THE UNEMOTIONAL STARK GOP CHAIRMAN JEFF MATTHEWS GOES OVER THE TOP FOR DEPARTING EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR JASON WISE AT 65TH ANNUAL MCKINLEY DINNER?

 

The SCPR has learned that the big buzz coming out of the 65th Annual McKinley Stark County GOP event was the emotional tripping out of Stark Republican Party chairman Jeff Matthews.

Well, what did Jeff get so emotional about?

Jason Wise, that's who.  Wise, who is executive director of the Stark Republican organization is reportedly leaving in May to do a stint in the U.S. military. 

Attending Republicans were blown away by the emotion displayed as Chairman Matthews took center stage to thank Wise for his service as director. One Republican told the SCPR that "Matthews has all the emotion of a statute" as a matter of his persona and to see him cry real tears was a sight to behold.

In a way, the Matthews demonstration does not surprise The Report.  Clues about the closeness of the relationship was evident in the wholehearted support  Matthews gave Wise in Wise's putting together the Tax Day, Tea Day political rally on April 15, 2009.

Wise kept saying at the event that it was not a Republican event.  But it was.  GOP director Wise organized the event and a prime role was played by Wise pals Matthews and 50th House District representative Todd Snitchler.  Congressman John Boccieri (Democrat - Alliance) was the only Democrat on stage at the tea party festival and host Matt Patrick made the most of it.  Boccieri's appearance would not surprise Medina County Democrats, many of whom see Boccieri as a Democrat in Name Only (DINO).

The SCPR noted at the time that it was a conflict-in-interest for Matthews (also a director at the Stark County Board of Elections - BOE) to be at the event bashing the imposed 0.50 commissioner imposed sales/use tax (December, 2008.)  

It is interesting to see that the Board of Elections has asked the Stark County commissioners for nearly a million dollars more ($2 million - 2009; $2.9 million - 2010; a 45% increase) and is in the process of adding four full time employees.

Hmm?  A tea party protesting increased taxes and Matthews - a director at the BOE participates in putting together a whopping increase in what Stark County taxpayers are to pay for elections services.  Add a large portion of political hypocrisy for Matthews.

Other things of local political interest did occur at the GOP gala.

Janet Creighton received a standing ovation and was the "local" star attraction at the McKinley festivity.  Creighton had pulled petitions to run for one of the two open county commissioner seats that very day.  Republicans see the former Canton mayor leading the way to Republicans once again holding non-judicial countywide office.

As reported previously by the SCPR, state Representative Todd Snitchler used the occasion to sound the keynote of "Taxing Todd" in a reference to Commissioner Todd Bosley who is taking on Snitchler for the right to represent the 50th House district.

One has to wonder, though, in light of the Matthews tears, what the musical theme was for the evening.

"It's My Party and I'll Cry if I Want To?"

THE "TRUE BELIEVER" WISE "WAFFLING" BETWEEN RENACCI & SCHIFFER?

 

Jason Wise, the grandson of a former Republican mayor of Canton, is probably the most active Republican in all of Stark County.

The SCPR says "Republican," but is it accurate to say so in terms of commitment to the Stark Republican Party?

All one has to do is to Google "Jason Wise" and all of kinds hits bombard the googler on Stark County's very own:  Jason Wise.

But a great deal of the hits have to do with "Stark 912 Patriots," and "Tea Party Patriot," or "Tea Party Organizer/Canton."

Relatively little about his involvement with the Stark County Republican Party.

However, yours truly is told by Republicans, in a position to know, that Wise is involved with the Stark GOP.

But to what degree?

If one searches Wise's name of the Federal Election Commission website, there is a connection to the Stark Republican Party to be found.  Wise, on September 29, 2009, sent (as right wing talk radio host and 16th District congressional candidate/Republican Paul Schiffer puts it) a $250 donation to "establishment Republican Jim Renacci.

Hmm?

On the other hand, Wise is the organizer of the Canton Tea Party and the assistant organizer of the Stark 912 Patriot group (the 912 - the 9/11 to D.C. on 9/12 movement was put together by Glenn Beck of Fox News).

