WILLIAM J. HEALY, II: A LIFESAVER FOR THE OHIO DEMOCRATIC PARTY?

A POTENTIAL GOVERNOR?

 VIDEO

MAYOR WILLIAM J. HEALY, II

2015 STATE OF CITY PREVIEW

How times have changed in State of Ohio and City of Canton politics.

Back in 2009 Ohio's Democrats were riding high with Ted Strickland firmly ensconced (elected in 2006) the governor's chair and the Democrats (2008 elections) in a majority in the Ohio House of Representatives for the first time in many, many years.

Moreover, Ohio now had a Democratic attorney general (which proved to be a disaster),  treasurer,  and secretary of state.  Only Mary Taylor as state auditor survived as a statewide Republican (non-judicial).

Stark County Democrats were chirping too.

Youngstown area Democrat John Boccieri had seized the day (November, 2008) and carpet bagged to Alliance (since losing in 2010, he has returned to Mahoning Coungy) in Stark County and from there launched a campaign to defeat Stark's home grown then state Senator and Republican J. Kirk Schuring for the right to succeed the retiring Ralph Regula as 16th District congressman, when "all of Stark County" was in the district.

But the ship of state in the Democratic bastion of Canton was in danger of sinking.

Just barely a year after taking office in defeating Republican Janet Weir Creighton in November, 2007, the William J. Healy, II administration seemed to be on the brink of heading to bottom of the sea of political oblivion.

Healy, who had once bragged to the SCPR that the Democratic National Congressional Committee in the lead up to the 2008 congressional elections had offered to fund a Healy for Congress campaign with $1 million, was on the cusp of being a one term Democrat in a city with a nine to one Democratic voter registration majority that had a history of electing Republicans.

He had brought Canton Democrats (in terms of executive leadership) out of the depths of despair at their inability to convince Canton voters that the Democrats had chief executive officer capability.

In the past 40 years (pre-Healy) Democrats had only held executive office 8 years.

And in January, 2009 with the firing of the well thought of Thomas Bernabei (a former councilman and law director) as his chief and staff and service director; many thought that Healy was destined to be a failure and at best a one-term-mayor.

Many deemed him to be all mouth with his talk of being a business entrepreneur and having an MBA from the highly touted New York University Stern School of Business.

What followed with his taking the helm of Canton in 2008 was a seemingly unending series of one controversy, after another controversy, after another controversy, any one of which could have been the salvo which brought Ship Healy to the bottom of the sea of political oblivion.

But he survived each and every one of his self-inflicted blunders.

As readers of the SCPR know, The Report has bird-dogged Healy each step of the way.

Healy is now nearing the end of his second full term as mayor and seems unstoppable in his quest to be a Democrat - mind you - who on January, 2016 will be sworn into a third term in Ohio's eight largest city located in the state's seventh largest county and its county seat.

The Ohio Democratic Party (ODP), on the other hand, has experienced the reverse of Healy's political trek.

And it can be traced, the SCPR thinks, to the inept ODP leadership Chris Redfern of Port Clinton.

In early 2012, there was a gigantic battle within the Ohio Democratic Party Central Committee  whether or not Redfern was going to be reelected chairman.  There were election challenges (the primary election, March 2012) across Ohio's counties including Stark as to whether or not a pro-Redfern central committee person would be elected.

Healy was Redfern's man in Stark.  As he was brought to the fore of the Democratic Party by Strickland in 2008.

He was elected and dutifully participated in Redfern's reelection as chairman.

As we now know, Redfern's continuance as chairman proved to be a political disaster in the making for the 2014 statewide elections.

Republicans won all statewide non-judicial offices comfortably, if not by a landslide.

Kasich obliterated Clevelander Ed FitzGerald in the gubernatorial race.

And the Dems managed to lose five seats in the Ohio House of Representatives (including Redfern's very own seat in Ottawa County).

The Democrats did manage to continue to hold 10 out 33 seats in the Ohio Senate, if one calls "treading water" being an accomplishment.

