(VIDEO) COMMISSIONER FERGUSON & NORTH CANTON MAYOR DAVID HELD COLLABORATING ON VETERANS HOME FOR THE DOGWOOD CITY. COULD MEAN THAT FERGUSON WILL BE RUNNING FOR SECOND TERM AS COUNTY COMMISSIONER.

 

At yesterday's work session of the Stark County Commissioners, Commissioner Ferguson shared with fellow commissioners Janet Creighton and Tom Bernabei the results of a meeting he had in Columbus last Thursday with Director Moe of the Ohio Veteran Services Commission, Mayor David Held of North Canton, state Representative Kirk Schuring (R-Jackson, the 51st) and state Representative Christina Hagan (R-Marlboro, the 50th) to explore the prospects for getting a veterans home located in Stark County.

The effort is an outgrowth of a letter generated out of the Cuyahoga County Veterans Service Commission which fell into the hands of Commissioner Ferguson.

As Commissioner Ferguson explains in the accompanying video, if the project is realized (and Representative Schuring says (to Mayor Held) that - if it happens - it will be at least three years in the making), then North Canton or wherever the home is eventually located could get up to 200 jobs.

The political significance of the timeline is that Commissioner Ferguson's term expires on December 31, 2012.  As readers of the SCPR know, doing something for military veterans has been a consuming passion with Ferguson.  The Report can't imagine that he would not want to remain to see this project through to the end.

Ferguson has worked hard disassociate himself from what fellow commissioner Janet Creighton has termed as being the "good old boys network" of the Stark County Democratic Party.  Should he seek re-election, which The Report believes he will, only then will Stark Countians know the full impact of the Frustaci scandal.

No Democratic official had any involvement whatsoever in former Stark Treasury Chief Deputy Vince Frustaci theft of at least $2.46 million (some believe to have been $2.96 million) in Stark County taxpayer money.  However, there may be a public perception that certain public officials (e.g. Kim Perez, Todd Bosley, Steve Meeks) did not exercise enough oversight to see to it that the possibility of a theft of public funds be eliminated.

Perez (for auditor), Bosley (for state representative) and Meeks (for county commissioner)  (thought by many to part of a Democratic officials "good old boy network") were soundly defeated in November, 2010 and one has to wonder whether or not a negative public perception as set forth above played a part in the outcome.  Bosley may have caught a double whammy because of his participation in imposing a 0.5 sales tax increase on Stark Countians in December, 2008.

Ferguson has been commissioner since January, 2008.  He was a member of the board that removed Gary Zeigler as county treasurer - August, 2010) under permissive authority of the Ohio Revised Code for the mere fact money was missing from the treasury even though Zeigler was completely exonerated of any involvement by county and federal prosecutors.  So his success or failure in 2012's election might well be dependent on whether or not in the public mind he was  part of the network as expounded upon above.

Here is the video of Commissioner Ferguson and Mayor Held speaking about the prospects of a veterans home for Stark County and specifically for North Canton.

(VIDEO) CHRISTINA HAGAN SERIES: "TOWNHALL MEETING" - ISSUE: DRILLING IN STATE PARKS

 

On May 9, 2011 newly appointed (March 1st - by the Ohio House Republican Caucus) Christina Hagan, not yet out of college (Malone University, as state representative for Ohio's 50th Ohio House District held a town hall meeting at the Louisville Public Library.

As the SCPR sees it, the hasty call for a townhall meeting was mostly an exercise in political damage control fast on the heels of her having voted for House Bill 153 (Ohio's budget for biennium fiscal years 2012-12 on which Amstutz was the sponsor) on Thursday, May 5, 2011.  In a solid party line vote (59 Republicans - yes; 40 Democrats - no) Hagan voted for dramatic cuts in local government funding, K-12 education, nursing home reimbursements and the like.  Moreover, she supported Senate Bill 5 which some say is an attempt to undermine public worker unions.

Damage control?

Yes.  As a rookie legislator she is particularly vulnerable come November, 2012 when she has to actually get elected to the office.

Only about 30 days or so before her HB 153 vote (on March 30, 2011) she voted for the controversial Senate Bill 5 (curtailing the collective bargaining rights of public union members.  She can expect many of them; although teacher, police and firefighter are the only unions which tilt towards supporting Repubicans, to visit political retribution for in her retention bid in 2012.