Paul Schiffer says that Beck's 912 project is squarely behind his candidacy and states his case for being elected 16th District congressman can be found in frequent plugs by Beck on his radio program.  Schiffer and his campaign advisers are trying to get Schiffer a spot on Beck's TV program as well as the radio program.

So if Schiffer is anti-establishment Republican (as he says he is) and stakes his election chances on his connection to the "912 Patriots," where does that leave Wise?

The SCPR believes that Wise is being a political waffler.

He has to be thrilled as Stark's  "912 Patriot" second-in-command guy and as a "Tea Bagger" that Schiffer is in the race.  Yet he gives money to the Schiffer's arch-political enemy:  Renacci.  

Hmm?

It appears he is trying to play it both ways.

Perhaps he is trying to make the organized Stark County Political Party indistinguishable from the "912 Party" and the "Tea Bagger" movement?

Paul Schiffer says he "will win" the Republican primary on May 4, 2010.

The SCPR's question is this.

Will it be with or without Jason Wise being on board?

WILL WISDOM PREVAIL IN THE STARK COUNTY REPUBLICAN PARTY?

As matters stand now, the SCPR believes that the Stark GOP is heading down a Jason UnWise (err Wise) path to "virtual" extinction.

If UnWise (err Wise) has his way, the local GOP will become the "Stark Tea-bagger Party,"   He can do all the disclaiming he wants (i.e. until he's blue in the face), but it is clear to yours truly that UnWise (err Wise) is into doing a de facto take down of the Stark Republican Party and replace it with a bunch of Republican/Republican-esque right wing radicals.

But why is the SCPR concerned about the direction the Stark County Republican Party is heading in?

Because Stark Countians have very little political competition to pick from now and if  the UnWise (err Wise) course is followed, then there will be absolutely NO political competition.  Rational Stark Countians will not vote for the irrational.

Now it is said that Stark (countywide) leans Democratic.  But there are still pockets of Republican officeholders.  Brown, Sinclair, Stucky, Howard, James , Parks (all judges and therefore by Ohio Supreme Court edict low key in their political involvement), Oelslager, Snitchler (state reps) and Schuring (a state senator).

Were the Stark GOP to become perceived by the Stark County voting public to be synchronized with the Stark Tea-bagger Party, then if the aforementioned public officials identify too much with the local party, then might they also bite the political dust?

Stark County desperately needs a different perspective than the Democrats offer.  But the Stark County Republican Party must re-invent itself to survive.  The SCPR is not real wild about Oelslager and Schuring because they squandered 40 years in the Ohio Legislature (much of it in supermajority status) and have stood by and wathced Ohio and Stark County decline.

But they are a "sight for sore eyes" when one contemplates who the Republicans might put up if WnWise (err Wise) were to be calling the shots at the Fulton head

Snitchler?  The SCPR sees him clearly as being in the UnWise (err Wise) wing of the Stark County Republican Party. 

Recently Bill Moyers of the "Bill Moyers Journal" did a program on:

From the transcript of this program, wherein Max Blumenthal had gone out and interviewed some tea-baggers recently assembled in Washington to greet the "Tea Party Express" (which had stopped in Canton on the way), was the following:

MAX BLUMENTHAL: So you're saying if the government eliminates Social Security and Medicare then you'll get out of the program?

WOMAN: No, I said if they get out of my life.

MAX BLUMENTHAL: Out of your Social Security and-

WOMAN: No, out of everything.

BILL MOYERS: But they had also come to deplore and denounce President Obama- in their minds a tyrant akin to Stalin, Mussolini, Hitler, and Saddam Hussein.

MAN: I'm afraid he's going to do what Hitler could never do and that's destroy the United States of America.

MAX BLUMENTHAL: And what's the Obama revolution, what's going to happen?

MAN:Similar to Germany, like what Hitler did. He took over the auto industry, did he not? He took over the banking, did he not? And Hitler had his own personal secret service police, Acorn is an extension of that.

BILL MOYERS: They had found a new hero in Joe Wilson, the South Carolina Republican whose shout heard 'round the world was now the rallying cry of the weekend.

Why put this excerpt in this blog?

Because this is the kind of thing that is indicative of what the SCPR believes UnWise (err Wise) wants to install at Stark GOP headquarters in Canton.

But all is not lost!

