NORTH CANTON MAYOR DAVID HELD TO SCPR - "EARLE E. WISE, JR WILL NOT BE A PART OF THE NORTH CANTON ADMINISTRATION AFTER DECEMBER 31, 2010." A FAILED EXPERIMENT IN BIPARTISAN GOVERNMENT?

 

When Mayor David Held hired Earle E. Wise, Jr., as his chief administrator on becoming mayor, area media hailed the move as a demonstration of a public official moving beyond politics to select the best person available for the job.


Held, whom the SCPR views as one of  the least Republican of being a Republican in Stark County officialdom, and Earle E. Wise, Jr., whom The Report views as one of the least Democrat of being a Democrat in Stark County officialdom, will part ways with the coming of the end of 2010; so says Held to the Stark County Political Report.


The Report's take is that, except in the very early days after the appointment, the predominantly Republican Council led by staunch Republican City Council President Daryl Revoldt has not been nearly as enamored with Wise as Mayor Held has been.


In recent years there has been a lot of rumbling among councilpersons about the quality of administration they thought North Canton was getting at the hand of Wise.  However, Mayor Held fought the Council negativity and refused to heed backroom suggestions that he replace Wise.  When it became apparent to Held that he was not going to be able to withstand Council's onslaught against Wise staying on as the chief, he moved him into a lesser administrative role.


The demotion of Wise, a few months ago, was coupled with the promotion of City Engineer James Benekos as both chief engineer and chief administrator.  Obviously, the promotion was a stop-gap measure as there is no way that Benekos, as competent as he is, could possibly do both jobs on his own.  City officials have owned up to this realty and are in the process of searching for a deputy administrator to assist and report to Benekos.  In order do so, with the city finances in a precarious state, North Canton will be taking the savings from letting Wise go to apply to a new hire deputy administrator.


Held tells The Report that he holds Wise in the highest regard and deems him to be a man of unparalleled integrity, but that in order to be able to work for effectively and efficiently with Council, he has to let Wise go.


On another front, Council President Daryl Revoldt says North Canton is in the process of finding a replacement for Alex Zumbar who Revoldt says has been a key factor in North Canton keeping its financial ship afloat.  Zumbar was elected Stark County treasurer on November 2nd.


As reported earlier this week, North Canton apparently is planning on rehiring (on a temporary basis) former finance official Marge Loretto to serve until a new finance director is found.


Whether or not North Canton is able to keep its city as one of Stark County's more financially stable communities,  could depend on the quality of the new deputy of administration and finance director that "the dogwood city" officials are able to find in their search.

Given the Held/Wise failure, probably the best chance for success is for officials to hire "the most qualified Republicans" they can find, no?

NO ONE IS HAPPIER THAN BETHLEHEM TOWNSHIP'S TOM MARCELLI ABOUT ALAN HAROLD'S SMASHING VICTORY OVER STARK AUDITOR KIM PEREZ!

Nobody but nobody is more pleased with the defeat of Stark County Auditor Kim Perez than Bethlehem community activist Tom Marcelli.

For a number of years Marcelli has been dogging Perez about Perez's handling of the auditor office.  He even flirted with the idea of running as an independent against the auditor.  But, in the end, he left it up to Alan Harold.  Undoubtedly, Marcelli was beating the bushes for Harold as he and local attorney and citizen activist Craig T. Conley did for the "Vote No Increased Taxes Committee" effort to collect enough signatures to put the county commissioner "imposed" sales tax repeal on the ballot in November, 2009.

And Marcelli, Conley and friends did not rest on their laurels in getting the measure on the ballot.  They spearheaded a highly successful effort to defeat retention of the tax in the 2009 general election.

They continue to reap rewards for their effort.  Victims of the Marcelli/Conley political juggernaut include Gary D. Zeigler (the former Stark County treasurer), Todd Bosley (a sitting commissioner who lost in the 50th Ohio House race last night) and Perez.

With the election of Alan Harold, Stark Countians can count on a significant drop off of the 99 employees currently on the county auditor's payroll come Harold assuming the office in March, 2011.  Anything short of a sharp reduction in the auditor workforce would mean that Harold's rhetorical commitment to sharply effective and efficient county government would be just that:  "rhetoric."

During the campaign Harold trotted out a report done by Republican State of Auditor Mary Taylor (now lieutenant-governor elect) on a peer group review showing that the Stark County auditor office to be highly inefficient in terms of the number of personnel.  Now Harold owns the report and must make dramatic cuts to square up with his contention that Perez runs an inefficient office.  Otherwise, voters are likely to take him as a politician who will say anything to get elected.

