WHICH STARK COUNTY CONGRESSPERSON IS SPENDING LESS/MORE ON HIS/HER STAFF? RENACCI STAFFER HAS GOTTEN 188% IN INCREASES SINCE STARTING WITH REGULA IN 2001.

UPDATED AND REPUBLISHED 04/06/2012

LINK to underlying USA Today article.

ORIGINAL BLOG

According to state Rep. Christina Hagan (Republican - Marlboro) and Stark GOP Chair Jeff Matthews it is a good thing, due to the decentennially required by the U.S. Constitution redistricting and the Ohio Republican Party gerrymandering the districts to the GOP's advantage, that Stark County is split up into three districts.

Accordingly, the SCPR tracks the spending habits not just on the 16th Congressional District (currently held by Jim Renacci - R/Wadsworth) which used to encompass all of Stark County but also Congressmen Bob Gibbs (currently R -18th; to be the 6th) and Tim Ryan (currently D -17th; to be the 13th).

Because Ohio loses two congressional seats due to population loss, Congressman Renacci has to battle current Democratic 13th District Congresswoman Betty Sutton for the right to remain in Congress.

So as asked in the title to this blog, who is the most frugal congress person vying for office in the 2012 congressional election for Stark County?

The winner is:  16th District Congressman Jim Renacci.

As can be seen from extracts from LegiStorm, he bests his November opponent by over $150,000.

And as can be seen by the graphics on Congressmen Gibbs and Ryan below, he best Gibbs by about $25,000 and Ryan by some $357,000.

Congratulations Congressman Renacci.

However, readers of The Report are reminded that this measure of frugality with taxpayer money is a relative phenomenon.

Note, that if Renacci had stayed at his 01/01/2011 - 03/31/2011 pay standard he could have saved taxpayers an additional $100,000.

But he chose to grant staff raises totaling 4.5%, 15.6% and 9.5% in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th quarters and thereby blemished his record of frugality.

Does anyone think that his car dealership is handing out 29.6% per annum in raises?

He still does better that the others who are likely to represent Stark County (except, maybe Sutton) come January 1, 2013, but the key point for everyday Stark Countians is that nearly 30% in staff raises is not happening at their places of employment.

By this standard, even Renacci looks he like does not have much of problem spending "other people's money."

Think he might "hold the line" next year, if elected?

Another note that the SCPR cannot pass up.

One of Renacci's staffers is Stark GOP Chairman and Stark Board of Elections Director Jeff Matthews' wife Heidi.

Heidi started out as staff assistant to now retired Congressman Ralph Regula in 2000.

In her first full year (2011) she earned $27,833.34.

By 2009, she was earning just a few dollars shy of $100,000.

Well, Congressman Regula retired.

But with Renacci's defeat of Democrat John Boccieri in November, 2010, she was back on the job with the Republican Renacci.

The Report is told that husband Jeff (remember, Stark County GOP chair) took the initiative with other 16th District GOP chairmen (losing only the Ashland County chairman -  the home of Renacci Republican primary opponent Matt Miller) to enhance Renacci's chance of getting the GOP nomination.

Again, credit is due Renacci.

He did not bring Matthews in at $100,000.

He cut her and cut her good to a mere $80,208.33.  About a 20% cut from her last Regula year.

And he even cut her rather large quarterly raises enjoyed under Congressman Regula.

Ms. Matthews only got about 20% in raises from January 1, 2011 through December 31, 2011.

Compared to the Regula years, quite a come down.

Not counting her year at $100,000 under Regula, Matthews has received as measured her current Renacci salary 188% over a ten year period.

18.8% per year over ten years!

Interesting, no?

For comparision purposes, here are the salaries meted out by Congressmen Gibbs and Ryan for 2011.

Your tax dollars at work!

STARK CO. GOP CHAIR JEFF MATTHEWS? "HEY, AS LONG AS MY WIFE HAS A JOB (RENACCI, THE 16TH) THE HECK WITH THE INTERESTS OF STARK COUNTY" - SUCH SEEMS TO BE HIS ATTITUDE.

Stark County GOP Chairman Jeff Matthews was one of the (if not "the") driving force to get Wadsworth Republican Jim Renacci the Republican nomination for the soon to be "old" 16th Congressional District.

Stark County was the "crown jewel" of the district and the vote in Stark generally determined who would win in the 16th.  For decades the 16th had been Republican (e.g. Ralph Regula and Frank Bow, et al).  But with the election of Democrat John Boccieri in 2008, the Republican grip on the 16th had become more problematical.

A guy like Renacci could be vulnerable in the "old" 16th come November, 2012.  And this would not be good for Jeff Matthews.  His wife, Heidi, works for Renacci.  If one were a cynic, one might say that the reason Jeff took the lead to get Renacci the nomination was the existence of an at least "a wink and a nod" understanding that were Renacci to get the nomination and get elected, Heidi would show up on the Renacci payroll thus reclaiming her well-endowed taxpayer supported job that she had with Congressman Ralph Regula which was so rudely interrupted by the Boccieri win.

The solution for the Republican Party, Renacci and the Matthews interests? Carve up Stark County to take Canton and Massillon (Democrat strongholds) out of 16th and thereby make Renacci's political future more secure.

To hell with Stark Countians being more or less united in interest in a single congressional district!

Matthews is paid about $100,000 (which benefits are included in the calculation) by Stark Countians as the current deputy director of the Stark County Board of Elections.  With the political change in Columbus, he will soon be "the" director.

Wife Heidi is on track to make about $75,000 (salary alone; benefits make the total remuneration higher) unless, that is, the pattern of her Regula years continues under Renacci.  Under Regula, the pay pattern was that she got huge increases in the fourth quarter.  Apparently, congressmen are loathe to return any money to the federal treasury and so at the end of the year they decide to give bonuses.  Hmm?

Everyday Stark Countians grow more and more cynical about the politicians of both political parties. And what the Republicans do, what are about to do, come this Friday in slicing and dicing Stark County for Republican Party interests and benefit, will add fuel for new converts among the hoi polloi to cynicism.

Republicans are rated anywhere from the teens to the low to mid 20% range.  Democrats are only marginally rated higher.

According to Robert Wang's Repository piece in today's paper (Redistricting plan would splinter Stark County), Kirk Schuring (what a laugh this is) is going to do his best to prevent the political nullification of Stark County.

Schuring has proven many times over that he has very little clout among statehouse Republicans even though he has been there for about 15 years.

What the likes of those who stack and/or cheer on the stacking of the deck (Democrats and Republicans alike) have to realize is that they are part of the reason why more and more everyday citizens grow more alienated from participating in our democracy.

The Stark County commissioners were astounded by the poor turnout of Stark Citizens to their 22 community outreach meetings conducted from February through June of this year.

Such, my friends, is the price public officials pay when their fellows do the likes of what Ohio Republican officials have done to Stark County and other Ohio communities.

One has to wonder whether or not the end result of the political party interest over citizen/public interest will eventually undo our democracy?

Somehow the SCPR believes that folks like Billy Batchelder, Amond Budish, Kevin DeWine, Chris Refern, Jeff Matthews and Randy Gonzalez do not lose any sleep over the jaundicing of the Ohio/Stark County political landscape when they have the ability to affect its composition.

They do what they have to do for their political parties.