As he should have done in the light of the devastation of the Ohio Democratic Party - overall - during his reign as chairman, Redfern resigned on November 4, 2014, immediately after the crushing results of the election were known.

Now Ohio's "organized" Democrats are left with the task of "picking up the pieces."

The "picker-up-in-chief" is to be David Pepper, the Ohio Dems' unsuccessful attorney general candidate in 2014.

So where is Chairman Pepper to look for help in reconstructing the Ohio Democratic Party?

How about William J. Healy, II, mayor of Canton, Ohio?

Healy has had a few additional blunders since being elected in 2011 by a plurality, not a majority; namely:

• losing Warren Price as his service director and chief of staff after a falling out,
• taking command of a Canton police car and acting the "cop on the beat,"
• trying to change the rules of the Stark County Crime Lab to bring in "under the existing rules" unqualified director of the lab, and
• "mistakingly" (according to him) using a Canton Community Improvement Corporation credit card for personal purchases which he reimbursed for

But nothing else of late.

Hold your breath, please.

It could be that he is finally maturing as Ohio's eight largest municipality chief executive officer.

In 2014, he was president of the Ohio Municipal League.

In recent Canton City Council meetings he has taken to bragging about how Canton is pulling itself up out of the ashes of devastating events (i.e. the Great Recession of 2008, draconian State of Ohio funding of local government cuts and the like) and is now on a track to be one of Ohio's great success stories as "a comeback city."

Here a video from Monday night (January 5, 2015) of his sharing the latest good news:

• on Canton unemployment being down to record low levels and concomitant income tax revenues being up for 2014, and on
• economic development and increased hiring within the city

Being the modest man he is (as to be noted in the video), Healy does not single himself out has having effected the turnaround.

But politics being what they are, the SCPR can see that maybe going forward he will increasingly take credit for matters improving in Canton and that maybe, just maybe he can do the same for Ohio.

There was talk that he might be a statewide candidate (i.e. for Ohio treasurer) in 2014.

So he does have interest in higher political office.

However, Ed FitizGerald proved that one cannot run for governor as a "smoke and mirrors" candidate.

And the SCPR assessment of Healy is that as of January 8, 2014 such is what Healy pretty much would be.

However, he registers an impressive majority win in the May 6, 2015 Democratic Primary election (he likely will not have an Republican opponent in the general election) and then builds on reelection with documented achievements going forward and thereby showcasing Canton as an authentic comeback city, it could be that he is a person that Pepper and Ohio Democratic Party shakers and movers look at as "to the rescue" leader in the statewide party.

Recently it has been announced that the Pro Football Fame complex is in for a major expansion.  Healy is fully behind the effort and has with council approval pledged $5 million in seed money into the project.

His administration seems to be on the verge of finalizing financing to assist in the reconstruction of the Onesto Hotel in downtown Canton as a showplace residential site.

Scores of eyesore houses are being removed from Canton's neighborhood landscape.

Major corridors (12th Street and Mahoning Road) have been or are in the process of being rehabbed.

All of which, the SCPR thinks, are precursors to what the Canton Comprehensive Citywide Plan (asked for by the mayor and approved/funded at $300,000 plus by council last year) will pick up on and expand upon when it is published within a few months.

Such have the potential to be the cornerstone of an "authentic" Canton turnaround.

Back in January, 2009 The Stark County Political Report was counting Healy out.

All Healy has done since is to politically survive and therein become the envy of 9 life cats.

He may now be ready to surge beyond survival and thrive politically.

Time will tell.

In the meantime, does anybody doubt that ODP Chairman David Pepper will be keeping one eye on third term as Democratic mayor of Canton, Ohio William J. Healy, II as a potential Party standard bearer in 2016?

STATEWIDE DEMS ADMIT THEY ARE ON THE CUSP OF A WIPEOUT; CAN GEORGE MAIER SURVIVE THE ONSLAUGHT?

VIDEOS

COMMISSIONER THOMAS BERNABEI

ENDORSES

MAIER

COMMISSIONER RICHARD REGULA

SAYS HE'S NEUTRAL

COMMISSIONER JANET CREIGHTON

SAYS SHE ONLY CARES

ABOUT

HERSELF & JOHN KASICH

Recent Ohio political news indicates that the Democrats have given up on the November 4th election.

