesting, no?
But it makes sense to use the perch of the presidency of Canton City Council with 12 of 12 members being registered Democrats as a launching point for reconstituting the party not only with in the city but likely across party circle over the whole of Stark County.
Sherer's activism could lead to two different results:
- the party gets reenergized to the point the organization's candidates become competitive in every nook and cranny of Stark, OR
- the party splinters to a greater degree that it presently is in and the party eventually loses many of the Stark County political subdivision offices it currently has
That folks, is the gamble that the precinct committee (Canton aspect) are taking in "peacemaker" Joe Martuccio stepping aside in the name of party unity.
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