GONZALEZ "DUSTING UP" CHRISTINA HAGAN IN 16TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT GOP BATTLE?

ON

CAMPAIGN FUNDRAISING

FACTOR

Cleveland.com has an advance report from the Anthony Gonzalez campaign (a press release) chortling about the campaign's apparent "dusting up" of Stark County's Christina Hagan (a Republican from Marlboro Township, currently a state representative representing Ohio's 50th Ohio House District) on campaign finance fundraising for the current quarter in their competing campaigns to determine whom 16th congressional district Republicans will select as the GOP nominee to succeed current congressman Jim Renacci (abandoned his congressional seat to run for Ohio governor) in the general off year elections of 2018.

Quarterly reports by federal office seeking candidates are due to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) for third quarter fundraising as of September 30th and should be available in detail to the public on or about October 15th.

In third quarter reporting, it appears Gonzalez will be showing some $525,000 in fundraising.

Nothing from the Hagan campaign in the Cleveland.com article.

The Hagan campaign silence is deafening, no?

Which The Stark County Political Report thinks means that Hagan, who told local Republicans she planned to raise $1.5 million for the May 8, 2018 Republican 16th congressional district primary election ($15/16 million if she wins the primary through the November general election), is in a campaign tailspin which might cause her to rethink running for re-election as state representative.

Tom Patton (currently a state representative) of Strongsville is another Republican who is seeking the GOP nod in May.  His name likely is the politically strongest in the Republican line up in the early stages of the campaign.  The SCPR thinks he is more likely to being slugging it out with Gonzalez as we get nearer to May, 2008 than Stark County's Christina Hagan, who, by the way, DOES NOT LIVE in the 16th.  Rather she lives in the 7th represented by Republican Bob Gibbs.

Back when as a legislator she participated as a matter of legislative act in voting for the above-configured every ten year redistricting as required by the U.S. Constitution, she thought it was a great idea to have Stark split up among three congressional districts. 

Formerly, Stark County "as a whole" was in the 16th.

Moreover, she did not have the foresight to see that she might one day want to run for the 16th congressional district seat and thereby missed an opportunity to insist that the 16th be moved a few miles east to put her home in the 16th.

One of her greatest political vulnerabilities now is the FACT she does not live in the 16th.

A case of "poetic justice," no?

Early campaign fundraising is critically important to the likes of Gonzalez (new to office seeking) for novice candidates must build up what politicos call "name I.D." with voters.

The way to overcome being a relative political unknown is in garnering "earned media" (e.g. putting out a press release showing his third quarter fundraising of some $525,000 whereas his main competitor remain silent) and, of course, using the "early" money advantage itself (EMILY—early money is like yeast—in media/campaign literature buys effectively used to build up name recognition on the part of targeted voters.

He too is not doing a high five over third quarter campaign financing numbers which suggests that he has to ramp it up big time if he is to be competitive with Gonzalez.

Gonzalez has impressive credentials, the most interesting of which to the SCPR is that he was a philosophy major at The Ohio State University as he was starring on the gridiron for the Buckeyes on his way to a National Football League stint with the Indianapolis Colts.

Could Gonzalez be a politician who can think?

The Lord be praised, no?

Unless, of course, you deem yourself to be a handmaiden of the Lord a la Christina Hagan!

CHRISTINA HAGAN ON HER WAY TO RAISING MILLIONS IN HER RUN FOR A U.S. HOUSE SEAT?

THE GREATEST CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGN EVER?

In a March, 2016 interview with ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council), state Representative Christina Hagan said she wants "to do something great for our community ... ."

She currently represents the 50th Ohio House District.

In early April, she announced she is giving up her seat in the Ohio House (she can run for one more term before being term limited out) to run for the 16th Congressional District  U.S. House seat of Jim Renacci, who is running for governor.

Maybe The Stark County Political Report (SCPR) has missed something, but nothing comes to mind as Christina Hagan having done something great for the 50th let alone the state of Ohio, if that is how she wishes to define community.

To be in a position to show how great she is as a financially adept politician, the SCPR has learned that Hagan is likely telling Republican Party bigwigs that she WILL raise $1.5 million in her quest to gain the Republican nomination to be the party's candidate for the 16th,  come May 8, 2018 and next year's Republican primary election.

Impressive, no?

But that ain't nothing.

Hagan goes on to say that if she is successful in getting the GOP nomination, she will raise $16 million for the general election to be held in November, 2018.

By my book, raising that kind of money pretty much makes her a shoe-in to be the successor to Renacci.

One has to be highly skeptical that Hagan can come anywhere near raising that kind of money.

