A "FIGHT 'FIRE' WITH 'FIRE' CAMPAIGN" GOING FOR ALLIANCE LAW DIRECTOR POST

As pointed out in Tuesday's SCPR blog  (LINK), Democrats have not held the law directorship of Alliance city government since Mike Ogline held the office in 1987 through December 31, 1991.

It is now approaching the 25 year mark of the Dems being out of office.

That is a very, very long time for a political drought.

It had not occurred to The Report that the time may be ripe for the Alliance Dems to regain the Alliance Law Department in this election cycle.

In fact, yours truly was focusing on the council presidency race (Republican Garnes v. Democrat Okey) (LINK) as the "hot button" race in Alliance this year.

On publication on the blog identify that race as one to watch in Alliance, The Report was told that such was not the case and that Whitaker v. Arnold is THE "hot button" race.

And The Report suspects Garnes v. Okey still think commands the the attention of Republican and Democratic politicos, notwithstanding being told that Okey is not making much of "for public appearances" effort.

But who is the SCPR to take exception to Alliance-based political activists as to which race is the one that has the political blood coursing through the wards and precincts of Alliance.

For the time Republican Andrew Zumbar (now judge of the Alliance Municipal Court) was law director, only once during his tenure (the 1995 election) did he run opposed which opponent he dispatch with ease in garnering some 61% of the vote.

Before Zumbar, now retired judge and Republican Robert Lavery held the office going back to the Ogline days.

It seemed like this year's Democratic candidate, Mark Whitaker, a long time Alliance attorney (a native son of the Carnation City) was being offered up a political sacrificial lamb when yours truly noted his filing a petition with the Stark County Board of Elections back in February to run for the office as the Democratic standard bearer.

As often happens with the SCPR, after the filing an e-mail showed up in The Report's e-mail account signaling that Whitaker's filing should be taken seriously in that he would likely be receiving Republican Party support.

And indeed there is a Stark County BOE campaign fiance report with regard to the May primary election (also shared with the SCPR by Arnold) showing that Whitaker has received support from a couple Alliance Republicans (Michelle Zumbar [Andrew's wife] and former Republican Alliance Municipal Court judge Robert Lavery), to wit:

SCPR Note:  The pre-general election (November 3, 2015) campaign finance reports (CFR) were to been filed with the Stark BOE yesterday.  The Report has requested copies of Arnold's/Whitaker CFRs and will amend this blog to include copies thereof.

However, The Report had talked to a knowledgeable Democrat about the viability of a Whitaker candidacy and was told that he was not a viable candidate and that Zumbar replacement Republican appointee Jen Arnold (worked as an assistant under Zumbar for about 12 years) is almost certain to be elected in her own right come November 3rd.

Accordingly, the SCPR is not at all sure that Whitaker is a serious threat to the Republicans losing the Alliance law directorship this time around.

What does give The Report pause to think that maybe there is something to the assertion that the Arnold/Whitaker face off is a real fight that might result in the Dems taking over, is the swift reaction that yours truly received from a leading Alliance Republican and Director Arnold herself on the day after the October 20th blog.

It appears that the fuel that seems to be feeding the notion that Arnold is in political trouble has to do with her having exercised poor judgment (in the opinion of the SCPR) in having from about January through December, 2014 what she terms as being a personal, tongue-in-cheek Facebook page.

She may consider it to have been personal and tongue-in-cheek but she should known that it would be taken by those who are not enamored with her as being an unprofessional picture of life in the Alliance law department which cannot not be justified as being "just joking around."

Readers of this blog should definitely go back to Tuesday blog and take a look at the offending graphics (again, the LINK) of Arnold's Facebook page (now having been taken down).

On the linked blog, one of Arnold's endorsers is Republican Larry Dordea who is Ward 3 councilman, a former councilman-at-large, and a former highly successful police chief of Alliance (now the police chief of Hartville and a two time losing candidate for Stark County sheriff in two pretty close races).

The Report has a high regard for Dordea and thinks that Stark County would be in much better law enforcement hands had he been elected over Democrat George T. Maier whom the SCPR thinks has politicized the management of the sheriff's department and plays favorites with the unionized deputies in a game of "divide and conquer" to keep union leaders on their heels.

Dordea tells The Report that notwithstanding the poor judgment of Arnold in doing the ribald Facebook page, he unqualifiedly reaffirms his endorsement of her.