It is looking more and more like Republican John Kasich's margin of victory will challenge George Voinovich's resounding defeat of Democrat Rob Burch back in 1994.

Two days ago, the SCPR got this email (extract):

Martin,

Democrats are just two points away from a complete wipeout.

That's what a Quinnipiac pollster announced today. But he also said something else -- that nearly half of Ohioans don't know enough about what's at stake in this election and that a quarter of the people supporting the current governor are likely to change their minds.
...

Melissa Klide Hedden
Finance Chair

And a few days ago, this from the Cleveland Plain Dealer "online" edition:

One might think that these headlines spells doom for the candidacy of Stark County Democratic Party appointed sheriff George T. Maier.

But not necessarily.

George's brother Johnnie A. Maier, Jr survived the 1994 candidacy of Burch (losing 72% to 24% to Republican Voinovich) and, in fact, pretty much reversed the percentages (66% to 34% [rounded off] in his reelection bid to the Ohio House of Representatives.

Twenty years later, is Stark County political history about to repeat itself?

Not likely, because a number of things have changed.

First, the 56th Ohio House District is not the equivalent of Stark County as a whole.  Junior had the Democratic stronghold of Massillon in his district.

While the SCPR thinks that Stark County leans Democratic (especially in presidential years); the county is pretty evenly divided in terms of the chances of a Republican or a Democrat being elected.

Second, the Maier name in terms of political oomph, even is Massillon, is not what it used to be when Johnnie got the family enmeshed in local politics.

At one time, the SCPR thought Johnnie was an up and coming, democratic-republican system enhancing public official.

But no more.

Beginning in 2002, yours truly has gotten an "up close and personal look" at Johnnie and in seeing all of his political warts, The Report now sees him and his sidekick Stark County Dems' political director Shane Jackson as being Stark's foremost political bullies.

And it seems that more and more Stark Countians are taking on the SCPR's view of this former chairman of the Stark County Democratic Party.

From what The Report has experienced of George since he became the Stark County Democratic Party appointee as sheriff, it appears that he is also a "you can agree with me or you can be wrong" sort of guy.

He exudes arrogance.

Exactly what one wants in a law enforcement officer, no?

While The Report does not think George, in his race for sheriff against Republican Larry Dordea, can match Johnnie's 1994 feat; he just might show like - "a Salmon swimming up stream against a rushing current" in the species' annual trek to the spawning grounds - that he can withstand the Ed FitzGerald generated political Tsunami that is about to engulf Ohio and Stark County.

A Maier survival seems plausible in light of what the SCPR views as a Dordea "patty cakes" campaign approach and the apparent unwillingness of a key Stark County Republican (Creighton) to go "all out for Larry."

Maier received a boost on Wednesday from Stark County Commissioner Thomas Bernabei who, in a press conference (question posed by an Akron Beacon Journal reporter) at the end of the regular weekly meeting of the commissioners, endorsed George.



Richard Regula (a Republican, and son of former long time 16th District Congressman Ralph Regula, now retired) repeated his "I am going to be neutral" stance which the SCPR blogged on recently.



The Report does not believe him, given his connections to what the SCPR calls "The Maier Loyalty Club."

Commissioner Janet Creighton, Stark County's most influential and powerful Republican politician came off very disloyal to fellow Republican Dordea in her statement that she is for herself (Ha! Ha! Ha! - she's running unopposed) and for Republican gubernatorial candidate John Kasich.

She very obviously refused the opportunity to endorse Dordea.



Creighton is heading up Kasich's reelection effort in a northeast Ohio multi-county area (including Stark County).

She did sign his petition in January of this year when he filed to run for sheriff.

The SCPR's take is that with political friends like Janet Creighton, who needs political enemies, which, of course, Dordea has in spades with the Maier Loyalty Club who are "all out" for Maier.

One thing that the Dordea campaign needs to put him over the top next month is to be embraced in Stark County by Kasich.