The passage of time will tell the tale.

With this blog, the SCPR begins tracking Hagan's fundraising efforts.

The Federal Election Commission reports that as of her July15, 2017 reporting of contributions received as June 30th she has raised $127,265.

The next reporting period is through September 30th and should be published shortly after the next reporting date of October 15th.

During the current reporting period Hagan shows only about 39 different contributors (e.g. Walton Armour with two contributions counts for one unique contributor; John/Tina Hagan [her parents] with four contributions count as one unique contributor).  There are a total of 68 contributions.

Many of the contributors are "locals" meaning residents of Alliance, Louisville, Canton and the like.

Having  raised $127,265 is not bad for a start.  But it is a long way $1.5 million.

According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer (i.e. Cleveland.com), two other Cleveland area Republicans have declared or expressed interest in running for the 16th District opening.

In terms of fundraising, that the two, Anthony Gonzalez of Westlake and state Rep. Tom Patton of Strongsville throwing their hast into the ring likely means that prospective donors will not be that easy to come by for Hagan, especially in view of the fact that she does not live in the 16th as Gonzalez and Patton do.

Names on Hagan's list that Stark Countians should be familiar with include Sarah Brown (wife of retired Court of Common Pleas judge Charles Brown), Stephen Coon of Coon Restoration & Sealants and her parents.  Father John served in the Ohio House from 2000 through 2008.

Here is Hagan's current FEC reported campaign finance contributions:

CONTINUING SERIES: REDISTRICTING, "GETTING TO 'ONE PERSON—ONE VOTE'"

UPDATED:  MONDAY, JUNE 26TH

LINK to First in Series of Blogs on Redistricting

June 12, 2017

During the days that I was a registered for voting purposes as a Democrat and highly active (2002 through early 2008) in the Stark County Democratic Party, I was astonished at the factionalism and infighting that I observed within the officialdom of the party.

There were the Maier/Jackson Democrats, the Perez Democrats, the Healy Democrats, the Ferrero Democrats, the union democrats, the Swanson Democrats and on and on the list of political personality centered Democrat went on—seemingly, unending.

Shifting factional alliances have been the order of the day among "organized" Democrats as a way to elect one of their own to public office countywide and in the political subdivisions in Stark County.

Nonetheless, for most of that span the Dems completely dominated non-judicial countywide office.

But it was a different picture at the state and federal level of elective office.

From 2000 on (earlier at the congressional level and Ralph Regula and Frank T. Bow before him), Stark and Ohio "organized" Democrats have fallen on hard times in terms of parity vis-a-vis Republicans in gaining elective office.

Only in 2006 and a nationwide Democratic year and evidenced in "the man from 'Duck Run'," namely; Ted Strickland did the Dems gain pretty much "across the board" statewide elective office.

Although Summit Countian Barbara Sykes eked out fellow Summit Countians Mary Taylor in Stark, Taylor won statewide.

However, despite the statewide Democratic candidate landslide success, Stark "organized" Democrats were unable to take advantage of the Democratic statewide blowout.  (Note:  Regula won district wide)

Although The Stark County Political Report is committed to getting Ohio's legislative districting schemes configured to competitive (meaning, by the district registered voters makeup,  either the GOP or Dems could win depending on the issues and qualities of the candidates), nobody should think that the lack of competition is necessarily only owing to Republican engineered gerrymandering to their advantage.

I think that lackluster party leadership, internal bickering and factionalism, pedestrian candidates and the like may well be determinative of the Dems poor performance in Stark-connected legislative races than perhaps districting gerrymandering favor the Republican candidate.

On  June 25th, the Cleveland Plain Dealer (Cleveland.com) which has been doing superlative coverage of a new redistricting effort aimed at Ohio's congressional districts assesses that even if  (according to an Associated Press analysis), an initiative by civic effort Fair Congressional Districts for Ohio, is approved by voters in November, 2018, Ohio will not over the long haul of implementing the legislation achieve parity, more or less,  between Republican/Democratic legislator representation in Washington and Columbus, to wit:

An interesting finding in light of an April 17th article which suggested that gerrymandering was the overarching reason that today Republicans control 12 of 16 congressional seats and a supermajority in the Ohio House and Senate.

The SCPR sees evidence supporting the notion that in Stark County it is not only gerrymandering being a factor in being causative for the competitive imbalance between Rs and Ds in D.C. and at the statehouse.

Additional reasons include the political ineptness of  (see the graphic above on how "to be non competitive" the Stark Dems have been in legislative races in recent years) and a self-serving nature of the leadership of the Stark County Democratic Party.