Mark Whitaker was NOT the source of the Arnold Facebook graphics that appeared in the October 20th blog.  However, he does have a copy of them and does admit that he bases his "Arnold is unprofessional" opinion partially - but not entirely - on those Facebook entries.

As a refresher, here are a copy of the offensive to some "personal" FB graphics posted by Arnold and/or members of the Alliance Law Department staff:

Arnold characterized the Facebook material as "old news."

Well, how old is as late as December, 2014?

And if she thinks her now non-existent Facebook graphics are old news, what would she say in terms of antiquity about this material she sent me about Mark Whitaker?



An interesting note on information provided by Arnold is that Whitaker in August/September 2013 applied for a position in the Andrew Zumbar (Arnold as his top assistant) Alliance Law Department.

The SCPR takes the Arnold telephone call (see a summary of points made below), the Dordea phone call and the negative material provide by Arnold on Whitaker to be a case of "fighting political fire with political fire."

In doing so, Arnold is not creating a new political model.  Rather such is rather typical of hard fought political campaigns.

And, of course, The SCPR provides any and all subjects of The Report blogs a full and unfettered opportunity to respond to blogs that include them in the blog presentation.

The Report appreciated having an extended conversation with Whitaker as summary of which was published in the October 20th blog.

Arnold too spent time with yours truly on the telephone on Wednesday past and here is a summary of what she had to say:

• She opened up in saying that she felt that the SCPR needed to know about Whitaker having had a discipline problem with the Ohio Supreme Court which she learned of back in 2013 when Whitaker applied for a job with the Alliance Law Department when she apparently had the responsibility to determine whether or not Whitaker should be hired,
• Distinguished between her former "personal" Facebook page (FB) cited in the above linked blog (which interesting enough is no long available online) and her professional FB which is apparently doubling as a campaign FB page as linked to in Tuesdays blog,
• Stated she has tried not to be dirty in the campaign but if they (Whitaker and /or his supporters) are going to go back two years and make available to the voting public material from her "personal" Facebook page to suggest that she's unprofessional then "that's a horse of a different color"  (the in quote marks words is the SCPR characterization of Arnold frame of mine; not her direct words),
• On the matter of whom the politically prominent Zumbar family is supporting she says that her prior reports shown contributions in check form from:
•  Judge Andrew Zumbar and his wife Michelle,
• says that she is told that Michelle Zumbar is a distant relative of Whitaker's,
•  Judge Lavery (who also contributed to Whitaker's campaign),
• Cited as an example of dual community support situations in which her political sign is in one part of a Alliance resident's yard and Whitaker's is in another part of the same resident's yard,
• Responded to Whitaker's claim that she has plea bargained 75% of domestic violence cases down which came under her purview as a Alliance Law Department prosecutor, and in doing so,
• negated the possibility that a second domestic violence charge would be treated as a felony rather than a misdemeanor criminal offense.
• Her specific response:
• "Demonstrates that Mark does not understand how domestic violence works,"
• that domestic violence does not get cured by arrests,
• that domestic violence gets cured by people understanding that they deserve more than an abusive relationship,
• that her approach in Alliance citywide presentations with another person (Kim of the Domestic Violence project) focuses on listening to/counseling the victims and those charged so as:
• to prevent occurrences of domestic violence rather than build her prosecutor portfolio,
• that she is not worried about convictions but she is interested in making somebody's life better, and
• said she doesn't know whether or not Whitaker's 75% number is correct or not,
• Finally said that she does think there is more to the Whitaker/Okey relationship than Whitaker is owning up to based on Okey's record of making campaign finance contributions to Whitaker,

On the domestic violence front, she did provide the SCPR a graph of the work the Alliance law department has done in this regard in 2013 and 2014, to wit:

Undoubtedly, Arnold regrets having included the law department office related material on Facebook.

Whatever her motivation, it does indicate to the SCPR that she is capable of very poor judgment.

Moreover and undoubtedly, Whitaker regrets his lapse in judgment back in the mid-1980s.

Not to make excuses for Whitaker, but going back to the mid-1980s is a very long time ago and there is no indication whatsoever that he has any professional indiscretions since.

However, the SCPR thinks that Alliance voters should evaluate both lapses as to there relevance in the assessment of these voters in coming to a determination on how they vote as between Arnold and Whitaker in early voting and of course on November 3, 2015, the concluding election day itself.

