HOPE FOR A UNIFIED STARK COUNTY CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT? DOES THIS PROSPECT UPSET STARK GOP'S "PARTY LOYALTY OVER STARK COUNTY INTERESTS" JEFF MATTHEWS & CHRISTINA HAGAN?

The "rule of law" may turn out to be the saving grace for Stark County in terms of all of it ending up in the same congressional district after all.

However, an Ohio Supreme Court ruling instituting the rule of law may be upsetting to Stark County GOP Chairman Jeff Matthews and state Rep. Christina Hagan (Republican - Marlboro - the 50th) because both indicated that they were "pleased as punch" with an Ohio General Assembly redistricting plan fracturing Stark County into three districts.

Contrary to most Stark Countians, being the consummate partisans they are, Matthews and Hagan saw a silver lining in the gerrymandering of Stark in that (in their minds) it comes out that Stark has three times as much clout in Congress being in three different districts.

The SCPR's take is that, in fact, Stark residents in the lesser (in terms of Stark geography) districts, will likely take a huge back seat, if not shut out altogether, under the fractured plan.

On September 26th, Ohio Republicans jammed down the throats of all Ohioans (Democrat, Republican, and Independent) a U.S. Constitution which required every 10-year redistricting plan designed to keep Republicans in control of the overall political makeup of the Ohio delegation to the United States Congress.

Under the likely direction of Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern, a group called Ohioans for Fair Districts formed, and filed a lawsuit in the Ohio Supreme Court to require Republican Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted to accept petitions, preliminary to gathering a required larger number of valid voter signatures, to permit rank-and-file Ohioans to weigh-in on the Republican plan.

On Thursday last, the Ohio Supreme Court followed legal precedent established by itself in 2009 in LetOhioVote.org v. Brunner and Taft v. Franklin Cty. Court of Common Pleas (1998) in arriving at its decision of Ohioans for Fair Districts v. Husted.

As things stand now, Ohioans for Fair Districts needs to collect a total of 231,149 votes in order to get the measure on a statewide ballot (get this - the November, 2012 ballot) by December 26, 2011. 

However, Ohioans for Fair Districts say they plan to ask the court to extend the amount of time within which they are required to collect and submit signatures to Husted.

It would be interesting to watch Matthews and Hagan in the eventuality that Ohioans for Fair Districts get the redistricting enabling legislation (Ohio House Bill 319) on the ballot.

Would they stick to the Ohio Republican Party line, or will they bend to local pressure and fall into line with the predominant view (Republicans and Democrats alike) in Stark County?

The Report uses "would" rather than "will" because the SCPR does not believe that a vote will actually take place even if enough valid signatures are collected.

What "will" happen is that Republican Ohio Speaker of the House will call a special session of the Ohio General Assembly and Republicans will be forced - by virtue of the Supreme Court ruling - to compromise with Democrats to the extent that Democrats will prevail on the Ohioans for Fair Districts to withdraw the planned referendum.

That, folks, is political reality!

DISCUSSION: WILL SENATOR DO WHAT'S RIGHT OR WILL HE DO WHAT'S POLITICAL?

Dennis Willard, Columbus Bureau Chief, of the Akron Beacon Journal (remember - The Canton Repository - [Stark County's only countywide newspaper] has no political reporter in Columbus) wrote an interesting piece about how politicized Ohio Auditor Mary Taylor has become (or, more likely, has always been) a highly partisan politician even though she has a responsibility to be a "rule of law" person as a state government administrator.

It is especially interesting when an "accountability/auditing" person is primarily a political partisan. Because Ohio Republicans are nearly shut out of state government in Ohio these days, the Ohio Republican Party (OPR) is using her (though she likely is fully complicit) as a point person to oppose the Strickland administration in any way she can for any political gain she can make for the OPR.

The flap that Willard writes about is Taylor's prediction (looking into a "red" tinted crystal ball). Before the 2010 - 2011 budget has been dealt with, Taylor is saying that there will be an $8 billion shortfall in the 2012 - 2013 budget.

Strickland through his political mouthpiece (Democratic state party chair Chris Refern) says that Taylor and House Republicans are set to be Ohio's version of the "Just Say No Republicans" (i.e. refuse the stimulus money [including the jobs that the money will create] and, by the way, cut taxes),

Willard points out that "just say no" (or, if you will, play the role of backbenchers) will work with isolated Republicans like Taylor and Ohio House Republicans but not likely with Ohio Senate Republicans. Unlike minority Republican members of the House, "in the majority" Republican state senators actually have a state constitutional responsibility, working with the governor and majority Democrats in the House, to provide Ohio with a balanced budget.

This is where Stark County comes in.

Undoubtedly, Stark Countians Scott Oelslager (Republican - Jackson) and Todd Snitchler (Republican - Lake) will toe the party line in the Ohio House Republican caucus.

Both Oelslager and Snitchler like to insinuate that they seek opportunities to be bipartisan. But the STARK COUNTY POLITICAL REPORT (The Report) sees very little evidence to support either's claim.

Oelslager has done a little bit along bipartisan lines over his 20+ years in the Ohio General Assembly. While Snitchler is in his first term, there is no "real" evidence (only rhetoric) that he will shake free of Ohio minority leader Billy Batchelder and do what is good for Ohio and Stark County over his political party.