I think that one of the best opportunities that Stark Dems had a pretty decent chance of wrestling away of the Republican-held 50th Ohio House seat (since 2000) would have been had then Plain Township trustee since 1992 had Giavasis decided to take on political neophyte and Republican Christina Hagan running to be "retained" as state representative (originally appointed by the Republican House Caucus on March 2, 2011).

Parts of Plain Township in the wake of 2010 U.S. Census reapportionment were placed in the resulting new configuration of Ohio's 50th House District.

Plain is Stark County's largest township with a strong Democratic Party registration.

As pointed out above, Giavasis had been at that time trustee for many years.

Giavasis was not a wallflower trustee as so many of trustees are.

He over his years as trustee had engaged a number of high profile issues like:

• a 2008 fight over a projected AEP/Ohio Power rate increase,
• the Oakwood Square viability issue and the lease-going-forward-stranglehold that grocery chain Giant Eagle had on Oakwood in keeping a successor/competitive grocery story out of the Plain Township mall, and 
• being the lead public official not only in Stark County but all of Ohio in trying to affect the way fracking (also denying fracking on township property) in Plain Township.

Both issues brought him plenty of media ink including numerous blogs by the SCPR.

A truism in politics uttered by many of a politician is something along the lines:  "I don't care what you write (positive or negative), just spell my name right."

Although I had and continue to have a lot of reservations about Giavasis as a quality public official, in the interest of political balance in the Ohio Legislature, I encouraged him to take on incumbent Christina Hagan in the 2012 election.

"You know, I know, and everybody knows" that the first time out for elective office is the time to try to defeat an incumbent politician.

Apparently, Louis Giavasis didn't know.

Or, he knew:

• that ultimately, when Nancy Reinbold retired as Stark County clerk of courts (a position I think she "inherited for safekeeping" from Louis' brother Phil [now Stark County Democratic Party chairman]), he had a "sure fire" position awaiting him as a Reinbold successor clerk of courts because of his brother's influence as party chairman and so, 
• to borrow from two chairmen ago Stark Dems chairman Johnnie A. Maier, Jr (the real power in the party, to this day), "Why would I do that," that is say:  
• exchange a chancy thing (e.g. running for the Ohio House against an incumbent) 
• for a sure thing (being in line for appointment as clerk of courts)

Giavasis was also floated out as a potential candidate for Stark County commissioner in the 2010 elections on the heels of what Stark County civic activist Craig T. Conley has termed as being "Zeiglergate."

Perhaps both of the foregoing considerations amount to what a well known national politician would characterize as being "fake news" done to dissemble on Louis' real objective.

One could think on the basis of the AEP/Ohio Power, the Oakwood square activism and his "first out-the-box" elected public official to flirt with being anti-fracking that Louis might want be "the first" to go up against gerrymandering as a public service in the interest of giving some reality to the basic democratic-republican value of:  one person, one vote.

In hindsight, I think Louis Giavasis is just as self-serving political as brother Phil, Johnnie, Kim, Jamie (Healy),  John and Tim; notwithstanding his flirtations with being a civic minded politician as spelled heretofore in this blog.

Stark County does has its own "political" swamp in emulation of Washington, D.C., which, of course, hasn't change one iota with the election of a Republican president.

While this particular blog focuses on the Democrats, you can bet your bottom dollar that Stark's "organized" Republicans who hold elective office are equally adept at looking a political party interests and personal political interests above the public interest(s).

I think that Louis' flirtations were just that and not to be taken seriously.

Interestingly enough,  the "sure thing" turned out to be not so sure.

In November, 2015 Ohioans passed an amendment to the Ohio Constitution which sets up a new process by which Ohio's legislative districts  (i.e. the Ohio House/Senate) will be configured.

However, there will be no new districts at the very earliest until the 2022 election for the Ohio legislative.

The Democrats current romance with the Fair Congressional Districts for Ohio is grounded in hope against hope that they can use whatever reapportionment formula might come henceforth if Ohioans approve the Fair Congressional District for Ohio measure to recover majority political status across America.

Who thinks that "organized" Democrats down deep in their beings care one bit about being fair in politics?

"I know, you know, and everybody knows" that a sizable number of Americans apparently do not.

Slowly but surely more and more Americans are opting out of participating in our democratic-republican processes as evidenced by the fact that 45% of registered Americans did not vote in the 2016 presidential election.

If our democratic-republic eventually fails, it will be of  death by "a thousand (millions of?) cuts" a large part of which are administered by disingenuous local politicians.

It will not be the politicos who reverse the public skepticism and cynicism.

