VOTERS HAVE TO BE GROWING MORE & MORE DISINCHANTED WITH ALL SIDES IN MASSILLON CITY GOVERNMENT

Is the recently passed Massillon city budget an example of a "cooking the books" budget that is owned by Mayor Cicchinelli but also by Massillon City Council?

"Cooking the books?"

Yes, in this sense:  the Cicchinelli presented budget as slightly modified by Councilman Larry Slagle still leaves Massillon underfunded in its fire and police operations by about $2.5 million rather than the $2.8 as in the original Cicchinelli budget proposal.

With a Councilman Slagle "sleight-of-hand," mid-last week, Massillon got its budget passed after a long impasse.  However, in voting 8 - 0 (including Cicchinelli mayoral opponent Kathy Catazaro-Perry) for the budget, Council (previously voting 5 to 4 negative)  now owns the "cooking the books-esque" budget along with Mayor Cicchinelli.

"Cooking the books"also  in the sense that the numbers are not real numbers.  They appear contrived to make it look as if Massillon has a balanced budget (as required by Ohio law).  But to the discerning, such is not the case.

The only constructive thing that seems to have come out of the protracted debate over the budget was Councilman Slagle's well founded point that Massillon along with all other Stark County based Ohio political subdivisions will experience dramatic cuts (50% over the 2012/13 biennium) beginning in July of this year.

Mayor Cicchinelli astoundingly poo-pooed Slagle's point saying that the state cuts are a relatively small part of the budget and therefore largely inconsequential.

Inconsequential?

Massillon does not have certification of revenues to match its projected expenditures by about $2.5 million and a 21% (this state of Ohio fiscal year) cut in local government funding is inconsequential?

A number of Cicchinelli's friends on Council have chosen to make apologies for him (i.e. "this is what we have done for the past 5 years, and it has always worked out " et cetera) and thereby justify the irresponsibly "out-of-balance" budget.

That Catazaro-Perry eventually fell into line in voting for the Cicchinelli budget after the cosmetic and face saving Slagle modification, smacks of her playing politics from December through March in order to enhance her "running for mayor" profile. Moreover, the vote suggests that if Massillon's overall revenue numbers do not improve in 2011 - Catazaro-Perry, should she be elected mayor, might replicate the Cicchinelli approach to budgeting.

Or, after she is elected, is she going to find a way to recommend cutting police and fire should Massillon's financial slide continue?  It is sort like the need at the national level to deal with Medicare and Social Security, but that can keeps getting kicked down the road because the politicians of neither party have the strength of leadership to deal with it.

The Report sees nothing in Catazaro-Perry that she has that kind of leadership moxie.

The Report had a discussion with Slagle as he was walking to his car after Monday's (March 28) meeting in which yours truly posed a question:  "What, Larry, will it take to get this budget passed?"  Answer:  "The Mayor needs to offer Plan B."

While the Mayor didn't, Slagle did and consequently Massillon now has a budget despite The Report 's belief that it remains "fiscally irresponsible."

There was a way for Catazaro-Perry to make a legitimate issue of Cicchinelli's budget and to make less believable Cicchinelli's charge that she was obvious lead of the opposition merely because she was running for mayor and not because of "a showing leadership" factor.

Hmm?

How's that?

She could have articulated and consistently advanced the Slagle point.  Additionally, she could have delved into the reality that sooner or later the Massillon revenue shortfall was going to fall squarely into the laps of Massillon's safety forces; like it or not, unless there is a dramatic turnaround in Massillon's finances.

Her unwillingness to articulate such is compelling proof to the SCPR that she has been playing politics with the budget issue all along.

One councilman approached yours truly on the 28th after Council meeting (clearly doing the work of a loyal Cicchinelli foot soldier) with this little ditty:  "Can you believe it, she is running for mayor and she had nothing to say about the budget!"

Answer (from The Report's perspective):  What is there to say when one is stringing a situation out for whatever political benefit can be attained in doing so?

While it's clear to The Report that Cicchinelli is obscuring real Massillon financial problems in the way he is dealing with the budget this year and has done in recent years, there does not seem to be a viable alternative in the offing with a Catazaro-Perry election.