It could be that this Whitaker/Arnold face-off is THE "hot-button" race of the 2015 election in Alliance.

From what the SCPR knows now about how the Garnes/Okey has played out as compared to to the Arnold/Whitaker match up, it appears that the May/June 2015 SCPR source knew what he/she (whatever the gender of the source is) was talking about.

We really won't know the final answer until the late hours of November, 2015!

LET'S SEE. DEMOCRATS ABOUT TO CAPTURE ALLIANCE LAW DIRECTOR OFFICE? MAKE IT 3 OUT 4 LAW DIRECTORSHIPS AMONG STARK'S LARGEST CITIES?

UPDATE:  11:45 AM

A SOCIAL MEDIA "GOOF"

TO DO ARNOLD IN?

SCPR NOTE:  The Report this morning talked with Councilwoman-at-Large Sue Ryan who tells yours truly she has written a letter to the editor of The Alliance Review in support of Mark Whitaker who she thinks will do just fine as law director of Alliance.

She doesn't have anything negative to say about Arnold.  Moreover, she says she sits close by Arnold at Alliance City Council meetings and has enjoyed a good relationship with her.

However, she has not seen the Arnold's former Alliance Law Department Facebook page to make a comment on the contents.

Ryan is not running for a new term on council

ORIGINAL BLOG

One has to go back to 1991 to find a Democrat holding Alliance's law director position.

And that would have been Mike Ogline.

Elected in 1987, he was succeeded by Republican Robert Lavery beginning on January 1, 1992.

From Lavery's election on, Republicans have had a stranglehold on the city law director office.

Lavery's successor (with the 1995 election), Andrew Zumbar (brother of Alex Zumbar, Stark County treasurer) proved untouchable for the Democrats during his time as law director, witness the following graphic.

But it may be that Republican appointee Jennifer Arnold originally from Caldwell, Ohio may be about to lose the position to Alliance native Mark Whitaker.

How's that?

The SCPR sees it this way.

One of the most influential Republicans in all of Alliance, Julie Jakmides, is in Whitaker's corner.

In her own right, Julie is the leading Republican vote getting councilperson-at-large in her two races for council.  You have to remember that this young lady is not that much beyond having graduated from Mount Union University (2013) and is now embarked on obtaining a law degree from The University of Akron School of Law (2017).

Julie's dad - Jeff Jakmides - a highly successfull criminal defense attorney - is a big bucks contributor to Stark County and Alliance area Republicans running for public office.

Julie is a highly loyal Republican.  But her best friend is Mark Whitaker's daughter.  And, Julie, takes her friendships seriously.  She says that her support of Whitaker is a product of the friendship factor and not a case of her bolting the Republican Party.

And the SCPR takes her word for it that her friendship with Whitaker's daughter in the primary reason she is opting to support him in this election.

However, The Report believes that there are at the very least reinforcing factors at play.

One such factor likely is what challenger Whitaker characterized to the SCPR as Arnold's unprofessional behavior.

The key here is a Facebook page that Arnold published in the early days of her taking office on being appointed law director by Stark County Republican Party Central Committee (Alliance members) on January 18, 2014 through - it appears - December, 2014.

What follows are some samples sent to the SCPR, to wit:

(Note:  Christina Marie is said to be Arnold's Alliance City Law Department office coordinator and Gasparik, her paralegal).

The SCPR is told that the FB page containing the ribald material has been taken down and replaced by this (LINK) page.

It hard to believe that if folks like Ward 3 councilman Larry Dordea and twice Republican candidate for Stark County sheriff, Republican mayor Alan Andreani, the membership of the Alliance FOP, Republican auditor Kevin Knowles and Councilman Roger Rhome knew about the former existence of the risque Facebook page that they would have been willing to have their names on her website as endorsers.

It could be that if they did know, they are rationalizing that it was done for comic relief and therefore were willing to overlook what others think was an unprofessional way to present the operations of Alliance's law department under Arnold's directorship.

It appears that some other Alliance Republicans are not willing to overlook that Facebook page and are keeping their distance from Arnold or in some cases outright supporting Democrat Whitaker.

Whitaker told the SCPR yesterday, without specifying which Zumbar(s) and which Lavery(s) will being appearing on his campaign finance report due out this Thursday, says that those names are among well known Alliance Republican names which will appear.