The Stark GOP does have a viable alternative.

And the alternative is resident in the likes of Travis Secrest.

Secrest ran against the old Democratic political warhorse "politics as usual" Tom Harmon in the 2008 Stark County commissioners race for one of two open seats (Harmon had been appointed and not elected to the seat).

If one were to look only at the articulations of each candidate's vision, the choice was a "no-brainer."

Secrest, fresh out of college (Baldwin Wallace - political science major), was visionary and relatively specific in outlook.  Harmon came across as the practiced politician who says nothing even as he utters words.

However, Harmon had the huge advantage of having been in office for decades (Canton Municipal clerk of courts).  So politics being what it is (mostly name identification at the local level - that's why it is so hard for a judge to lose; once in office), Secrest never had a chance.

And Stark County is the worst for it.  Harmon along with Doctor Ferguson are vegetating in office as Stark declines.  Only Bosley offers any hope of real leadership and he is highly enmeshed in partisan politicals and his own personal political future.

Unfortunately for Stark, a guy like Secrest is too new to local politics to be a viable candidate.

Well, what role could Secrest play in Stark County?

If the Stark County GOP Executive Committee members were smart, they would go "hat in hand" and implore Secrest to take over the reigns of re-building Stark County Republican Party.

Secrest is open minded, rational, visionary and practical.

Take this quote in an article by Matthew Rinker of The Massillon Independent (It's Harmon's experience vs. Secrest's change message in commish, 10/31/08):

Though a Republican, Secrest said he is much like Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama in that he will be an agent for change if elected.

“His message is change and so is mine,” Secrest said. “On a national level, change means voting for a Democrat. On a local level it means voting for a Republican. There is only one Republican officeholder in county government (Commissioner Jane Vignos) and she is retiring.”

So the SCPR has set up the pronounced difference that a UnWise (err Wise) as compared to a Secrest-led reformation of the Stark GOP would bring.

UnWise (err Wise) demonstrates irrationality and reactive politics, us ("the true believers versus them") political mentality.  Secrest:  pro-active, how can we work together in a constructively competitive political environment to get the best out of our Stark County community.

The Stark GOP and its local patron saint and financial support should hope that Secrest would be interested in taking on the re-building project.

The SCPR does not know that he is available or that he may have already settled into something he is not about to give up.

But the Stark Republicans should ask him.

And, the local GOPers "powers that be" should provide him with a paid position stipend (meaning  "I can live on this income") and administrative support apparatus to get the job done.

If Timken et al don't find an alternative to UnWise (err Wise), then Stark County will truly become a "one-party-county" a la Cuyhoga and Summit and we all know where that leads.

WHEN YOU CAN'T SERVE OUR HOME COMMUNITY EFFECTIVELY (I.E. BY MAKING YOUR PARTY COMPETITIVE IN LOCAL ELECTIONS) YOU BRING IN THE "OVER THE EDGE" MARK WILLIAMS OF THE "TEA PARTY EXPRESS?"

 

As any politically attuned Stark County citizen knows, the Stark County Republican Party is not competitive in countywide elections except for some Common Pleas Court judgships.

So rather than spend their energies reconstructing the local Republian Party left in shambles by former chairman Curt Braden,  Chairman Jeff Matthews and his mainstay political operative Jason Wise bring political trash into Stark County.

Yes, that is what the Tea Party Express is.

The Tea Party Express has hijacked the legit political concerns of many Americans and turned them into a political orgy of wacko, fringe cast of characters that in no way represent the thinking Americans including Stark Countians.

Just listen to one of the leaders (Mark Williams) on last night's CNN (360 with Anderson Cooper).

The SCPR says that Wise (and to the degree Stark GOP Chairman Matthews stood by and watched) allowed Stark County to be stained with political extremism on September 9th.

But that's what you do when you can't compete.

Change the topic.  Bring in political showmanship.  Heat up the political rhetoric.  And on and on goes the list of the non-competitive's diversionary tactis into to deflect attention from their political inadequacies on to a sideshow.

Wise and Matthews owe Stark Countians an apology for bringing this "over the edge" event to Stark County.