Why would Catazaro-Perry play the game that the $15.8 million operating budget is not okay followed by it is okay depending on how the chairs are arranged on the deck Titanic-Massillon-Financial?

Politics, pure and simple.

Her political advisers are the likes of Massillon Clerk of Courts Johnnie A. Maier, Jr and his sidekick (chief deputy clerk of courts and Stark County Democratic Party political director) Shane Jackson.  The SCPR surmises that they have made the judgment that the drama Catazaro-Perry being against the budget before being for the budget, that is essentially unchanged, is good political press and helpful in her drive to become mayor. 

Catazaro-Perry could do better.  She could offer real change in the way local government does business to Massillonians.  And she could demonstrate before the election that she is willing to embrace making tough decisions in governance.  But it seems that she chosen to do what "primarily" political people do - "test the political winds" and do the politically expedient thing for herself.

It could be that Catazaro-Perry wins the May primary, but what are Massillonians likely to be left with?

More of the same:  "politics as usual!"

ARE ALL THE POLITICAL STARS OF THE STARK COUNTY "ORGANIZED" DEMOCRATIC PARTY LINED UP AGAINST MASSILLON MAYOR FRANCIS H. CICCHINELLI, JR? IF CATAZARO-PERRY GETS ELECTED, DOES HER POLITICAL PATRON - JOHNNIE A. MAIER, JR BECOME THE "DE FACTO" MAYOR OF MASSILLON?

UPDATE:  02/04/2011

Scott Graber denies to the SCPR that he was working in concert with Catazaro-Perry in changes that took place at filing time with the Stark County Board of Elections

ORIGINAL POST

The SCPR believes that Massillon Mayor Frank Cicchinelli, one of Stark County's most successful Democratic elected officials, is about to experience an all out political assault at the hands of the "powers that be" within the "organized" Stark County Democratic Party.

It has been pretty obvious that Kathy Catazaro-Perry has been aiming to take on Cicchinelli for two or three years now, if not longer.

There has been a little bit of political silliness going on between her and Scott Graber in an apparent attempt to dissemble on political observers and play mind games with the Mayor in the past couple of weeks.  Graber took out petitions for mayor and for council president and Catazaro-Perry took them out for her present Ward 3 council seat.

Veteran political observers know that all kinds of jockeying goes on right up to the filing deadline. That Catazaro-Perry would engage in such political tomfoolery makes one wonder if she has the maturity to be Massillon's chief executive.  Undoubtedly, she is listening to her chief political patron and former Stark County Democratic Party chairman Johnnie A. Maier, Jr. (Massillon clerk of courts). Yours truly knows only too well how much Maier likes to jack people around.

When Jamie Healy announced a week ago Saturday that he was running for re-election, Kathy Catazaro-Perry was in the crowd huddled up with current Chairman Randy Gonzalez (the current Party chair).

Gonzalez told the SCPR that he is neutral in the Smuckler/Healy race (hmm?), and one would think he "officially" has the same thing on the Cicchinelli/Catazaro-Perry face-off.

To the SCPR, neutrality on Smuckler/Healy might actually be true.  Maier never has really liked Healy nor Smuckler, so there may be some wiggle room for Gonzalez.

But neutrality on Cicchinelli/Catazaro-Perry?  No way!  Maier and Gonzalez are about as tight as politicos get and one would have to be totally naive to think that Gonzalez is going to be neutral.  And this will be one race to unite the Stark County unions with the Party bigs.  Mike McElfresh as president of the trades - once a close friend of Cicchinelli - has been anti-Cicchinelli (as have most of the Stark County union movement) for some time now and so look for McElfresh to lead the unions full force for Catzaro-Perry.

Catazaro-Perry and Cicchinelli have had a couple of proxy fights already over Republican mayoral candidate Carl Oser's attempt to get some rezoning done in Ward 3.  Catazaro-Perry has lost twice to the mayor in this context.

If the SCPR had make a prediction today, it would be that Maier, Elum, Shane Jackson and Graber  et al will finally get to Cicchinelli.

The Report believes that it will not be any one thing that does the Mayor in, but rather the alignment of a number of factors against him:  the golf course thing, the parks and recreation board thing, the budget thing, the union thing, the Maier-led Stark Democratic Party thing, the Elum/Cicchinelli feud thing and the "been mayor a long time" thing.