The Stark County Political Report videotaped Hagan's townhall meeting and is embarked on presenting most of the material taped in a series.  A few days ago, The Report ran a piece in which a couple attendees brought of the fact that the HB 153 vote was strictly along party lines.  While the SB 5 wasn't exactly along party lines, it was very close to it.  In both instances Hagan did vote the Republican Party line and any implied intimation by her that she considered voting against the party position was  disingenuous at the very least and more realistically an outright sham.

The same goes for her Stark County fellow in the Ohio House:  Kirk Schuring (the 51st).

Hagan's retention as state representative will come up in a presidential year which, in addition to her being a novice and having ired Republican friendly unions, will be another incentive for Democrats (Democrats come out in greater numbers in presidential years) to field a stiff challenge to Hagan.

Because of her marked inexperience, Hagan did not dare to try the townhall meeting on her own.  She brought veteran Republican legislators Ron Amstutz of Wooster and Dave Hall of Millersburg to Louisville to provide most of the answers to questions of 50th District voters.

In today's blog the SCPR takes up the question presented at to why the state of Ohio would jeopardize the safety and conservation purity of our state parks in allowing oil and gas drilling companies to drill for oil and/or natural gas (most likely for natural gas via what is know has hydraulic fracturing - aka "fracking")?

If he can be believed and trusted, Representative Hall makes an interesting presentation on how he will fashion legislation to allow drilling in state parks. 

Here is a video of Representative Hall making the Republican's case for allowing the drilling:

(VIDEO) CHRISTINA HAGAN SERIES: "TOWNHALL MEETING" - TOWNHALLERS OBJECT TO PARTISAN VOTES: GOOD FOR THEM!

 

Newly appointed Ohio House Representative Christina Hagan (Republican - Marlboro) held a townhall meeting in Louisville last night at the Louisville Public Library.

The occasion?

Defending (after the fact) her vote to pass House Bill 153 (the house version of Ohio's 2012/2013 biennial budget) on a strict party line vote (59 Republicans for, 40 Democrats against).

It was obvious that Hagan is a rookie legislator by the manner in which she handled the meeting.  Far and away it was the show of her support brought in from Columbus (Representative Ron Amstutz of Wooster and Rep. David Hall of Holmes County).

Initially, after having Louisville Mayor Pat Fallot introduce her and Hagan making a few introductory remarks, she literally sat in the background as Amstutz and Hall stood front and center addressing the assembled crowd.  Only in about the last third of the meeting did she stand along side Amstutz and Hall as the trio exchanged viewpoints with the audience.

In general, it was a ruly crowd that showed up at the Louisville Public Library.  However, the trio of Hagan, Amstutz did get roughed up a bit.  Townhalls are known for such.

One of the displeasures uttered by a couple of attendees (probably about 50 or so) was how often legislation up for a vote come out on a strictly partly line vote. 

As can be seen in the video that follows is the "hem-hawing" around that went on in the responses by the trio (mostly Amstutz and Hall) on the obvious:  partisan politics is the order of the day in Columbus with the Republicans firmly in control in both the House and Senate).

One of the reasons that the Tea Party got going has been the public's frustration at the degree to which elected legislative Republicans and Democrats vote the party line.  Both elected Republicans and Democrats will look you in the eye and tell you they vote their conscious and more or less in their constituents' interests.  But practically nobody - except for highly partisan voters - believes them.

Apparently, they have nothing but contempt for the intelligence of everyday citizens.

An example:  when now Congressman Jim Renacci (Republican) took on then Congressman John Boccieri in 2007, he chided Boccieri about voting 94% with Democrat Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

Well, now that he is congressman guess who Renacci votes for?

You've got it Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner!  Not 94%, 95% or even 98%, but 100% of the time so far.

Talk about hypocrisy!

On the video that The Report has embeded in this blog, Representative Amstutz is seen giving examples of what he calls bipartisanship.  However, he does admit that "where the rubber meets the road" on the budget bill itself, it was a party line vote: 59 to 40.  Such is typical on any legislative measure which is the heart and soul of a political party position.  He doesn't tell the audience that in the debate and process leading to the passage of the budget bill Democrats offered 72 amendments:  none of which were accepted by Republicans.