Crieghton is in a position to facilitate such a connection, but the vibes that The Report is getting is that such is not currently on the table.

Given the shellacking that Kasich is going to visit on FitzGerald, Dordea certainly would benefit from videos, billboards, campaign literature and the like showing him arm-in-arm with the governor with a statement from the lips of Ohio's chief executive saying: "Vote for me and my friend Larry Dordea."

Another problem for Dordea is a surfacing of discontent within the upper level Stark County Republicans with campaign chairman Alex Zumbar who is the Stark County treasurer.

He is described by a top notch Republican as being extremely conservative in what he is willing to counsel Dordea to do in tactics and campaign strategy.

Some Republicans want Dordea to go after Maier on character issues.

In the view of the SCPR, there is plenty to go after.

Off the top of the head, there are three opportunities for Dordea to use to "seal the deal" with Stark County voters; namely:

• his "alleged" derogatory treatment of state highway patrolmen as the assistant director of Public safety,
• claims of "over-the-treatment" of Lawrence Township trustee Michael Stevens while he served as a streets department supervisor in the Cicchnelli adminstration, and
• what number of Stark Countians think to be his politicizing of the Stark County sheriff's department.

THE HIGHWAY PATROL FACTOR

In August, 2008 the Columbus Dispatch published an article about allegations that Maier had abused Ohio state highway patrolman, to wit:

Some troopers and officers whom Maier once commanded as a captain accused him of threats, intimidation, favoritism and creating a hostile workplace.

When state troopers leveled charges of misconduct against the assistant director of the Ohio Department of Public Safety, the top boss and top cop began butting heads.

Col. Richard Collins, superintendent of the State Highway Patrol, strongly urged that Ohio's inspector general be brought in to investigate Assistant Public Safety Director George Maier.

However, Public Safety Director Henry Guzman declined to dig into the charges against his No. 2, ruling that there were no grounds to justify either an in-house or outside investigation of Maier.

The article goes on to describe the allegations:

Some troopers and officers whom Maier once commanded as a captain accused him of threats, intimidation, favoritism and creating a hostile workplace.

The Dispatch tried to interview Maier, but he refused.

As far as the SCPR knows, Maier has never told his side of the story.

As a candidate to Stark County's "top cop" position, The Report thinks is obligated to.

Obviously, he is not going to step forward on his own.

Exactly what is the Dordea campaign doing to "smoke Maier out" on this issue at joint appearances and by having campaign supporters question him in campaign appearances?

Moreover, why aren't the "unanswered questions" being trumpeted in campaign literature and on the social media?

You can bet that tables were turned, Maier supporters would be all over Dordea.

THE MIKE STEVENS INCIDENT

Back in 2012, before George T. Maier was a candidate for sheriff, the SCPR did a blog on allegations of mistreatment by Maier made by Lawrence Township trustee Mike Stevens in his capacity as a streets department employee of Massillon city government.

Here is a summary of Stevens account:

Again, the SCPR thinks that Maier owes it to Stark County voters to give his account.

But he won't.

If any part of the state highway patrol allegations and the Stevens' allegations are true, it certainly bears on the question to be decided by Stark Countians on November 4th:  Is George T. Maier suited to be elected Stark County sheriff?

Dordea appears to be taking the "high road" and that is commendable.  But it might well mean  that he setting himself up to lose once again in his quest to become Stark County sheriff.

IS THE SHERIFF'S DEPT BEING POLITICIZED?

The SCPR thinks so.

The Report blogged on this issue on Wednesday.

This campaign should be Larry Dordea's to lose in light of the favorable political environment for Republicans and the political baggage that George T. Maier carries.

The Report thinks it is highly "chancy" for the Dordea campaign to primarily be relying on 2014 being a banner year for Republicans.

Such appears to be the case.

If it is and folks like Creighton do not pick up the pace, Dordea and Zumbar and the Stark County Republican Party may well wake up on November 5, 2014 to this SCPR headline:

MAIER DOES A "SALMON SWIMMING UP STREAM AGAINST A SWIFT CURRENT" DASH TO VICTORY!