If he can stop the political cuts at 999, maybe Cicchinelli survives.

But if the cuts reach the proverbial 1000, then it is likely that Francis H. Cicchinelli, Jr is about to sail off into the political sunset.

And Massillon will be left with Johnnie A. Maier, Jr. (a Tuscarawas Township resident) as the de facto mayor of Massillon.

SHOWDOWN TIME: CATAZARO-PERRY VERSUS CICCHINELLI OVER TUSLAW SCHOOLS ANNEXATION?

There appear to be three votes (Catazaro-Perry, Peters and McCune) to stop Massillon Mayor Francis H. Ciccinelli, Jr. from making another raid on a Stark County school district for the income tax revenue the certified and uncertified staff would bring to the City of Massillon treasury.

But are there two more?

Perhaps.

Councilman-at-Large Larry Slagle appears to the SCPR to be poised to side with the trio listed above because he sees nothing positive of the Bit O' eden part of the process.

Even if he votes with Catazaro-Perry et al, a fourth is still needed.

Where in world will he find that person?

Likely from Townsend and/or Anderson.  Both are aligned with the Maier/Elum/Jackson wing of the Massillon Democratic Party and the SCPR who, of course, will be prime supporters of Catazaro-Perry when she takes on Cicchinelli in the May, 2011 Democratic primary.

"When she takes on?"

Yes, yes and yes.  She hasn't announced, but who doubts that she will run.

The Report had a conversation with a source who is relatively close to Elum and to the question of:  who is going to run against Cicchinelli: Catazaro-Perry or Elum?   The answer:  "Kathy Catazaro-Perry without a doubt."

While it may be pretty clear that Catazaro-Perry is going to take on Cicchinelli, the Tuslaw annexation issue may or may not be a pre-election skirmish.

Her words to Matt Rink of The Independent (Massillon mayor details plan to annex Tuslaw schools) on Monday indicate to the SCPR that she is moving very cautiously on the matter, to wit:

“It looks like a money grab to me,” said Councilwoman Kathy Catazaro-Perry, who asked the mayor to show council the cost of the annexation versus the revenue it would produce.

She knows that Massillon sorely needs new sources of revenue.  And if she is successful in defeating Cicchinelli next year, it will fall to her to have to balance the Massillon budget.  If the Tuslaw annexation fails because she leads the fight against it, will she live to regret the decision come budget balancing time in 2012?

So The Report believes that Catazaro-Perry, though anxious to take Cicchinelli on at every opportunity, may think about it several times before choosing the Tuslaw annexation as being in her interest to do so.

Should she decide to makeTuslaw a pitched political battle, she may well win it.  Councilpersons who are back and forth in the Catazaro-Perry/Cicchinelli sparring (the swing group) have reason (the "Bit O' eden factor) to opt to side with her.

These are the folks who will decide the question, if it materializes.

Which direction Catazaro-Perry goes on the Tuslaw annexation matter could say a lot about the tone and scope of what appears to be a an inevitable Catazaro-Perry/Cicchinelli match up.

VIDEOS (2): WHY WOULD STRICKLAND VIA HIS LOCAL COORDINATOR SNUB A MAYOR RUNNING FOR A SEVENTH CONSECUTIVE TERM?

On Friday, July 30, 2010, Massillon Mayor Francis H. Cicchinelli, Jr. announced he is, indeed, running for a seventh term to continue as mayor of Tigerland.

Here is his announcement confirming that he will run for a seventh term along with his reasons for running.



Most Stark County and Massillon political junkies expected the "I will run again" statement.

It was a bit of a surprise to see and hear the mayor taking off on the "carpetbaggers" feasting off Massillon government and his being snubbed by Strickland and his local event coordinator Catazaro-Perry when Strickland came to Massillon for a "Main Street" campaign event on July 23d.

Here is a video of that part of the press conference.

Who exactly was Cicchinelli referring to in speaking of the "carpetbaggers?"

Cicchinelli did not say specifically, but the SCPR thinks his reference probably was to Johnnie A. Maier, Jr., (Massillon clerk of courts and former Stark County Democratic Party chairman who lives in Tuscarawas Township) and, perhaps, arch political enemy Massillon Councilwoman Kathy Catazaro-Perry, who is a relative newcomer to Massillon.