He did say that Andrew Zumbar is not one of them.

Andrew Zumbar was elected Alliance Municipal Court judge in November, 2013.

It rare for judges to overtly take sides in political campaigns and The Report is told that Andrew is not publicly taking a position in the Arnold/Whitaker race.

However, it has been noted that while the family residence has other candidates' signs in the yard, Jennifer Arnold's is not one of them.

In Stark County, Massillon Municipal Court judge Eddie Elum (a Democrat and a close ally of former Stark County Democratic Party chairman Johnnie A. Maier, Jr.,) has been in a political tussle or two in Massillon.

And at the Ohio Supreme Court level, Democrat justice William O'Neil is known to weigh-in on Ohio Democratic Party politics.

In aforementioned conversation with Whitaker, he shared the following with yours truly:

• Confirmed he has significant Republican support through friendships he has formed in his many years living in Alliance,
• Alliance Democrats, he says, are solidly behind him,
• That Steve Okey is not involved in his campaign,
• That Stark Dems' offer him advice when he asks but have not financially supported him,
• While Sheriff George T. Maier has not attended a fundraiser, he has sent in a campaign contribution,
• He has been working hard canvasing Alliance with his wife, his son and a couple that support him and they have covered 85% of Alliance except for Ward 3 and Ward 1 and once they get through those wards will embark on a re-canvas,
• Disputed a Republican contention that he is in poor health as a consequence of having undergoing open heart surgery last October and that he is unlikely to be able to serve a full term and consequently Steve Okey is waiting in the wings to become law director through Stark County Democratic Party appointment,
• He maintained that he is fit and plans on serving for a long time if elected,
• Says that Judge Zumbar's wife openly supports him as does her parents,
• Sells that the Sells (the owners of Heggy's in Alliance) support him,
• Says that support Julie Jakmides and his daughter have been best friends since 5th grade and that her support is a function of that relationship,
• He is expecting to win and would be surprised if he doesn't,
• Feedback from voter contact is positive,
• He is telling voters that they should vote for him because:
• He (as contrasted to Arnold) is an Alliance native who grew up in the Carnation City, went to school in Allinace and understands Alliance as Arnold would not 
• Says that Arnold was hired into the law department 12 years ago but only moved into Alliance two years ago,
• That Arnold's operation is not a professional operation in that he is told by people that she is rude and arrogant,
• Says he is aware of the former Arnold as Law Director Facebook page but is not specifically using it in the campaign in that he is showing it around town,
• Says that the messages sent back and forth with her employees and posted on the former Facebook are inappropriate in that they are unprofessional,
• Should not be on social media on work time,
• For example posting a picture of a guy sleeping in his office which suggests that Alliance taxpayers are not getting what they are paying for,
• Says that though Arnold makes much ado about focusing on prosecuting domestic violence cases, the reality is that her office plea bargans down about 75% of the domestic violence charges to lesser charges which he says is frustrating to Alliance police officers,
• A consequence of the plea bargins, Whitaker says, is that if there are new domestic violence charges in the future the plea down to a lesser charge on the first charged domestic violence offence then negates the second arrest being a felony,

The SCPR is impressed with Julie Jakmides and her willingness to take the heat from fellow office-holding Republicans for her open support of her dear friend's dad.

Putting her friend above her political party may cost her down the road, The Report is told by a leading Alliance Republican office holder.

To hear such balderdash is exactly what causes the SCPR told hold in disdain those political party types who are retaliatory and recriminatory when persons such as Julie Jakmides puts human relationship(s) over and above political party ties.

Councilwoman Jakmides is among the SCRP's leading Stark County political subdivision officials (i.e. The Top 10 List, revised quarterly).

That she thinks well enough of Mark Whitaker to be publicly but not "in your face Republicans" is a political coup for him and cannot but help his effort to break the Republican lock on the Alliance law directorship.

One has to wonder what Jennifer Arnold was thinking when she put up that former Facebook page.

That's it!

She wasn't thinking.

Accordingly, is this a person who should continue to be law director of Alliance?

PART 6 IN A SERIES: "THREE STRIKES AND YOU ARE OUT?" JUDGE PARK FOR THIRD TIME ADMONISHED BY HIGHER COURT!