Reversal and recovery, if it comes, will be at the hand of groups like the Fair Congressional Districts for Ohio!

It appears that for the most party "organized" political parties and many of their candidates (elected and unsuccessful) do not have a "civic" bone in their structure/bodies.

The only "pathway to 'political' salvation" will be with those organizations and citizens who fight for the public interest over the parochial interests.

CHRISTINA HAGAN: A U.S. "HOUSE FREEDOM CAUCUS" MEMBER IN WAITING?

UPDATED:  05/21/2017

In early April, Marlboro Township resident and state Representative Christina Hagan (the 50th Ohio House District) announced, though living in the 7th congressional district (represented by Republican Bob Gibbs), announced that she is running to become the Republican Party nominee for the 16th congressional district.



I can remember Stark County/16th district Republicans climbing all over John Boccieri (a Youngstown area Democrat) for announcing for the 16th district seat (which then included all of Stark County) before eventually moving to the Alliance area.

Even then, Alliance area elected Republican leaders would snicker and implied that they questioned whether or not Boccieri was actually living in the 16th.

There is no requirement that a candidate within a given state actually live in the district he/she is running for a seat in Congress.

But in a Republican primary, Hagan living outside the district may become a difference making distinction.

There is  an additional touch of irony in Hagan living outside the district.

She was all on board when in 2012 the Ohio legislature controlled by supermarjority Republicans gerrymandered Stark County:

• placing the northeast corner of Stark in Democrat Tim Ryan's 13th congressional district,
• putting the northeast sector of the county in Jim Renacci's reconstituted 16th congressional district (notice the spike down the center of Stark County to capture the Timken Company complex within Renacci's district), and
• then locating the rest of Stark County (including the Hagan residence) in the 7th congressional district

See all of Ohio's 2012 Republican gerrymandered district at Ohio secretary of state Jon Husted's website.

(Note:  the SCPR acknowledges that if in power,  majority elected Ohio statehouse Democrats would do the same thing; but gerrymandering is not in the public interest but rather in political party interest, whichever one of the two majors it might be.  In benefiting the election fortunes of  their respective political parties, Republican/Democratic controlled legislatures undermine the vitality and continued viability of our democratic-republican system of government.)

Current Congressman Jim Renacci has decided to run for Ohio governor.

Earlier in May, I noted that Hagan as state representative had voted against the 2018-2019 biennium (meaning every two years) Ohio government budget bill.

Hmmm?

What is that about?

After all, it is a bill cobbled together by Republican governor John Kasich with substantial input from the supermajority Republicans controlling the Ohio General Assembly.

Hagan was not the lone lower House Republican (note:  bill currently under consideration by the Senate) to vote "no" on the budget.  She was one of twelve.  Nonetheless the bill easily passed the House.

On May 7th, I both as the author of The Stark County Political Report who happens to be a Hagan constituent sent Hagan this e-mail:

No answer until the May 12th edition of the Hartville News, an extract of which appears in the lead graphic of this blog.

To repeat Hagan's position on Medicaid (highlighting added):

I suspect that Hagan was responding to my e-mail through the Hartville News because she cannot handle the prospect that as response might lead to an exchange of e-mails in which she has to deal with questions she does feel comfortable in answering.

That she failed to give a direct answer to my e-mail should be problematical to Republican voters who will vote in the 2018 Republican primary election.

Should she be elected to Congress, it is predictable that she will only converse with constituents who see eye-to-eye with her.

One of Hagan's plays as a politician is to imply as a working woman having been to suggest that as a restaurant worker prior to getting appointed to the Ohio House in 2010, she understands and can relate to folks who are up against it financially/economically.

Pre-Obamacare many eighteen-year-olds and over stayed on their parents health care insurance by taking a minimum number of college course.

While a college student, she amassed an $80,000 debt for her education.

Of course, now, as a state legislator, her annual income is greatly increaseD and as the the recipient of state of Ohio provided health care insurance benefits she undoubtedly has lost her connection to medicaid eligible Ohioans/Stark Countians.

As a restaurant worker, she likely did not receive much if anything in health care coverage.

But she may have been covered under her parents' health care plan as a under age 26 eligible person as provided for under Obamacare.

If such was the case, then that would make her a typical hypocritical politician.

Perhaps Ms. Hagan will tell us all in particulars what her health care insurance was while she was a restaurant worker, single and living in the Marlboro Township home she was raised in?

It is always interesting to me that politicians who like to tout their connection to the struggles of everyday people by past personal experience forget soon:   witness Hagan voting against the Ohio budget bill because it buttresses Republican governor John Kasich's compassionate commitment to helping "down and out Ohioans" in obtaining health care whereas Hagan apparently sees helping low income folks to attain health care as being a financial burden on Ohio's taxpayers.