And if the Stark County Republican Party Executive Committee does nothing to reign this duo in, the committee members - in effect - are buying into the coarsening of Stark County politics into a hate driven milieu.

There is plenty that needs to be rectified about both political parties in Stark County and the deficient leadership they are providing Stark.

The mayor of Canton, the Stark County commissioners and other "leadership deficient" Stark County offcials must love it when the likes of a Tea Party Express rolls into town.

For them, the freak-ladened sideshow nature of the Express is the ultimate political cover.

By comparison, Healy et al don't look all that bad.

What a shame!

Borrowing the words of the highly respected voice of reason David Gergen (a CNN political analyst), Stark County continues its nosedive while the local political party opposition bathes itself in  a "bread and circuses" political soup.

IS JEFF MATTHEWS TURNING THE STARK COUNTY REPUBLICAN PARTY INTO A "FAR RIGHT FRINGE" PARTY?

On September 6th, Dennis Williard of the Akron Beacon Journal wrote a piece (Republicans should reject the radical right).  His caution has a direct and immediate applicability to the Stark County Republican Party.

Yours truly could scarcely believe his ears on hearing Matthews on WHLO Matt Patrick's show which was on location at Tea Day, Tax Day - April 15, 2009 in Central Plaza in Canton.  Rather than doing an effective job of making the Stark County Republicans competitive, he's blazing bullets of bombast that cheered the ears of the right-fringers who dominated.

Not only was Matthews there, but so was, obviously, event organizer and Stark County Republican Party operative Jason Wise, Ohio Representative Todd Snitchler (Republican - 50th).

Wise was, on April 15, and continues to particularly insulting to rational people.  To top it off, Wise has the temerity to tell a Repository reporter:  “I’m just a normal guy here to educate the voters.”  (Citizens at tea party sound off on the issues, Ed Balint)

Wise has been pushing hard the propagandistic (Wise's version of  "educate) notion that these tea party events are not a Stark County Republican Party promotion.  But rather a spontaneous grassroots movement springing from the bowels of a frustrated public.

There may be elements of  non-Republican connected personages in Wise's portrayal.  But not in the main.  Wise is being disingenuous - at the very least.

Mostly,  the teabagger movement is a creature of the Republican Party; federal, state and local.  However, there are some "wise ones" (just not Jason Wise) in the Republican Party at all these levels who see the danger lurking in identifying with this group which seems to be, in essence,  made up of "radical right types."

Astonishing was the appearance of state Representative Todd Snitchler at the April 15th event.

Why astonishing?

Snitchler, a lawyer, in one-to-one conversation seems fully collected and rational. 

But he has to know that one is known in politics by one's associates.  Snitchler is new to politics and has lessons to learn.  And, if he has aspirations to move on from the Republican gerrymandered 50th, he is not going very far with a history of connecting with tea-baggers.

By and large, the SCPR has not taken the tea-bagger movement seriously.

Why's that?

Because as Williard says in his piece:

The far-right fringe should be embarrassed ... [and] its repeated actions clearly indicate it has no shame and no true understanding of the importance of civilized, thoughtful discourse.

The Alliance Review did a nice piece yesterday which summed up the anti-using-one's-mind sentiment that ravaged the Tea Party Express crowd assembled in Canton on Wednesday, to wit (Signs of Tea Party times):

Real thoughtful stuff, huh?  Why don't we all communicate with bumper sticker mentality?

Notice that the SCPR has pictured Stark Citizens for the Right to Vote leader Tom Marcelli.  Stark County voting records show that he is a registered Republican.  He may not be a party official or an elected Republican who supports the tea-baggers (a la Snitchler), but he too, in the opinion of the SCPR, is operating at the direction of the Stark County Republican Party leadership.

To sum it all up, the SCPR believes Stark County Republican Party chairman Jeff Matthews is intent on making the local GOP irrelevant to "we have a better idea" discursive politics.

If Stark County Republlcan Party Executive Committee does not intervene, then the Party becomes even less competitive than it is now. The political shrillness and insubstantiality of Wise et al is not going to play with most Stark County voters.

Is the Wise-led tea-bagger direction where sensible/moderate Stark County Republicans want their party to be heading in?