Of particular interest to Stark Countians was an amendment offered by Democratic Representative Mark Okey (61st House District which includes eastern Stark County) for Ohio to place a two year moratorium on hydraulic fracturing for natural gas pending the outcome of a federal EPA study.  Its fate?  It was one of the 72 rejected out of hand by the Republican Party majority (including Stark Countians Christina Hagan [the 50th] and Kirk Schuring [the 51st].

Such is how Democrats and Republican elected legislators act these days and there are signs on the political horizon that being in lockstep with the party line is not playing well with rank-and-file voters.

Consequently, in time and increasingly so a credible more independent minded alternative will surface.

The SCPR does not believe the Tea Party is credible because it appeals only to right wing Republicans and their ilk.  The Tea Party is not a viable alternative for moderate Republicans (who are few in number these days), independents and centrist and left of center Democrats.

When a truly independent minded political party surfaces, then party line elected legislative Republicans and Democrats will be in "real" political trouble.  Few think this can or will happen in the American political system.  The SCPR is not among this set of political analysts.

The "day of reckoning" for elected party line Republicans and Democrats who prove to be party line-esque officials is nearer than most political observers own up to.  So the likes of Christina Hagan and Kirk Schuring (Republicans) and Steve Slesnick (Democrat), members of the Stark County delegation to the Ohio House, had better pay attention to the growing "anti-party line" emerging electorate or they will be ex-legislators in a hurry.

Voters should keep up the drumbeat of "not voting the party line" up in any and all contacts with their respective representatives.  Either they change from being party line legislators or they create conditions for the emergence of an independent minded set of replacement legislators or perhaps a credible alternative to the Tea Party that will eschew the party line and vote either their consciouses or their constituents' interests; not the party line.

Stay tuned on this matter.

Expect to hear more and more public discontent with party line voting to the point of Republican and Democratic offenders looking for a life outside the Legislature.

Here is the video on the audience member who chastised the legislators for their "party line votes."

STATE REP CHRISTINA HAGAN (R - 50TH - MARLBORO): LEARNING TO BE A "POLITICAL COWARD?" SHE SCHEDULES A "TOWNHALL MEETING" after HER VOTE!

She promised to talk to the SCPR on camera immediately after her selection as one of three Stark County Republican Party nominees to be submitted to the Ohio House Republican Caucus.

But - apparently knowing she couldn't handle the tough questions of The Report - she cut and ran after the meeting.

Such was indication that Christina Hagan - if she were named to the post (to succeed Todd Snitchler who vacated to become PUCO chairman) -  had all the makings of being a political coward.

She was selected and one of her first acts as state representative was to vote the party line on the Ohio budget (House Bill 153) and then schedule a town hall meeting to explain her action to constituents who yet have to vote on whether or not she shall continue to represent them in the Ohio House.

This maneuver (calling a meeting "after the fact" is called "damage control."  And she doesn't even have the courage to face the public on her own.  The 22 year old state representative is bringing Ron Amstutz (chairman of the House finance and Appropriations Committee) with her.

Like the lion in the Wizard of Oz, Hagan is showing she has no courage - political courage - that is.

At her "after the fact" townhall meeting she has called for May 9th, she will have to explain to the 50th District public the massive cuts in local government funding that is coming to Stark County and its political subdivisions in the FY 2012-2013.

All Stark County local governments who receive state money from the Local Government Fund (LGF) will receive 50% in cuts over the next two years resulting in millions of dollars which will have to be made up with local government tax increases or dramatic reductions in services to citizens in many of the villages, cities, townships and the likes.

Moreover, Hagan is supportive of a measure that will end the Ohio Estate Tax in January, 2013 and which will result in further significant cuts in state monies received by local governments.

As if this were not enough, the Ohio Legislature's promise to local governments that the restructuring of taxation of corporations (from "tangible personal property (TPP)" and franchise to a "commercial activities (CAT) tax") would not cost them in lost local revenues from the TPP.  Guess what?  The state has broken it promise and with her vote on HB 153 Christina Hagan sanctions the broken promise.

And, of course, there are the schools.  Here is an estimate of what the Hagan supported budget is going to cost Stark County school districts:

By the time Hagan has to stand for election, the impact of the cuts on Stark Countians will have been felt by Stark Countians and specifically that part of Stark County she represents.

Her townhall meeting at the Louisville Public Library from 5:30 to 7:00 pm on this coming Monday is very likely to be the first of a long line of "explainin" to do to district voters.