I for one (and have to believe more Ohioan taxpayers than not) do not mind the extra tax burden of helping those who have nowhere to turn for basic health care needs.

Another position that Hagan touts for herself is that she is an independent minded Republican who and has and will continue to separate from "establishment Republican views" to chart her own political course.

Hagan does appear to have a penchant to thumb her her nose in at the GOP powers that be here and there but by and large is about a devoutly loyal Republican as one can be.

Given her anti-Medicaid-expansion statement in voting "no" (and, of course, specifically explaining the reason for her vote) on the state budget bill, among other telltale evidentiary signs to be presented in future SCPR blogs on the 16th congressional district race; I think Hagan is a perfect candidate to join up with the U.S. House of  Representative exclusively Republican membered (31 members)  "Freedom Caucus" which forced a defeat of President Trump initial try at repealing Obamacare; now a program that a majority of American population support as evidenced in recent polling.

Just take a look at what the Freedom Caucus stands for.

Seems to be the perfect connection for Candidate Hagan, no?

Ms. Hagan's largest hurdle to become the GOP 16th congrssional district nominee may be her ties to the Presidential Donald J. Trump administration.

Hagan was an early adopter of Trump as evidence at her attending both a fundraiser (Brookside Country Club), apparently, as a non-paying guest, and at Trump's Canton rally in September, 2016.

Everyday now it is more and more appearing that  President Trump could be in deep political trouble as it was announced yesterday that the U.S. Department of Justice has appointed a special prosecutor to assess his campaign ties to Russia which U.S. intelligence services (17 of them) have said tried to interfere with our presidential election of 2016.

Moreover, there is the Comey "you're fired" thing.

As far as the SCPR is concerned, Stark County elected officials who came out in support of Trump (now with unprecedented low national polling numbers) carry the burden for having been front runners for Trump as a matter of follow up accountability in terms of questioning the quality of their judgement and as an indication that political party identification may strongly suggest that with them political party identity "trumps" the American, Ohio and Stark County public interest.

The Republican index leaning of the 16th congressional district is not so favorable to a Republican candidate (espcially one likely to be a fringe Freedom Caucus member, if elected) that retaining the Renacci seat will be easily achieve.

Current polling data shows the American voting public favoring Democratic candidates by as much as 11 percentage points.

The one politically astute thing Hagan has done is to get out in front of potential Republican rivals in starting her campaign none of whom have announced.

But will smart political operations outweigh the political substance she brimgs to the Republican primary table next spring?

The Stark County Political Report, your most complete and thorough poliitical analysis resource for evaluating Stark County based/connected candidates for public office.

WILL HAGAN'S DRIVE ON "HEARTBEAT BILL" BE HER POLITICAL BANE OR PATHWAY TO POLITICAL STARDOM?

On August 13, 2013 Stark County's Christina Hagan (Republican - Ohio House District 50) of Marlboro Township introduced House Bill 248 which is known as "the Heartbeat Bill."

A co-sponsor was fellow Stark County Republican Kirk Schuring (Ohio House District 48) of Jackson Township.

It appears that unlike Arkansas and North Dakota which have passed similar legislation and which, predictably, are in the process of challenge in the federal court system, Hagan's bill in Ohio has about the same chance as the proverbial "snowball in Hell."

The bill would prevent medical doctors from aborting fetuses at about six weeks into a pregnancy which is the point about which a heartbeat can be detected.

While the life of a mother is an exception to the provision; pregnancy due to rape and incest is not.

But this legislative week has not been without some success for Hagan.

She did gain passage of her House Bill (HB) 10 with the support of all three of her fellow Stark County legislators.

HB 10 is legislation designed to prevent a repeat of the April, 2009 discovered theft of some $3 million from the Stark County treasury by former Chief Deputy Treasurer Vince Frustaci.  He is now serving time in federal prison for the theft.

While Hagan's work on HB 10 was significant for Stark Countians in light of the Frustaci matter, it did not get the near the notoriety that HB 248 got her.

As the SCPR sees it, Hagan's fixation on the heartbeat legislation could have either of two effects:

• it could doom any future political aspirations she has, or
• it could, especially in a federal office context, catapult in a limelight that might someday be the equivalent of:
•  Christine O'Donnell of Delaware fame for her extreme right wing Republican politics, or alternatively
• Michele Bachmann of Minnesota

That's how right-wing the SCPR thinks Hagan is.