UPDATED:  7:00 PM

CORRECTION:  (08:54 AM)

In today's original blog the SCPR erroneously reported that Jennifer Arnold in her capacity as law director had requested the search warrant which is the subject this blog.

The warrant was issued in 2012 and Arnold did not become law director until early in 2014.

On that erroneous basis, The Report commented that it appeared to have been a case of "judge shopping."

With the premises being in error, of course, the comment thereon was unfounded with regard to the current law director for which the SCPR apologies to Ms. Arnold for.

REVISED BLOG

Unbelievable!  Simply unbelievable!!  And a third time, utterly unbelievable!!!

Over a six month span (August 18, 2014 through February 18, 2015), Stark County Probate Court judge Dixie Park (Republican of Alliance) has been found by an appellate court to not have known the law.

In the first two cases, Ohio's Fifth District Court of Appeals (which includes Stark County) held that Judge Park did not understand and apply correctly the Constitutional law of Ohio and of the United States of America on due process of law.

Yesterday, the Ohio Supreme Court found that she exceeded her authority in issuing a search warrant sought on behalf of the Alliance Police Department back in 2012.

Back on January 14, 2015, this is what the SCPR wrote about Judge Park after her second reversal on "due process of law" grounds (In re ... Flohr):

A little rain falls on all our lives, no?

Nonetheless the SCPR thought that Park's error on Finan was so grievous and threatening to the legal well-being of day-in, day-out Stark Countians  who might have the misfortune of appearing before her and incurring arbitrary "getting on her wrong side" that The Report launched a series designed to persuade Judge Park to resign.

Well, with yesterday's Ohio Supreme Court decision, the little bit of rain has now turned into  a drencher if not a torrent.

The Report will not repeat the volumes that have already been written in this current series (who knows how long this is going to go on?), but here are links for those SCPR readers are not familiar with the details of what has gone on before:

• January 14, 2015,
• September 22, 2014, 
• September 23, 2014,
• September 25, 2014, and 
• September 29, 2014

The person who signaled that "all was not right" with the search warrant thing was Alliance Municipal Court magistrate Jean Madden. She ordered the suppression of evidence in the Brown et al case and was upheld by Judge Robert Lavery (now retired).

The SCPR report wrote back in 2012 that Madden (a Republican) should have been the Republican appointee as Charles Brown's replacement when he retired.

As for Judge Park, The Stark County Political Report once again calls for her to resign.

Just take a look at what the Ohio Supreme Court had to say in yesterday's issued opinion.

The most disturbing thing about this latest Park episode is that her taking on a role not permitted as a matter of Ohio law (unless under appointment by the Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court) could have jeopardized prosecutors' legal ability to continue with a prosecution of alleged violations of Ohio gambling laws.

Alliance justice officials need to explain to Alliance public who it was that initiated the contact with Judge Park in light of the clarity of the law of Ohio that a probate judge has no power to issue search warrants.

The primary question is whether or not the contact was a case of "judge shopping?"

If it can be determined that such was the case, then measures need to be instituted in the Alliance law department to ensure that such never occurs again.

The current law director (who has been in the Alliance Law Department since 2001 as an assistant prosecutor) that she will not as law director be asking any judge for a search warrant.

Doesn't that sound a little over the top?

• Note: The Reporter who wrote the story linked to above, in a "clarification" e-mail to the SCPR says that Arnold meant "other probate judges;" not judges who are statutorily authorized to grant search warrants.

"Bottom line," Judge Park should not have been receptive to anybody's entreaty to issue the warrant.

Three Park by higher courts admonishments (including two reversals on Constitutional law grounds) within six (6) months!

Unreal.

And one can only shutter to think what litigants and their attorneys have had to endure at the hand of Judge Park on matters which have not made it up the ladder for review by Ohio officials to whom Park has accountability.

Unfortunately and disgustedly, Stark County's organized Democratic and Republican political parties both gave Park a pass in the 2012 elections.

The moral of the story on Dixilene Park as a Stark County judge, it seems to the SCPR, is that individual litigants and the county/municipal justice system itself cannot rely on her knowing and/or correctly applying the law of Ohio and of the United States of America.

The conclusion is inescapable, is it not?

Judge Park should resign and should resign today!

PART 2: SCPR ANALYSIS OF STARK CO. CANDIDATE FILINGS ON 02/04/2015 - ALLIANCE

UPDATED AT 02:12 PM

Continuing the SCPR's analysis of "partisan" candidate filings on Wednesday of this week, this blog picks up with a detailed analysis of Alliance candidate filings.