Commissioner-elect and Democrat Tom Bernabei (who will take office on or before November 23rd, whenever he is certified by the Board of Elections as having been officially elected) during the campaign said that it is impossible for Stark County to survive on $35 million in annual revenue that will be the reality if a 2011 "up for renewal" 0.25 sales tax is allowed to expire.

A question.  Can he convince the newly elected commissioner Republican Janet Creighton and/or sitting commissioner Pete Ferguson to go forward with a renewal effort or to come up with an alternative (i.e. a term-certain sales tax specific to Stark's criminal justice system)?

And if commissioners do decide to support a tax initiative, will Marcelli, Conley et al regenerate the Vote No Increased Taxes group in an attempt to defeat it.  What would be Harold's position?  Alex Zumbar's position? (a Republican elected as treasurer last night) 

Republicans have made a fetish out of doing more with less.  Now that the Republicans have gained a foothold in county government, the Stark County voting public need to hold their feet to the fire.

If the Republicans can implement their rhetoric, then their election will have been a good thing towards the restoration of public confidence and trust in local government.

All Stark Countians should wish the Republicans well on their quest. 

It is good that political competition has been injected into the Stark County non-judicial political/government structure.

If the same can happen in the City of Canton and City of Massillon, those communities can hugely benefit!!!

CAMPAIGN FINANCE SERIES: STARK TREASURER'S RACE - KOHER V. ZUMBAR

UPDATE:  10/31/2010 - 3:18 PM

The Report received a call from candidate Zumbar minutes ago.

There are three points to cover in this update.

First, regarding the fact that the husband of Susan Verble, a regional liaison with the State of Ohio Auditor's office contributed to the Zumbar campaign.  Candidate Zumbar does not see any problem with such a contribution and obviously will not be moving to return it. 

Such, of course, is a determination for the candidate to make and live with the consequences; negative, positive or neutral.  What's more, The Report understands Zumbar to be taking the position that it was an overreach by yours truly to focus on the Verble contribution at all.  Obviously The Report disagrees.

What really counts is the public perception.  It is the position of the SCPR that such contributions should be highlighted by the likes of The Repository and the SCPR.  For the general public would not have any idea who the Verbles are.

Some voters are likely to agree with Zumbar and some with the SCPR.  As Zumbar has certain judgments to make, so does The Report.

Second, on the point that the campaign finance report of October 21st shows that most of Zumbar's support comes from the Alliance area.  Zumbar tells the SCPR that he had a fundraiser in North Canton on October 14th and that the list of event contributors would show that he has broad support across Stark County. The pre-general election campaign finance report cuts off as of October 13th.  Accordingly, the North Canton event contributions would not show up on the pre-general report.

When the SCPR has access to that information, it will be published in the pages of this blog.  If candidate Zumbar wants to get that information to yours truly within the next day, The Report will be glad to supplement this particular blog with information as to whom attended the North Canton event and the contributions they made.

The Report also corrects two inadvertent factual errors that occurred in this blog.  First, contributor Charles Brown, III is the son of Judge Charles E. Brown, Jr, not Judge Brown himself, and  contributor Jane Vignos served as Stark County Recorder and not as Stark County Auditor.

ORIGINAL BLOG

Alex Zumbar's political base is in Alliance.  Accordingly, his pre-general election campaign finance report looks like Alliance versus the rest of Stark County in the light of  Democratic opponent Ken Koher's report.  Or maybe even an Alliance versus Massillon given the heavy tinge of Massillon contributors to Koher.

It is striking that none of North Canton's officials appear to have contributed to Zumbar's campaign.

The main reason Ken Koher surfaced to be a "surprise" nominee of the Stark County Democratic Party to fill out the remainder of county commissioner deposed Treasurer Gary D. Zeigler's term is that former Stark County Democratic Party chairman Johnnie A. Maier, Jr. got behind him.

Once the word got out that Koher was Maier's man, the rest of the candidates could pack it in.  It is The Report's experience that Maier himself (individually or through his campaign committee) rarely contributes to any other candidate.  Of course, while he was chairman, it was very unwise for existing or aspiring Democrat officeholders not to contribute to Maier's campaigns.  Maier is clearly - a one-way street kind of politician.

So to see his campaign committee making a Koher contribution is a keepsake for political junkies.  Undoubtedly, they will be printing this blog out to get the Maier contribution graphic so as to frame it and hang it on the office wall.

And as readers can see, there are quite a few Massillonians that Maier brought along with him into the Koher fold. 

Clearly, Zumbar has the political experience advantage over Koher.  He is associated closely with former Stark County Republican chairman Charles E. Brown, III (now a Common Pleas Court judge) having worked with him and having worked the political hustings with Brown during Brown's days as party chairman.