For Hagan the key is whether or not she can avoid the tag of being "way out there somewhere" in the minds of more circumspect voters than the core right wingers who support her no matter what.

She did get a plurality for HB 248 in the Ohio House, but a majority is needed.

However, political observers who know Statehouse politics doubt she can get it through the Ohio Senate and, even if she does, through a gubernatorial veto.

Recently re-elected Governor John Kasich has presidential aspirations and he certainly does not want to be identified with the extreme right wing of the Republican Party.

A show of divisiveness even within the Ohio Republican Party is the fact that 11 of Hagan's fellow House Republican voted against her heartbeat bill.

Stark County's lone Democrat; namely, Stephen Slesnick of Canton, took the coward's way out and did not vote on the final voted upon version of the bill.

It will be interesting for Stark Countians to track Hagan's political future.

It could be that Stark County and Ohio's 50th House District could be in the national news, wanted or unwanted.

Stay tuned!

A SCPR "POLITICO-TOON:" - MISSION IMPOSSIBLE? THE DEBBIE CAIN FOR STATE REP CAMPAIGN

As the Stark County Political Report has written.  In Stark County - on the coattails of what will be happening statewide Ohio - 2014 will be a banner year of Republican candidates

Though he hasn't been a stellar governor, Republican John Kasich is several notches above of Democrat Ed FitzGerald who is the process of self-destructing.

The SCPR thinks that the Kasich/FitzGerald match up could challenge the outcome of the 1994 gubernatorial election.

Even if the Democratic gubernatorial candidate was first-rate, Lake Township resident Debbie Cain would have an up hill climb to defeat incumbent Republican Christina Hagan in the 50th Ohio House District.

For Cain to win, she will need to find politically cagey "mission impossible" operatives to work with her campaign.

Here is the second in the SCPR's new feature of "politico-toons" that sums up the Cain dilemma in a little over a minute.

LOCAL OFFICIALS (VIDEOS) ARE A "LOT OF HOT AIR" WHEN IT COMES TO STATE FUNDING OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT?

As early as December 20, 2010  the Stark County Political Report began writing about the draconian state funding cuts that were coming to local government (villages, cities and townships) in the wake of Republican John Kasich's election as governor in November.

And such talk was not just "whistling Dixie" on a dark, scary night to comfort oneself in the face of feared disaster.

The fact of the matter is that the Kasich administration has done what it was feared it would do on taking office on January 1, 2011.

As an Ohio political subdivision and one of the state's larger counties, Stark has absorbed the full brunt of the cuts which over the entire state has turned into a $575 million in cuts whereas Ohio now has several billions in surpluses in its "rainy day fund."

What the SCPR notes is that a few of Stark County's local government officials have struck out at state officials but that they for the most part are out-of-power-at-the-state-level Democrats.

A recent new entrant into the jawboning has been Democratic Canton city treasurer Kim Perez, who, the SCPR thinks is fixing to run against Canton mayor William J. Healy, II come next year's Democrat primary election (May, 2015).

The SCPR thinks Perez may be "more of the same" in terms of local officials (again, emphasizing mostly Democratic ones) whining about the state cuts in a grandstanding fashion and not doing anything about it.

In the following video of Perez at Canton's June 2, 2014 meeting of city council, he talks about "new" potential devastation to Canton and other Stark County and Ohio cities at the hand of proposed Amended Senate Bill 5 and of his effort to bring all of Stark County officialdom together in united action in bringing pressure to bear on the Ohio General Assembly and, of course, Stark Countians Oelslager, Hagan, Schuring and Slesnick.



As The Report wrote in October,2012 right before the 2012 general election:

The SCPR projects that Stephen Slesnick (Democrat - Canton, the 49th), Kirk Schuring (Republican - Jackson Township, the 48th) and Christina Hagan (Republican - the 50th) will win re-election next month by fairly comfortable margins.  And The Report is ready to project that the Stark County Democratic Party chairman Randy Gonzalez (who, as Jackson Township fiscal officer, 9-1-1 governance committee chairman and Canton Municipal Court employee frequently complains about the drop off  of funding of local governments) will offer up a "sacrificial lamb" in opposition to Scott Oelslager two years hence when he seeks re-election.

In re-electing this Stark County legislative foursome, the message they receive is a loud and clear:  your seat is safe and secure no matter that you have done nothing to stop the carnage of Ohio's Local Government Fund funding of Stark County's cities, villages and townships.

To add insult to injury, beginning January 1st, there will be no more revenues from what used to be Ohio's estate tax.

And there are other legislative initiatives and failures to hold harmless that the four have participated in to one degree or another.