IS COMMISSIONER BOSLEY "SPOILING" FOR A FIGHT? IS SALES/USE TAX ISSUE THE BEGINING OF "COUNTY OFFICIALS" VERSUS "THE PEOPLE?"

Recently Stark Citizens for the Right to Vote told the Massillon Independent that he is ready to file the group's signatures to put the December, 2008 Stark County commissioners imposed 0.50 county sales/use tax to a vote of the people.

Of course, just the notion of a ballot box fight is exciting to those of us who follow Stark County politics.

But this fight has an added dimension.

The leader of the Stark Citizens for the Right to Vote (Tom Marcelli) has a history, chronicled in local media, of challenging various county officials to "duke it out" over his differences with them over things such as the imposed tax (Bosley) and how various officials (particularly, Auditor Kim Perez and Treasurer Gary Zeigler) administrate their offices.

While not opposed to the ballot initiative, the SCPR has been skeptical of the Marceill-led group to pull off getting nearly 14,000 valid signatures.

A SCPR source tells yours truly that if Marcelli was the only person providing leadership to the group, the SCPR could be right. But, the source adds, there have been Stark County "heavy hitters" working sub rosa to make sure the Stark Citizens Right to Vote cohort is successful.

Could one of these sub rosa people be Stark County Board of Elections (BOE) deputy director and Stark County Republican Party chairman Jeff Matthews?

Readers are reminded that Matthews (who asks county commissioners, from time-to-time, in capacity with the BOE for more money for the BOE) appeared at "Tea Day, Tax Day - April 15, 2009" encouraging those assembled to support the petition drive.

What's more, his sidekick at Stark County Republican headquarters (Jason Wise) was the local leader of "Tea Day, Tax Day."

The SCPR believes Matthews has a huge conflict in interest on this matter.

So if the SCPR's source is correct, Commissioner Bosley is about to embark on a fight for his political life beginning August 20th.

The next date in what could be a "political Waterloo" for Bosley is November 3, 2009 should Round One go to the Stark Citizens for the Right to Vote.

Bosley worries a lot as to who will be running against him in November, 2010. The SCPR believes - that should "the repeal the imposed sales/use tax" make it to the ballot and then lose - Bosley will have an all out challenge from the Stark Republicans come 2010.

So it's not only Stark County financial solvency and 9-1-1 funding that is at state in this political fight, but it could mean the end of Todd Bosley as an elected Stark County official.

Bosley is already lining up county officials to take on the Stark Citizens for the Right to Vote. He presumes that the repeal issue will make it to the ballot. And, he is structuring the fight as an "us" against "them" tiff.

The SCPR believes that Bosley statements appearing in Stark County media that lend credence to a sort of "us" against "them" approach are "unthought" and could give the anti-forces the ammo they need.

To rephrase the point: Is it wise to make this issue one that appears to be county officeholders and their employees versus Joe and Sally Smith?

If they are on the ballot in November and the Stark Citizens for the Right to Vote can fix in the public mind that they represent the people and Bosley et al the established political order, then the odds favor the citizen action group.

From the county perspective, they need to frame the contest in the context of convincing voters that 9-1-1 is broken and voters' personal safety is tied to fixing it and that if the tax is repealed the county will be in a financial crisis that Stark has never seen before which could lead to draconian cuts in county government services.

It is beginning to look as if Stark Countians need to brace themselves for one of the biggest political fights this county has ever seen.

TALK IS CHEAP? SCHURING - ONCE AGAIN - PROVES TO BE A "COOKIE CUTTER" REPUBLICAN

Yours truly has spoken with state Senator Kirk Schuring quite a few times over the last few years.

One of the frequently uttered lines by Schuring over this space of time has been: "I know, Martin. You think I am a "cookie cutter Republican."

Now is the time to make a definite attribution. State Senator J. Kirk Schuring is a "cookie cutter Republican."

Schuring had the perfect opportunity yesterday and break ranks with the run-of-the-mill senate Republican (the leadership voted for the bill, giving it the margin it needed to pass) by voting for the next biennium Ohio budget bill or alternatively taking the lead in the Ohio Senate and offer a alternative to the Strickland/Ohio General Assembly compromise being voted upon.