ALLIANCE CITY COUNCIL PRESIDENCY

The Report was somewhat surprised that Alliance Republican Larry Dordea did not file as his party's candidate for council presidency given the animosity that exists between him and Steve Okey.

For those readers who want a refresh on the underlying history of the Dordea/Okey acrimony, here is a link to a prior blog which goes into "the bad blood" in great detail:

• February 13, 2014

While Dordea would likely have relished taking Okey on and give him "a political spanking" in November; there was a concern that should he take out petitions for the presidency that Okey (who along with Dordea lives in Alliance's Ward 3) would simply file in Ward 3 and get an unopposed route onto council.

Most Alliance Republican officeholders loathe Steve Okey.

Just yesterday the SCPR had a conversation with a well placed Alliance Republican who recounted chapter and verse the grievances that Alliance Republican movers and shakers have against him.

The gist of the complaints center on a perception that with Steve Okey everything legislative in his days as an Alliance councilman was grounded in hardcore Democratic politics.

So it is not surprising that Mayor Alan Andreani (a Republican) who is running unopposed as of now (remember, an independent can still file up until May 4th in all the races discussed in this blog), took up the cause of finding an alternative to Dordea who is running unopposed in Ward 3.

It appears he made quite of find in getting Garnes to run.

Andreani persuaded former Alliance Superintendent of Schools Arthur D. Garnes to run against Okey.

There couldn't be a greater contrast between two candidates.

The SCPR sees Okey as a quintessential Democratic Party politico whereas Garnes (though registered as a Republican since 1972) has been let's say more "presidential" in his politics.  

He holds former (now deceased) council president John Benincasa up as his model. 

So does Okey.

However, the SCPR doubts that Benincasa would have pulled the caper that Okey did in orchestrating a showdown with council in early June, 2014 as one of his first acts as council president after having been elected to the office by Alliance Democratic Party precinct committee persons on April 30, 2014.

Okey is not only a political target of Alliance Republicans. It appears to The Report on talking with her that Sue Ryan, a longtime, influential Alliance Democrat still harbors ill (political) feelings towards Okey.

The Report is told that there has been a split in the Alliance Democratic Party with Okey leading one faction and the other reportedly is the work of Brian Simone.

A source tells the SCPR that Simone had indicated that he was willing to serve another term as president of the Alliance Area Democratic Club (AADC) for 2015.

Here is where matters get dicey:

• At the November meeting, AADC members were to confirm the officer slate for 2015, however,
• From the floor Steve Okey was nominated to be president,
• Consequently, the election was delayed until the December meeting,
• At the December meeting, a number of folks, who, according to the SCPR's highly knowledgeable and credible source, had never been participants in the AADC showed up, paid their dues and thereby were authorized to vote on the slate of officers including the Simone/Okey presidency contest,
• Result:  Okey defeats Simone
• In January, 2015 the Okey group and the Simone group are said to have met at different locations:
• the Okey group at Panchos,
• the Simone group at Ryan's Junction
• Hence, the basis for the SCPR thinking that there is a split among Alliance Democrats.

How (?) Okey thinks that is going to help him win in November is a mystery to the SCPR.

One Alliance Republican officeholder says that Garnes is so highly regarded in Alliance and environs that he will defeat Okey soundly.

A leading Alliance area Democratic officeholder effuses on the high qualities and integrity of Garnes.

However, another Alliance elected official (a person other than one one cited above) questions how well Garnes (a Rotarian and active in the Alliance Area Senior Citizen Center)  is known by 2015 voters these days given that he has not been superintendent since 2004.   Moreover, this Republican source persuasively assesses that Garnes has not been tested on his "running for office" work ethic."

Okey has been tested and has demonstrated he can win (and lose) citywide.  So he is a mixed bag.

In Andreani (also a former school superintendent [Marlington]) being at his side, Garnes has a resource that can get him up to speed quickly on how to successfully run for office.  

It is too early to tell how this race will turn out.

However, running for city council president is different than securing a political party appointment through the "wheelin and dealin" that Okey appears to have used to best Ryan last April.

The sour taste that he and his Stark Dems pals left in Ryan mouth could be the straw that breaks Okey's political back as he tries to come back from his loss to Andreani in Alliance's mayoralty race of 2011.

