COULD THE SHERER/MARTUCCIO CANTON PRESIDENT OF COUNCIL HAVE LONG LASTING NEGATIVE EFFECT ON THE STARK COUNTY DEMOCRATIC PARTY?

FIRST IN A SCPR SERIES 

 MARTUCCIO/SHERER

CANTON COUNCIL PRESIDENCY CANTON DEMS PRIMARY CONTEST

Political neophyte (in the sense of holding elective office) William Sherer II and former long term Canton law director Joe Martuccio will be facing off in the May 7, 2019 Democratic primary election to determine which will serve in a "elected" capacity as Canton City Council president.

THIS AND REMAINING BOE LISTINGS ARE EXTRACTS/REARRANGEMENTS OF RACES

NOTE:  SCPR ADDED BLUE/RED BACKGROUNDS & STARS

Of all the primary contests, this one is the most compelling.

However, there are others, to wit:

The subject of this blog is the Martuccio/Sherer race.

The Stark County Political Report has blogged on this Sherer/Martuccio previously, to wit:

• the decision by Joe Martuccio to, after withdrawing, fom competing with Sherer for the Stark Democrat's Central Commitment (Canton) appointment following the death of  council president Allen Schulman, to compete for the vote of Democrat voters in deciding who shall be council president beginning in January, 2020,
• Joe Martuccio plays the role of "peacemaker" by withdrawing from the December 17, 2018 Stark County Democratic central committee council president selection process,

The Report thinks that this contest could end up doing damage to the "organized" Stark County Democratic Party that could alter Democrats (outside Canton proper) to get elected because of a countywide voter perception that Democrats would rather fight than to govern.

Within Canton there likely be no consequence to Democrats because internal political bickering because of the huge, huge, huge Democrat registration majority

This blogger believes that Canton government has suffered decline for many years because of the lopsided Democratic Party control of council which is currently 12 - 0.

Some want to point out that there have been a number Republican mayors, maybe a majority of the years since Stanley Cmich and that the decline Canton has suffered because of their administration of Canton government.

The Report disagrees.

Canton is a strong council, week mayor type of government.

So make no mistake about it, Canton has declined mostly due the ineffectiveness of 

• (e.g. Jim Griffin; formerly of Ward 3, "I am thrilled to be a councilman" [a status thing from the SCPR's perspective]) 

Democrat council members who, because of their unchallenged near unanimous "over the years" domination of council have little incentive to be accountable to the "whole" Canton community.

The battle to succeed Griffin when he stepped down in a Democratic primary battle in 2015 produced a high quality councilman (perhaps the best on Canton council in terms of constituent services) in Jason Scaglione.

The SCPR thinks political competition, even internal to political parties, is a healthy process that makes it more likely Stark County political subdivision voters will get higher quality candidates to consider in exercising the franchise.

A major factor in the Sherer/Martuccio race might be the role that unionists play in the primary.

Canton City Council has been very pro-organized-labor in the years that the SCPR has covered Canton government.

Some think that one of the reasons it has been slow-going for Mayor Thomas M. Bernabei to bring Canton back from the depths is because of the stranglehold that the local labor movement seemingly has on many of Canton's council members.

LINK

 Accordingly, it might seem that Ironworker Sherer II and thoroughgoing unionist has an advantage in the Democratic primary contest with Martuccio.

To be sure, any chance of Sherer to get elected lies with what clout organized labor has with the general population voter.

Martuccio's best chance for electoral success might have been in a general election context in which political independents and Republican weigh-in if he took a page out of Mayor Thomas Bernabei's book and ran as a political independent.

The SCPR thinks given all his of successful (some unchallenged) elections as law director puts him in the place of attracting a large share if not a majority of registered Democrats.

Sherer would probably do very poorly with political independents and Republicans in a general election context.