The SCPR believes that this is one more reason to be added to the list of reasons that his candidacy for Congress against Democrat John Boccieri failed last year. Schuring loss was truly astounding. Particulary the margin he lost by in Stark County.

Apparently, the votes he got in Stark were from the Republican base with very few coming from Democrats and independents. The moral of the political story for Schuring is that - if the Democrats run a strong candidate - he loses countywide in Stark.

Accordingly, look for Schuring to run once again in the seat that Oelslager is vacating (the 51st) in their game of musical chairs (thereby defeating the spirit of Republican initiated term limits legislation) where the registration number favor Republicans.

The Stark County Republican Party is on life support. Even though many Democrat officeholders are trying to self-destruct (Healy, Swanson and Zeigler for sure); Republicans won't let them.

Under Jeff Matthews feeble leadership (aided by Republican operative Jason Wise), there are no strong Republican candidates in sight to take on Democrat Stark County auditor Kim Perez and Stark County commissioner Todd Bosley in 2010.

Schuring has suggested to the SCPR that one of the options that he was looking at for 2010 was running countywide.

Yours truly now believes that would be foolhardy. In view of his staggering loss to Boccieri (2008) and his hewing the Republican Party line, how can he win against strong Democrats such as Perez and Bosley in a Democratic leaning county?

If Schuring were to run against either and lose, he would be finished politically in Stark County, except in Republican dominated areas of the county.

WHO IS DOING THE THINKING AT STARK REPUBLICAN HEADQUARTERS?

An election data analysis by the STARK COUNTY POLITICAL REPORT (The Repor/SCPR) shows that Republican state Senator Kirk Schuring lost the 16th congressional district race to Democrat John in nine (9) Stark County voting districts.

Republicans banked on winning substantial margins in Jackson and Lake Townships as well as North Canton to offset big margins for John Boccieri in Alliance, Canton and Massillon.

The Report included in Schuring's tally Marlboro and Tuscarawas Townships merely to pad his numbers as he only carried Jackson, Lake, North Canton, Marlboro and Tuscarawas in all of Stark County.

Perry was included in the Boccieri results because of his strong showing in the township. Boccieri got 40% of the vote in the 4th largest township in Stark County. The Report believes this should be competitive for a Republican of Schuring's stature.

What is the message for the Stark Republican leadership out of these numbers?

Ya better rethink your Stark strategy!

Jeff Matthews in his on stage interview at the Tax Day, Tea Day rally on April 15th held at Central Plaza in downtown Canton got embarrassed by WHLO AM radio host Matt Patrick (who is probably kicking himself now) by chiding Matthews about the Stark GOP's failure to have a single "non-judicial" elected countywide official.

With the thinking going on in the Stark GOP these days, there is not likely to be a Republican official any time soon. And this is not good for Stark County. With political dominance, comes political arrogance. Stark County Democrat office holders (except for a few) are fully infected.

One of the antidotes for political arrogance is a healthy two party system.

More than one Republican leadership figure has told The Report that the Stark GOP does not intend to compete in Canton and Massillon.

Schuring himself seemed to write off Canton early in his campaign in a speech in Ashland County. See the video clip below.

The Report believes the Republican strategy is deeply flawed. Democrats have proved that they can make inroads in what many politicos refer to as Republican strongholds Jackson, Lake and North Canton.

Why can't the reverse be done?

Well, The Report believes it can be done, but only if the Stark Republicans clean house at party headquarters. It is disconcerting to learn that Jason Wise is a mainstay at Fulton Road these days. If Jeff Matthews thinks this guy has anything going for himself in political analysis and party organization (grassroots), the Stark Democrats should be ecstatic.

All Wise did with his attempt to convert Tax Day, Tea Day into local Republican Party organizing event in place the Stark County Republican Party on the political fringe in the minds of many Stark County voters. And for Chairman Matthews to join in is a further testament to how bereft the Stark County GOP is in leadership.

If was just local Republicans who suffered, who would care.

But Stark County is not getting the quality of government that the county so desperately needs because of the failure of Stark Republicans to compete.

Here is the video in which Kirk Schuring in effect endorses Stark Republicans not competing Canton.