Zumbar's brother (Andrew) is Alliance's law director.  It seems as if all of Alliance's major political figures have contributed to Zumbar's campaign.

There is one contribution that The Report believes was unwise for Zumbar to accept.  It has to do with the Terrence Verble contribution.  The Report believes that the contributor is the spouse of Susan Verble who is an employee of the State of Ohio Auditor's (SAO) office (North Canton).

Given the controversy surrounding the quality or lack of quality of work of the SAO in its audit of the Stark Treasury on the Frustaci matter, it would appear not to be a smart and trust-engendering thing for Zumbar to have any political relationship whatsoever with (direct or indirect) an employee of the SAO.

The Report tried to contact Zumbar for comment but was unsuccessful.

What follows is an extract of the filings of pre-general campaign finance reports by Koher and Zumbar which were due on October 21, 2010.

ZUMBAR

KOHER

VIDEO: COMPARE ZUMBAR & ALLBRITAIN AS STARK GOP CANDIDATES FOR TREASURER. ZUMBAR WINS, DO YOU AGREE?

On Wednesday evening the Stark County Republican Party nominated former Alliance auditor and current North Canton Finance Director Alex Zumbar to be its nominee to run for Stark County Treasurer in November against Democrat Ken Koher.

There is a vacancy because on August 23rd, the Stark County commissioners vacated the county treasurer title held by Democrat Gary D. Zeigler.

Commissioners forced Zeigler out of office under the authority of Ohio Revised Code Section 321.38 because of the loss some $2.96 million of county money under his watch as county treasurer.  Former Chief Deputy Vince Frustaci has admitted to stealing of $2.46 million of the missing money. The remaining money has not been accounted for.  Zeigler has had a civil suit filed against him by the county commissioners to recover the missing money from him on a legal theory of personal liability.   Zeigler is contesting the suit.

The SCPR believes that the Republicans, like the Democrats did on Tuesday evening, made the best choice of the candidates in the running for the party nomination.

Zumbar is by all reports a no-nonsense type of guy who will thoroughly vet the treasury staff including nomination opponent Allbritain,  if he wins the election in November.

Allbritain may be an effective lower-level employee, but The Report does not see that she has the communicative and interpersonal skills to be Stark County treasurer.  From the day she was sworn in as interim treasurer, she has blown off the SCPR several times on requests to ask her some questions.  She talked a good game of accessibility and transparency, however, the The Report's experience is that she has not delivered.  Undoubtedly, she feared she could not handle The Report's questions.

Unlike the Democrats who shared with the Stark County public how the votes were spread out among the candidates, Republican chairman Jeff Matthews (a man who totally underwhelms the SCPR) said he was keeping the numbers secret.  Some Republicans (the likes of Matthews) seem to have this thing about "unity."

Apparently, Matthews thinks that if any of candidates other than Zumbar got votes, it would be a breach of Republican unity to divulge this reality to Stark Countians.  This from a man who talked about transparency and accountability in critiquing the Zeigler administration of the the Stark treasury.

With the nomination of Zumbar, it appears to the SCPR the Republicans are likely to pick up three countywide offices this November:  the auditor's office, the treasury and the full term commissioner's seat.

But the impending success certainly has nothing to do with Jeff Matthews.  It will occur notwithstanding Matthews being the chairman.

Stark's Democrats have imploded and therefore have encouraged the likes of Janet Creighton and Alex Zumbar (who collectively represent the strength of Stark's organized Republicans) to come forward to run in a very positive environment for Republicans.

One office-holding Democrat has told the SCPR that this is an anti-incumbent year.  That may be to a certain extent.  While Creighton and Zumbar (a close protege of former Stark Republican chairman Charles Brown - now a Common Pleas Court judge) are not incumbent elected officials, they are veteran former elected officials.

So how is it that they as more or less establishment political figures seem to be in good stead in a seeming political environment that the voters want fresh faces?

Zumbar will be going head-to-head with a novice politician.  Being new will not be an advantage to Democrat Koher.  It will be a liability in light of his party being besieged by the negative public perception legacy left to his political party officialdom by the commissioner deposed Gary D. Zeigler.

Creighton is going up against Steve Meeks who is just as much a political insider as she is.  However, Creighton has always demonstrated political strength in Stark County.  She even managed to defeat Canton Councilman Bill Smuckler in the heavily Democratic Canton in 2003.  Meeks has never run countywide.  He was s trustee in Jackson Township for a number of years.

The Report does not believe that the Stark County Democratic Party has the resources to prop up its neophyte  candidate.

Zumbar is likely to win handily.

Here is a video of the Zumbar and Allbritain speeches.