If you take his performance at Matt Patrick's and Jason Wise's highly partisan ditty (with denials of partisanship galore - "thou protest too much") at Tax Day, Tea Day - Canton as any indication where Snitchler is on the right wing continuum, it is beginning to appear to The Report that Snitchler is pretty much a carbon copy of his predecessor John Hagan except he may be a little smarter. He should be. After all he is a lawyer who should have superior analytical skills.

Maybe in time Stark Countians will realize that Todd Snitchler is not one wit sharper than Hagan, just more polished. And perhaps even worse on policy matters.

State Senator Kirk Schuring is the local politician to watch on the budget.

Schuring keeps telling yours truly that he is "no cookie cutter Republican."

Well, according to Willard, his vote on the Strickland budget will be "come to Jesus" time for the good senator and his colleagues in the Ohio senate.

We shall see.

Watch Ohio Auditor "Mary Taylor" (from the nearby City of Green - Summit County) speak for herself in the accompanying video snippet from the full piece produced by the Ohio Republicans.

Be sure to note the "great" Ohio economy that Taylor refers to in the video that apparently only a blindly partisan Republican such as Mary can see as having come from Republican one-party-rule for the better part of 20 years in the pre-Strickland political era of Ohio.

How did the rest of us miss the booming Ohio economy that Taylor thinks came out of the Voinovich and Taft administrations and the Republican controlled Ohio General Assembly?

DISCUSSION: WHAT'S NEXT FOR BERNABEI? A RUN AGAINST SCOTT OELSLAGER FOR THE OHIO'S 29TH DISTRICT SENATE SEAT?

Currently, Republicans control the Ohio Senate 21 to 12. Half those seat will be up for election in 2012. One of the contested seats will be Ohio's 29th now held by Kirk Schuring.

Anyone who has followed the STARK COUNTY POLITICAL REPORT (The Report) knows how utterly dissatisfied The Report is that Stark County is in this vicious political cycle in which Republicans Schuring and Oelslager trade the 29th and Ohio House District #51 back and forth as if they were playing a two man game of volleyball.

Well, its not volleyball and Stark County is getting the "short shrift" while Schuring and Oelslager circumvent the spirit of term-limits (which, by the way, was instituted by the Republicans back in 1994 as a way to get back in power in the Ohio General Assembly.

Oelslager told The Report (previously reported on this blog) at the 2008 Stark County Fair that, yes, he intends to run once again for the 29th.

Schuring has not definitely decided to run for the 51st. He may run for county commissioner or county auditor. The Report believes he will take the safe way out and run for the 51st. However, Jeff Matthews and other "top gun" Stark County Republicans will be putting pressure for Schuring to run for a county office since there are no non-judicial Republicans currently serving in countywide office.

Part of the problem of Schuring and Oelslager having license to trade the 29th and 51st back and forth lies with Stark County Democratic Party chairman Johnnie A. Maier, Jr. Stark County Democrats either put up novices in these districts or nobody (as in the case with Oelslager in the November, 2008 elections).

Over the years The Report has noted how glowingly Maier, Schuring, and Oelslager speak of each other. Not that folks on the other side of the isle have to be mortal enemies with one another, but Stark Countians do not need any sweetheart deals. What we need is strong political competition across the ballot.

In the case of the 29th and 51st we are not getting it.

Since Maier has NOT been able to figure out how to get strong candidates in these districts, The Report will move in to assist.

Now that Healy has fired Tom Bernabei, Stark County Democrats have the ideal person to take on Oelslager in the 29th.

Early on The Report predicted early that Boccieri would defeat Schuring in the 16th Congressional District.

Just look at the map that accompanies this blog. Does anyone doubt that the popular Tom Bernabei would be a lock to defeat Oelslager.

Viable Democratic candidates do not lose countywide in Stark County these days. Only those who do not focus almost exclusively on the core Democratic areas lose.

This is the strategy that propelled Commissioner Todd Bosley (over sitting commissioner Republican Richard Regula) and Commissioner Pete Ferguson (over term-limited out 8 year representative - 50th - Republican John Hagan).

Neither Bosley nor Ferguson were household names when they filed to run for commissioner. But they did focus on the Democratic base.

Bernabei would handily win over Oelslager countywide. Oelslager would win Jackson and Lake by comfortable margins. However, Bernabei would win much stronger in Canton, Plain and Perry. The rest of the county would split about evenly.

What's more. Bernabei has solid legislative experience. His years in Canton City Council put him in good stead. Bernabei is generally recognized as being the best city councilman of modern times.

The Ohio Senate and Governor Ted Strickland desperately need Bernabei's knowledge of the legislative process and his leadership abilities (even William J. Healy, II recognizes his leadership ability - remember Healy rated Bernabei 49 out of 50).

Right now Bernabei very likely just wants to chill.

The Report calls on Governor Ted Strickland, Ohio Democratic Party chair Chris Redfern, Senate minority leader Capri Cafaro and Stark County Party chair Johnnie A. Maier, Jr. to urge Tom Bernabei to run against Oelslager in Ohio's 29th.