DISCUSSION: CANTON SAFETY DIRECTOR NESBITT - A VERY ANGRY MAN ABOUT NOT BEING SELECTED AS 9-1-1 PROJECT MANAGER?

The STARK COUNTY POLITICAL REPORT (The Report) has learned that Canton Safety Director Tom Nesbitt (coming to Canton from Nebraska a little over a year ago) after being informed that the interviewers of the Governance Committee of the Stark County Council of Governments (SCOG) would not be recommending that SCOG as a whole name him as 9-1-1 Project Manager went to City Hall to vent on Mayor Healy.

Reportedly, Nesbitt complained to the Mayor, "Randy Gonzales promised me this job" (paraphrase). Moreover, Nesbitt is reported to have slammed at least one door as an expression of anger at not being selected.

The Report has further learned that the interviewing committee reached a consensus that former Creighton administration Safety Director and Chief of Staff Joseph Concatto (most recently retired) would be the the recommendation to the full SCOG.

When the interviewing crew left the Stark County 9-1-1 Center (located at the Stark County Jail), Concatto was their man.

After the Nesbitt tirade and presumably a call being made to Gonzalez, it appears that Gonzales is determined to resume his push for Nesbitt before the full SCOG at an special meeting to be called for the near future.

The Report believes that the push by Gonzales for Nesbitt is the result of an intense lobbying effort by Healy to get Nesbitt out of his adminstration.

The Report has obtained documents from the Healy administration pursuant to a records request under Ohio's Sunshine Law which show The Report that Nesbitt has an acerbic relationship with Canton Police Chief Dean L. McKimm. Presumably, the Canton police force at large supports the Chief and therefore it seems reasonable to suppose that Safety Director (and derivatively Mayor Healy) does not have command of Canton's forces. Rather, McKimm appears, from The Report's reading of the obtained documents, to routinely "thumb his nose" at the Healyites.

So what is Healy to do?

Find Nesbitt a new job so he can get someone in place who can control McKimm or successfully dump him by negotiating through the Canton Civil Service maze.

The Report has learned from a source that Stark County Democratic chairman Johnnie A. Maier, Jr. has gotten in on the act.

Why?

Because he reportedly does not want Joseph Concatto.

But he does want Nesbiitt?

The Report is trying to make sense of this. Well, what's the problem? As far as The Report can determine both Concatto and Nesbitt are Republicans. Why would Maier care?

One possible explanation, if The Report's source on Maier's involvement is accurate is as follows: Maier is for Nesbitt because Gonzales (who The Report deems to be the de facto head of the Stark County Democratic Party) is and has been for Nesbitt.

Another possibility. It is thought by a number of Stark County political analysts (including yours truly) that Healy is bent on getting rid of Police Chief McKimm. Healy's expectation has very likely been that Nesbitt should get this done. But it hasn't happened. Healy may see his political survival and, indeed, his political future tied to whipping the Canton PD into a more effective policing unit and Healy probably sees McKimm as a barrier to this goal and therefore he needs a safety director who can handle the McKimm problem.

So where does Maier come in?

In previous blogs by The Report mention was made that Governor Strickland very much wanted to see Healy elected mayor of Canton. According to Jack DeSario (D&R Consulting), Governor Strickland prevailed on him to run the Healy campaign.

We all know that Johnnie A. Maier, Jr. is Governor Strickland's man in Stark County on the sentimental basis that Johnnie was the very first county chairman to endorse Strickland when Strickland had still political opposition within the Democratic party in his drive to be the party's nominee to be governor.

If it is important for Strickland that Healy be a successful mayor of Canton, then Maier is going to do everything within his power to help Healy weather the current political turmoil that is afflicting Canton City Hall. If Healy sees moving Nesbitt on to another job as being the solution to his problems, wouldn't Maier want to help him and thereby prove his continuing worth to Strickland in Stark County politics?

DISCUSSION: MARCH 3, 2009 - MOST IMPORTANT DECISION FOR STARK'S 9-1-1 TREK TOWARD A COUNTYWIDE SYSTEM

The STARK COUNTY POLITICAL REPORT (The Report) has learned that over 100 applied for the newly created position of 9-1-1 Project Manager.

Today, the Stark County Council of Governments 9-1-1 Governance Committee will interview six finalists for the Project Manager position.

The person selected with have the responsibility of paring down the current 11 9-1-1 dispatch centers down to one, with - in all likelihood, a back up.

The political career of Stark County Commissioner Todd Bosley could hinge on how well the reorganization of 9-1-1 goes. Democrat Bosley ran in 2006 on fixing 9-1-1 and, in the opinion of The Report, won on the issue. His opponent, Republican Richard Regula, fell completely on his political face in hem-hawing around on his failure to repair the broken system.

Bosley took political risk by convincing fellow commissioners Harmon and Vignos (now retired) to vote for a increase in the county sales/use tax part of which increase is to be used to fund the 9-1-1 rehab.

Stark County safety forces were surprised by this bold move. Though a number of village/city and township safety officials are into protecting their respective turfs, the sudden prospect of having money available put them in a spot of not being able to say no. Especially in light of the additional financial fact that the creation of a countywide system relieves most localities of dispatching expense. Money that the subdivisions need to apply to other local government functions.

Now to the candidates for Project Manager:

Mark Busto is one of two of the six candidates who has the most direct experience managing a 9-1-1 dispatch operation. He has been with the Regional Emergency Dispatch (RED) Center since 1989. Busto is a guy who has worked his way up through the ranks. This attribute has to warm the hearts of everyday Stark Countians. He is now the Executive Director of RED and has been since 2008.

Joseph Concatto wants to come out of retirement to be 9-1-1 Project Manager. Up until Republican Janet Creighton-Weir was defeated by Democrat William J. Healy, II in November, 2007. Concatto served the Creighton administration as service director, safety director and chief of staff. Pre-political involvent, Concatto was Fire Chief of Canton. Moveover, he had been a member of the Canton Fire Department since 1969. His relevant experience to the 9-1-1 Project Manager position is centered in his management responsibilities. He did oversee the construction of a fire station in Canton. And he oversaw the move of Canton's dispatch center from city hall to 30th Street.

Tim Kerstetter comes out of private enterprise. His current employer is Diebold (since 1995) where he is Director of Corporate-wide Safety Wellness operations. At Diebold he has managed large operations. For Stark Countians who are interested in a "fresh face," Kerstetter might be an attractive alternative.

Tom Nesbitt is an interesting candidate. Most of us Stark County political observers fell off our collective chairs when we found out Nesbitt (Safety Director for Canton Mayor William J. Healy, II) was applying for the 9-1-1 Project Manager position. His move was the first "public" sign that all is not well with the Healy administration. Again, here we have a candidate who has generalized management experience. Nesbitt came here from Nebraska where he spent years with the Nebraska Highway Patrol working in and managing Nebraska's statewide communications system.

Rich Peterson of Nimishillen Township Fire Department (NFD & CenCom Dispatch) is almost a mirror image of Mark Busto. Peterson is also Service Manager at Kempthorn Motors. He has been with the NFD since 1984 and the head of CenCom 9-1-1 Dispatch which is located at a newly constructed fire station in Nimishillen Township.

Richard Tenan has a curious history. His current employment is with communications consulting company GeoCom. GeoCom was hired by the Stark County Council of Governments to do a study of Stark County's 9-1-1 system of eleven dispatch centers. So Tenan wants the opportunity to fix a system he had a hand in critiquing. He has management experience in setting up and operating 800 megahertz communications systems which is the system that Stark's 9-1-1 wlll use.