The SCPR really has no sympathy at all for local officials and their complaints about what Governor Kasich and the Ohio General Assembly is doing to them and to Stark County taxpayers.

Who among them has organized any pressure on the re-elective future of any of the four?

Answer:  none!

All they do is whine.

And when any one of the four shows up in local government venues, they are likely to be treated as if they are political royalty.  Kissing up to those who are hurting you seems to be the standard protocol most local government types dish out notwithstanding the financial grief that none of the four has done anything to stop.

Not that the four should be treated uncivilly, but they should receive a barrage of criticism and they should be subject to meaningful and threatening to their political longevity opposition as the come up for re-election.

The SCPR's take is that local officials really do not care so long as they can convince locals to ante up with local tax increases.

 And what has changed as we approach the 2014 general election?

Exactly nothing!

As a parting reminder that he is Stark County's "whiner-in-chief," recently retired Canton Municipal Court chief deputy and former (as of June 5, 2014) Stark County Democratic Party chairman Randy Gonzalez has offered up a bevy of sacrificial lambs to the Republican side of the Stark County delegation in this fall's election and, in the case of his seeming "best - political - friend" J. Kirk Schuring:  nobody!"

Democratic Canton City Council president Allen Schulman is one of the foremost critics of the Kasich administration and members of the Stark County delegation of the Ohio General Assembly; namely,

• Republican Scott Oelslager of Plain township representing the 29th Ohio Senate District which includes most of Stark County
• Republican J. Kirk Schuring of Jackson Township representing the 48th Ohio House District,
• Democrat Stephen Slesnik of Canton representing the 49th Ohio House District, and
• Republican Christina Hagan of Marlboro Township representing the 50th House District

because they have done absolutely nothing to curb the $575 million in cuts despite pleas that they do so from area "mostly Democratic" local officials.

Here is a April, 2013 Schulman "rant" about the legislators.



As a consequence of the political impunity with which the Stark County delegation has failed to act to stop the financial bloodletting on local government funds, local voters have been asked (with varying degrees of success/failure) to make up for the cuts.

Accordingly, the recent outcries by Perez, Schulman, Healy and a few other outlier Democrat officials and a few whimpers by a scant few of Republican officials should be scoffed at by Stark Countians.

As far as the SCPR can tell, the protestations are all mouth.

As long as local officials can get the voters of Stark's cities, villages and townships (as, of course, school districts) to ante up new local revenues, all we will get from local officials is political rhetoric.

It could be that as voters consider new income tax increase requests and/or income tax credit reductions and the like (e.g. Alliance, Canton, Massillon and North Canton) and should they reject them, the seriousness and the authenticity of the clamor by "state cut" complaining Stark officials might actually bear fruit in terms of putting Oelslager, Hagan, Schuring and Slesnick on the "hot seat."

And, perhaps, Stark County voters ought to reject any and all new revenue requests so as to give local officials no other choice than to push back and push back hard on state government through the locals who we send to Columbus.

HAGAN & GOP CONCERN ABOUT DEMOCRAT DEBBIE CAIN IN THE 50TH?

To the Stark County Political Report, the upcoming general election between Republican incumbent Christina Hagan (Marlboro Township) and Democratic candidate Debbie Cain (Lake Township) has from the get go been a slam dunk for Hagan.

But, on second thought, maybe not?

The Report was asked by a top Stark County Republican elected official what the SCPR's take on the race is?

On reflection, the mere asking of the question is a clear indication that - at the very least, the Stark County GOP - is not so sure Hagan is going to breeze through on November 4th.

After re-evaluation, The Report stands by the SCPR blog of January 2, 2014.

Notwithstanding apparent Republican concerns, the SCPR still sees Hagan as a cinch to win in November.

The Report hastens to add that Christina Hagan being part of the Stark County delegation to the Ohio General Assembly, Stark County is the worse off because of it.

And to be non-partisan about it, the same needs to be said for Democrat Stephen Slesnick.

It is not enough that Slesnick is a highly ineffective legislator (owing more to his lackluster legislative abilities than to his being part of a superminority Democratic Ohio House caucus), he had to embarrass himself and Stark Countians in being cited by the State Highway Patrol on February 13th for DUI.

It only took local mainstream media about 90 days to ferret this news out.  And, of course, Slesnick did not send them a press release about the occurrence when it happened.

So why would anybody connected with the Stark County Republican Party wonder at all about whether or not Hagan is going to reelected?