DISCUSSION: STARK COUNTY ANTI-SALES TAX PEOPLE OUT IN FORCE AT CANTON TEA PARTY EVENT

UPDATE: 04/16/2009 at 11:10 PM. A source (no full name or return e-mail address given) who claims to be close to Jason Wise, the person who organized Tax Day, Tea Day - Canton, Ohio, tells The Report that Wise did not personally pay the bill referenced below that somehow ended up at the Stark County commissioners' office though, according to the source, the Stark County commissioners' office address was not on the invoice.

ORIGINAL POST

Stark County Republican operative Jason Wise was in his glory yesterday as he viewed the thousand or so folks who showed up for the Wise-organized Canton, Ohio Tea Party.

A funny and perhaps ironic twist to this event as told to the STARK COUNTY POLITICAL REPORT (The Report/SCPR) by a source, is that an invoice for an event expenditure directed to Jason Wise showed up at the Stark County commissioners' office. The Report's source said the bill was for nearly $800.

Hum? Found its way to the Stark County commissioners' office? Could it be that Wise is telling folks that he plans on running for commissioner next year (against Commissioner Bosley) and he was misunderstood as currently being a commissioner?

Wise did take command of the microphone for a time (see video below) and asked the crowd to find one of the "green-shirted" Stark County Right to Vote Committee members to sign up to put the 1/2% sales/use tax (passed in December, 2008 by county commissioners for funding to fix 9-1-1 countywide and for additional general revenue fund monies) on the ballot for repeal in November of this year.

The Report continues to believe Canton Tea Party was opportunely adadapted by the organized Stark County Republican Party as a preparatory prelude to taking Bosley on in the 2010 general election. Although the WHLO provided emcee insisted that this was a non--partisan effort focusing on state and national tax issues, it seemed to The Report that the Stark County sales tax issue got major play at the party.

The "Green Shirts" were all over Canton's Central Plaza trying to coax attendees to sign up on the sales/use tax repeal petition.

The Report is not sure whether Bosley's opponent will be Wise or fellow Republican Travis Secrest. Secrest spoke with yours truly and did definitely commit himself as running for commissioner. However, he is still determining whether his run will be against Bosley in 2010 or Ferguson or Harmon in 2012.

Secrest lost to Harmon by a substantial margin in 2008.

DISCUSSION: TAX DAY CANTON FAST TURNING INTO REPUBLICAN RIGHT WING POLITICAL EVENT?

A quote from "Tax Day Tea Party - Canton, OH" organizer Jason Wise: "Ok...I hate to tell you guys but this is on City property and I'm getting non-stop emails and phone calls about this issue and people are now canceling on me."

This quote is in response to some posters on "the Wall" on the organizing group's Facebook page who were suggesting that perhaps Concealed Carry Weapons were in order for the Canton event to be held Wednesday at Central Plaza which is located immediately in front of the Stark County Courthouse (which houses the general division Common Pleas Courts) and in front of the Stark County Office Building which is home to many countywide departments of government.

The STARK COUNTY POLITICAL REPORT (The Report/SCPR) has previously written about this event as being a test case as to whether on not the Stark Republican Party will be fielding a significant candidate against Democratic Commissioner Todd Bosley in November, 2010.

Officially, this is being billed as a national event. But The Report believes that the event is being turned to an "anti-Bosley/imposed sales-use tax day."

Supposedly, Bosley is to debate Jason Wise on WHBC's (14180 on your AM dial out of Canton) "Points to Ponder" show (Ron Ponder, host). There may also be a radio event on WHLO (640 on your AM dial out of Akron - "a Religious right" radio station) featuring Bosley and Wise.

The Report understands that Ron Ponder (who The Report understands acknowledges he is close to the Stark Republican Party) is predicting that Jason Wise himself contemplates being Bosley's opponent in 2010.

Stark Republicans may want to rethink this one. The Report has been told that Wise carries a lot of political baggage some of which was revealed in a Repository report in coverage of Wise's failed campaign against Democrat Nancy Reinbold for Stark County clerk of courts.

All Wise and the Republicans have to do is to ask Richard Regula (an incumbent Republican commissioner that Bosley defeated in November, 2006) what kind of campaign Bosley runs.

Let's just say that "the gloves definitely come off."

The Report believes that Stark organized Republicans hate and fear Bosley above any other Stark Democrat.