The other topic of interest to those interested in Stark County "inside politics," was his addressing being snubbed by Governor Ted Strickland and Catazaro-Perry on July 23rd.

Cicchinelli did not directly say so at his press conference he held this past Friday (the 30th) to announce his run-again decision,  but the SCPR believes that the snub by the  politically allied group of Strickland,  Catazaro-Perry and Johnnie A. Maier, Jr. was a large factor in Cicchinelli deciding to run again.

Cicchinelli only decided "for sure" to run within the last week.

Though Strickland's coming to Massillon was billed as a "Main Street" meet with the people event, the meeting was not held at a site on Lincolnway (Massillon's "Main Street").  Rather, it was held at 900 Ridge Mill Path, the home of Catazaro-Perry, which is located in one of Massllon's more affluent neighborhoods.
Reports are that the "Main Street" event was attended by some 40 persons.  Included on the Mill Ridge Path list were Catazaro-Perry (of course), Maier, his "shadow" at the clerk of courts, namely; Shane Jackson (who also serves as the political director for the Stark County Democratic Party),  Judge Eddie Elum (of the Massillon Municipal Court - a long time political enemy of the mayor), Stark County Commissioner Pete Ferguson, Stark County Commissioner Steve Meeks and  Canton Mayor William J. Healy, II's political pal and operative Demetrius St. John.

In commenting on the size of the Mill Ridge Path event, Cicchinelli sort of belittled it in saying that he understood that later in the day Strickland was in Youngstown and some 400 attended his Youngstown "Main Street" event which obviously was held at a much more public venue than the one selected for Massillon.

Mayor Cicchinelli said at the press conference that had he gotten more advanced notice, he too would have been at the Catazaro-Perry sponsored event.

But the SCPR thinks not.

Here is a copy of the Catazaro-Perry invite:  (Note the "in the wee hours of the morning e-mail and that the e-mail was not addressed direct to Cicchinell, but that he only merited being copied)

Moreover, the SCPR doubts that the politically aligned combo of Catazaro-Perry, Maier and Elum wanted Cicchinelli at the event as there is rampant speculation on "Political Street," Massillon that either Catazaro-Perry or Elum will be taking Cicchinelli on in the May, 2011 Democratic Party primary.

They mostly likely want the governor to themselves.

Governor Strickland's staff also did not follow proper political protocol in making sure that Cicchinelli was timely-invited.  The Mayor says that a voicemail was left on office telephones "after" work hours on Thursday.  for a Friday noontime event.

What an insult!

Like the mayor of a significantly-sized Ohio city could just drop everything and go to a political event on "at the last minute-esque" type of notice.

Mayor Cicchinelli won't say outright that he was snubbed, but is clear to the SCPR that is exactly was done to Cicchinelli.

How could a proud man like Frank Cicchinelli attend the Strickland event after it was obvious to him that he was an afterthought.  Of course, he had to be busy with other matters.  The perfect out for a man who had been embarrassed by a sitting governor.

The SCPR believes that there was no way on "God's green earth" that Cicchinelli was going to attend the event in the face of his being an afterthought.

Maier has said repeatedly how utterly enamored he is with Ted Strickland.

Well, does he want his "patron saint of politics" to lose in November because of what appear to be calculated, but stupid slights like this one?  All indications are that the Strickland/Kasich race is going to be a very close race.  Could this be one of those rare statewide contests that will be decided by a handful of votes?

Will offended Cicchinelli supporters be the difference?  They could number in the hundreds, if not more.

Cichinelli appears to be politically smarter than the Catazaro-Perry led group.

He dashed off this letter to Governor Strickland.

The Cicchinelli stub may be one the dumbest Stark County political goofs Ted Strickland, led down the Mill Ridge Path by his Massillon supporters, has ever made.

Obviously, Cicchinelli is looking for some apologies.

It would appear that the savvy thing to do is for someone on the Governor's staff to write a letter of apology and have Catazaro-Perry do the same.

Otherwise, it could cost him a second term as being governor of Ohio.

With friends like Catazaro-Perry, Maier, Jackson et al, who needs any enemies?