Probably because in looking at the contributor base in Cain's campaign, it is clear that she is "the candidate" that the Stark/Ohio Dems are pushing for in this election cycle and the hope that Cain with:

• some campaign money, 
• some big Dem names behind her, and 
• the fact she is a member of the State Board of Education (having been its president during the Democratic Strickland administration years),

combined with Hagan:

• being an undistinguished member of the Ohio House for over four years now, and
• being in lock-step with the Tea Party/religious right crowd

might just sneak up on Hagan and bounce her out of her Ohio House 50th District seat.

While Cain as of the pre-primary campaign finance reports has more money that Hagan, don't look for that to last long. 

(SCPR Note:  Campaign finance data in this blog was extracted from campaign finance reports located on the Ohio secretary of state's website)

Compared to the Hagan reports:

To The Report,  that the Dems think they can unseat Hagan with Cain in 2014 is evidence that they are on a nomadic trip across a political desert and are experiencing a mirage.

They may think they see some sort of political oasis off in the distance, but as they approach "the spot" of their attention they figure out there is nothing there but more desert.

Recently, Canton's treasurer Kim Perez appeared at Canton City Council and spouted off about how local governments are getting screwed by the Ohio General Assembly.  And, the SCPR agrees they are.

The Report laughs at Perez because it appears that his spouting off is nothing but political rhetoric.  Look at his support of Democratic candidates for state office going back to 2010 (when Kasich was elected).

And where is his support for Debbie Cain?

For a man of Perez's mouth, there is very little evidence that "he puts his money where his mouth is," no?

And The Report has heard Stark County Dems chairman Randy Gonzalez (a Cain contributor) do the same thing as Perez, repeatedly.

But guess who Gonzalez got to run against 48th Ohio House/Senate (the 29th, formerly) J. Kirk Schuring?

How about nobody!

Of course there is nothing wrong with the likes of Gonzalez (Jackson Township fiscal officer) getting along with Schuring (Republican - Jackson Township) even though they are of different political persuasions, but the SCRP's take is that Gonzalez likes Schuring in that Schuring has helped him get legislation passed (e.g. SCOG matters and funding sources for 9-1-1 centralized dispatch) and it seems to the SCPR he only puts a lukewarm, at best, effort into getting a viable a candidate to run under the Democratic Party label against Schuring and Republican state Senator Scot Oelslager as well.

It is one thing for a state legislator to do a few good things for his constituency and be appreciated for the production, but is quite another to roll over for him when it comes to provide stiff opposition to him come election time.

The SCPR has always said that Kirk Schuring does not depart from the Ohio House Republican Caucus position (usually bad for the hoi pollio) on "the really big issues" that affect all Ohioans and therefore on balance (the bad outweighing the good) is deserving of a vigorous test of whether or not he should be reelected.

All of which makes the SCPR wonder whether or not Gonzalez (a Democrat in a sea of mostly Republican voters) is looking out more for his own political hide at the sacrifice of local government services ( due to inadequate state funding) to Stark Countians and, indeed, all Ohioans in not seeing to it that Schuring is meaningfully challenged.

So Perez can grandstand all he wants about the shafting that the Republicans are giving local governments, but with the likes of his Stark County Democratic chairman not providing a candidate, let alone a viable candidate, against a member of the "screw you, local governments" crowd;  who is going to take Perez's rant seriously?

The Report doesn't know why Natkin withdrew but suspects that she figured out that she clearly was going to be a political sacrificial lamb.

Something that Debbie Cain has not figured out.

If this was a presidential year election (about the only time Democrats vote in significant numbers), there might be some basis of optimism that someone like Debbie Cain can be elected.

She is clearly the substantive superior to Christina Hagan.

But 2014 is not a presidential election year and Republican governor John Kasich is going to take Democratic challenger Ed Fitzgerald to the cleaners on November 4th and any thought of a Cain upset of Hagan will perish in flood that is going to engulf down ticket Democrats.

It is prudent that Stark Republicans should worry about Hagan because she is in way over her head as a legislator.

To repeat, so is Democrat Stephen Slesnick.

Stark GOP chairman Jeff Matthews has done a "virtual" Gonzalez (reference:  the 48th and Schuring) with regard to Slesnick in that their is only a write-in Republican running against him.

However, Matthews has not been heard to sign the praises of Slesnick as the SCPR has heard Gonzalez do of Schuring.

Interesting, no?

Who would want to be the candidate of a Party chaired by Randy Gonzalez?

Answer?

Debbie Cain.

A bit of SCPR political advice for Ms. Cain.

Figure this year's race as "a dry run" for 2016.  Only in presidential years does a Democrat have a chance to win in the gerrymandered 50th.

In a few words, Christina Hagan and the Republicans "have nothing to worry about" for election year 2014!