All in all tomorrow could be an interesting Stark County political event.

DISCUSSION: STARK COUNTY GOP ON THE MEND?

The Stark County Republican Party is on life support these days. And this is not good for Stark County. With Republicans not holding any non-judicial offices countywide, Stark County is in the brink of being a politically non-competitive county and perhaps a mirror of Canton city government which is totally controlled by Democrats. At least in the countywide sense.

The STARK COUNTY POLITICAL REPORT (The Report) has been probing some leading Stark County Republicans for answers on what is being done to rectify this political imbalance in Stark.

For the most part, there have not been any promising answers. In fact, one disturbing observation from a key Stark County Republican offers the possibility that Democrat Stark commissioner Todd Bosley will not face any meaningful opposition in 2010, unless the sales/use tax repeal effort gets up a head of steam and wins thereby signaling that the prime mover of the imposition of the tax (Commissioner Bosley) is vulnerable.

In other words, the Stark GOP is so down and out these days that it would take the equivalent of "a sign from Heaven" for the local Republicans to make a serious attempt to defeat Bosley.

Readers of The Report understand that yours truly thinks very well of Bosley. Nevertheless, no public official should ever skate into office with out a serious test.

Notwithstanding the bleak news about Stark Republicans, the SCPR did hear a glimmer of hope about activities and Stark Republican headquarters.

The Report hears from a source that Jason Wise has been an increasing presence at party headquarters. This could be good news for Stark Republicans, but more importantly Stark Countians who want to see the Stark Republican Party to once again be competitive. Political competition and the fear of being voted out of office, is the most effective way to avoid the abuses of "one-party-rule."

One-party-rule is not good for Stark County as it was not when Republicans controlled all statewide offices, the Legislature and the governorship.

Why might Wise be good news?

Here is a summary of why The Report thinks he might lead the way:

Wise ran against Democrat Nancy Reinbold for Stark clerk of courts in 2008. The result wasn't pretty. Wise took offense with The Report because his candidacy was described as being a "sacrificial lamb" candidacy. Nevertheless The Report thinks it was courageous for Wise to take her on - and - in a sort of way; the Democratic machine that now runs Stark County.

Reinbold had virtually been handed the county clerkship by self-appointed Democratic kingmaker Phil Giavasis (now Canton Muny Court clerk of courts - so he can earn more money and beef up his retirement). Giavasis took personal umbrage when Lawrence Township Michael Stevens met with him to express an interest running for the county clerk position. As an interesting aside, Nancy Reinbold hired Phil's brother Louis (Plain Township trustee) into the clerk of courts office not too long ago.

No doubt the now former Stark Common Pleas judge and husband of Nancy Reinbold placed a major role in getting his Nancy into the clerks office in the first place. For the most part, these jobs are not open to the public, but are set aside for party leaders for their relatives, friends or friends of their political insider friends. From there it would just be a matter of time until she had the top job.

The Report has roundly criticized former Stark Republican Party chair Curt Braden and his political twin Jeff Matthews (deputy director of the Stark County Board of Elections) for allow the Stark County Political Party to waste away to nothing.

The question now becomes with the information that Jason Wise is more and more of a factor as Stark County Republican headquarters is this: Can Wise spearhead a resurgence of Stark Republicans?

Why would The Report hold out hope that Wise has anything special about him that would make him more effective that the Braden/Matthew regime?

The answer: It may be in his genes.

He is the grandson of Carl F. Wise who ran as a "reform" Republican in November, 1951. He served from 1952 to 1958 and did what he promised. He hired a "no non-sense police chief" and together they cleaned Canton up.

So the question becomes:

Can he be to the Stark County Republican Party what his grandfather was to Canton in the 1950s? Will he turn things around?

Time will tell.

And the test will come next year on the county commissioner and county auditor races (Perez).

If it is left of to Matthews, Bosley and Perez will likely have only token opposition.

Could it be that Jason Wise with his heritage of having "fire in the belly," bring renewed energy and vibrancy to the Stark Republicans?

All Stark Countians should be hoping for this possibility.

Otherwise, Stark will sink deeper and deeper into the mire of political intrigue and abuse of power that one-party-rule brings.