Here is a series of extracts from Stark County Board of Election records which shows the decline of Steve Okey in Alliance politics from 2005 through 2011:

There are two other races that have the potential to make Alliance a political battleground in November.

ALLIANCE COUNCIL AT LARGE

For beginners, readers can assume that Mount Union graduate and University of Akron law student Julie Jakimedes will lead the pack of Alliance council-at-large candidates when results come in on November 5, 2015.

From what the SCPR sees, notwithstanding her youth, Julie is the de facto if not the de jure leader of Republicans on Alliance City Council.

Beyond Jakmides, it is more or less a crap shoot.

For the Democrats, it appears to the SCPR that Brian Simone is the best bet to been among the top three vote getters.

He is a past president of the Alliance Area Democratic Club (the Alliance Democratic faction that Steve Okey now heads up).

The SCPR sees Simone, an Alliance businessman since 1989, as offering an alternative to Okey's highly partisan "the Democratic Party has the answer to everything" type of Democrat.

While he is a staunch Democrat himself (selected as Alliance Democrat of the Year by the Alliance Area Democratic Club), he seeks to be a "come, let us reason together" Democrat in the context of working with Republicans.

Though Steve Okey was by then (June, 2014) the Alliance Democratic Party precinct committee person appointed council president (to succeed John Benincasa who died in March, 2014), it is interesting to note that Democratic Councilwoman-at-Large (and opponent to Okey for the council presidency) presented the award to Simone.

Should he and Okey get elected, look for Simone to work with Republicans on council to keep Okey in check.

Probably another likelihood of coming out of the November election for a second term as councilman-at-large is Republican Roger Rhome.

However, of the three Republicans running, one Alliance Republican source tells the SCPR that Rhome is the most likely to lose.

And that assessment makes sense.

Republican Jim Edwards has been a member of the Alliance City Schools Board of Education since 2000, which, as far as the SCPR determine is far longer than Rhome has been in Alliance public life.

Another interesting thing about Alliance's council at large races is the candidacy of "Democrat" David M. Smith.

The SCPR puts Democrat in quote marks because of a highly credible source says that he was uncertain as whether to run as a Democrat, Republican or independent.

He decided obviously to run as a Democrat on purportedly being told that the Democrat label would enhance his electability.

The Report is told that the main impetus for his running is his quarrel with Alliance City Council on council having voted down a proposal brought to the floor of council by Steve Okey to allow the sale of alcoholic beverages at Alliance Downtown Commission sponsored events.

Accordingly, the SCPR's source thinks it is likely that Smith would be an Okey ally if he were elected and, of course, if Okey survives his challenge from Art Garnes.

As readers of The Report knows, yours truly surfaces in those venues (i.e. at Stark County political subdivision [cities, villages, township and boards of education) in which their are controversies brewing.

By and large (except for Okey's inaugural meeting as Alliance Dems appointed council president) Alliance meeting have been on the placid side.

It could be that all that is about to change.

An "elected" Steve Okey, the SCPR thinks, will be a much more "activist" President of Council Steve Okey.

And, of course, if a majority of Republicans are elected and, if a Democrat such as Brian Simone is elected, watch out for the fireworks, no?

CITY LAW DIRECTOR

When Andrew Zumbar was elected Alliance Municipal Court judge in 2013, Jenn Arnold became his replacement as Alliance law director in early 2014.

Zumbar had been law director for 18 years.

Arnold, the SCPR is told, was Zumbar's hand picked successor.

It is interesting to note that Zumbar had not had opposition for election as law director going back to 1995 when he defeated Democrat Robert Stone.

So it had to be somewhat surprising for many in Alliance to see this publication from the Stark County Board of Elections at the end of business on February 4th:

But it was not surprising to the SCPR.

The Report received a head ups prior to the filing deadline about Democrat Mark Whitaker having taken out petitions and that his doing so had more to it than a typical "the best time to run for an office is when the person holding it is freshly appointed."

From what the SCPR can determine from "multiple" sources is that there is a lot of dissatisfaction with Arnold in how she has functioned as law director and comported herself in social media.

As the campaign evolves, of course, the SCPR will be in the lead of all Stark County media in digging out all the political nitty-gritty that makes for interesting and informative reading on the part of Alliance, Canton, Massillon, North Canton and, indeed, all Stark County residents.