CANTON LAW DIRECTOR JOE MARTUCCIO TO RETIRE AT END OF 2017?

Undoubtedly, there are a number of Stark County attorneys who would love to be Canton law director.

And it appears that sooner than later they will have their chance.

The Stark County Political Report (SCPR) has learned that it is highly likely that they will get their chance in early 2018.

For the SCPR has it on solid sourcing information that Canton Law Director Joseph Martuccio will very, very, very likely be retiring at the end of this year.

Martuccio, who is 64, has been law director since 2000 when he was appointed by the Canton Municipal Court District precinct committeepersons of the Stark County Democratic Party to succeed Thomas M. Bernabei (the current mayor of Canton) to replace Bernabei when he retired.

Before becoming director, he was Canton assistant prosecutor, a Stark County public defender and assistant public defender.  Martuccio had various other public service positions outside of Stark County prior to beginning his work in Stark County (he public defender's office) in 1981.  Counting all his public service, he has racked up some 40 years in public life.

Martuccio has never had an election opponent during his 17 years as law director.

It all began with the 2003 election.

The Report hears that he has a non-life threatening health issue which he is dealing with and that resolving the matter has prompted his consideration of retiring.

From what the SCPR has learned, it appears that the inside track for succeeding Martuccio is his deputy chief counsel Kristen Bates Aylward.

It would not be surprising if there is some "testing of the waters" by others even if it is widely known that Bates-Aylward is Martuccio's preference to be his successor which the SCPR has reason to believe that she is.

When she ran for Stark County Domestic Relations judge in 2012, she received the highest recommendation by her peer members of the Stark County Bar Association.

VIDEO OF JUDGE HAAS' DECISION - "MS. BUCHANAN TO GET HER CATS BACK!"

UPDATED:  5:51 PM

At the conclusion of today's court session on the question of whether or not Jodi Buchanan was going to get her cats back, it was a thumbs up for Ms. Buchanan.

She already had five (5) of them retrieved. 

Tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. she is to get the remaining four (4) back.  The transaction is to be videotaped.

The title of this blog comes from a comment by Buchanan attorney Michela Huth as Stark County Court of Common Pleas judge John Haas thanked the parties for working with him to resolve the dispute before  him on the city of Canton's contention that Buchanan had too many cats (10 in all; one, the SCPR is told, died) because Canton has a ordinance which allows for only five (5) cats to be kept in a city of Canton residence.

Huth, as Judge Haas shook hands with her could be heard to say, "Judge, you are a great mediator."

And indeed, if you are the City of Canton and the Canton Police Department (CPD) and maybe even the Stark County Humane Society (working at the request of and in conjunction with the CPD) and the various individuals involved in the taking of Buchanan's cats on May 5th, the wisdom that Judge Haas applied in bringing the parties to an agreement today likely spared them further litigation in the civil arena.

While Attorney Huth was gracious with and complementary of Judge Haas, she was not particularly happy the outcome of the negotiations which apparently took upwards of an hour (the hearing was set for 1:00 p.m., the articulation of the agreement by Judge Haas came shortly after 2:00 p.m.)

To be noted in the video which follows, the SCPR thinks, is the judge's emphasis on Ms. Buchanan's agreement to waive her rights to pursue any legal claims against any of the entities and personages connected with the May 5th and after actions.

Attorney Huth refused to comment on Judge Haas observation (as seen in the video) that he understood that Huth and her client were not happy with certain aspects of the agreement.

Knowing a thing or two about these sorts of things, the SCPR speculates that the displeasure had more to do with the waiver than any other part of the agreement.

The incident has to be embarrassing to the Canton Police Department and the Healy administration.

For the CPD it seems as if the department is up to enforcing ordinances on the number animals one can keep, but does not do such a great job on keeping the streets free of gunfire and other violent activity that makes Canton an unattractive place for anyone to live or visit.

An Internet site ranks Canton, for cities of its size, the 6th "most dangerous in terms of crime."  And the SCPR does not think that numbers of animals kept in residences in violation of city ordinances is part of the criteria used in coming up with the ranking.

For the mayor, the Buchanan matter, The Report thinks, places in doubt his ongoing testament to the effect that the CPD has its priorities straight.

JUDGE HAAS' DECISION 



MS. BUCHANAN'S AFFIDAVIT 
(FILED WITH THE COURT, AN EXTRACT)