OELSLAGER "TRASHES" (AKA "FILE 13") CANTON'S PLEA FOR FINANCIAL HELP."

AND

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SET TO DEFUND NEARLY $3 MILLION IN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT MONEY FOR CANTON?

VIDEOS

(ENCORE)

Council President Schulman

on

Draconian State Local Gov't Funding Cuts

----------

Prospect of Federal Gov't Cuts

of

Community Development Monies

for

2018

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Council President Schulman

Councilman Bill Smuckler

Call to Action

More than four years ago (April, 2013) Canton City Council president Allen Schulman pled with then-Stark County-based members of the Ohio General Assembly (Oelslager, Schuring, Hagan [all Republicans] and Democrat Slesnick) to do something to help Canton avert a fiscal crisis.



By April, 2013, draconian State of Ohio local government funding cuts were in full swing as imposed on local governments across Ohio, including, of course, Stark County, by Republican governor John Kasich working in concert with the supermajority Republican controlled Ohio General Assembly.

At last night's Canton City Council meeting, The Stark County Political Report learned of two new developments that will aggravate Canton's and likely other Ohio municipalities' financial stress.

First:

On June 26 of this year, Canton treasurer Kim Perez wrote Stark County's Scott Oelslager who represents virtually all of Stark County in the Ohio General Assembly asking him from his perch as chair of the powerful Senate Finance Committee to remove "detrimental to city finances" language from the-then pending approval biennial Ohio Budget (HB 49).

Here is a Ohio Municipal League (OML) detailed explanation of the reasons why centralized collection is not a good idea in that its inclusion in HB 49 will cause a further deterioration in city finances across Ohio and erode city's constitutionally provided for Home Rule.



Back in 2013, when Shulman meet with "a small group of legislators," Scott Oelslager was not among them.

He sent word back that he was "too busy."

Apparently, he is still "too busy."  For it appears that he trash-canned Perez's and totally disrespected Canton government in not making any responses whatsoever to Perez's letter.

According to Chief Deputy Treasurer Mike McEnaney (last night), Oelslager has not responded to the Perez plea.

One would think that out of respect for a Stark County local government elected official, Oelslager would have responded with an "I disagree with you and the Ohio Municipal League"  and "here are my reasons why."

To the SCPR, such a show of disrespect and unaccountability is sufficient reason why nary a single Cantonian or voter of any other of Stark County's local government cities and villages affected by the centralized collection legislation would vote for Oelslager should he decide to play yet another version of musical chairs in which he and fellow Republican Kirk Schuring switch seats (from the Senate to the House and vice versa) every eight years in an "in your face" to Ohio's term limits for state legislators.

Oelslager is a "years and years ago" former aide to former, recently deceased (July, 19th), Congressman Ralph Regula.

The word on the street is that Oelslager became persona non grata on the Regula staff because he became too pushy in urging Regula to retire so that he could be in a position to succeed him.

Though he seemingly has a constant "politician's smile," Oelslager appears to be in reality an arrogant guy.

No matter that Oelslager undoubtedly does some good for Stark County, voters should be highly wary of a "I'm too busy" to deal with you type of politician that "comfortable in Columbus, but not in my district" seems to increasingly apply to.

Second:

The above graphic is a copy of a caption of legislation passed by Canton City Council last night.

And here is a SCPR videotaped of last night's discussion 

• featuring:
• Mayor Bernabei, 
• Deputy Mayor Williams, 
• Ward 4 Councilwoman Chris Smith [Community & Economic Development chair],
• Councilman John Mariol [Finance Committee chair], 
• Council president Allen Schulman, and
• Councilman at Large Bill Smuckler) 

between the administration and council members about the prospect that this funding stream for community development is expected to be coming to an end next fiscal year (January 1, 2018—December 31, 2018).



Here is what the National Community Development Association have to say about the impending cuts:

FY18

We're hearing the President's FY18 final budget will be released on May 18. OMB Director Mick Mulvaney recently stated that the final budget will include $200 billion for new infrastructure spending. While NCDA has advocated for a portion of any large scale infrastructure package to be funneled through CDBG, we have argued that it can not come at the expense of the regular appropriated funds for CDBG. Trump has zeroed out CDBG in his FY18 budget. A one-time investment in infrastructure can not come at the expense of ongoing CDBG program funding. NCDA and the CDBG Coalition will continue to push for $3.3 billion for CDBG (and $1.2 billion for HOME) in the FY18 HUD spending bill and we urge our members to continue to do the same.

Thanks for all of your outreach to your Congressional Members.

Call Congress on April 26

Join the Campaign for Housing and Community Development Funding (CHCDF), of which NCDA is a member, on April 26 for a national call-in day to Congress, urging quick passage of the FY17 spending bills and full funding of HUD's programs, including $3.0 for CDBG and $950 million for HOME.

Call the Congressional switchboard toll free at 202-224-3121.

Thanks,
Vicki

Deputy Mayor Fonda added this in an e-mail response to SCPR follow up questions:

Mr. Olson,

The federal funds that may be cut are CDBG funds, HOME funds, and ESG funds


Programs that could be affected are; Housing rehab,public and social support, summer youth activities,demolition, furnace program, clothing assistance for youth, etc.

Next up is a "call for action" in contacting the likes of Gibbs, Brown and Portman to stop any idea of cutting Canton's community and economic development funds.



So it is not only the state government that has and continues to deliver financial blows to Canton and indeed all of Ohio's urban areas, but, now, it appears, that the federal government is set to follow suit.

As with Oelslager from the State of Ohio perspective, one has to ask whether or not 7th District (which includes Canton) congressman Bob Gibbs (Republican) and Senators Sherrod Brown (Democrat) and Rob Portman (Republican) are going to allow the defunding to actually occur?

As in Ohio, Republicans control the legislative and executive branches of government.

Is Canton and Stark County other urban areas in for a new level of government defunding?

Is there a Republican war on America's and Ohio's cities underway?

1992 TERM LIMITS COME BACK TO HAUNT STATEHOUSE REPUBLICANS IN 2015?

One of The Stark County Political Report's favorite sayings is:  getting hoisted by one's own petard.

A number of years ago, yours truly used the expression in a Lake Rotary Club meeting in describing the comeuppance visited on the perpetrator of act as a recipient of the effect of his own action.

A table mate burst out:  "Martin, do you know what that expression means?"

"Ya gotta be kidding," I said.

But maybe he was asking the question to the wrong person?

Perhaps the questioner ought to have been around in the inner circles of the Ohio House/Senate Caucuses when they teamed up being behind the effort of putting the 1992 proposed legislation as an Ohio constitutional amendment on that year's ballot.

Used in tandem with control of the redistricting process gained by the Ohio Republican Party in the 1990 statewide elections, the Republican beginning in 1995 a control (except for the Ohio House in the first two years [2007 and 2008] of Democratic governor Ted Strickland's term in office); Republicans have had a virtual stranglehold control over Ohio government ever since.

In Stark County, Republicans Scott Oelslager (the 29th Ohio Senate District) and J. Kirk Schuring (the Ohio House, the 48th) have traded off Stark County's senate seat and the Jackson Township House seat (the number and configuration of both have changed slightly) in a game of musical chairs except in this game each get a chair to sit in; only its a different chair as a way to defeat the effect of term limits.

For being the Ohio General Assembly for a combined 50 years and much of it with Republican control (or in a supermajority), Oelslager and Schuring have produced relatively little for Stark County.

Their time in the legislature appears to more about their personal longevity as elected officials (reference:  "the musical chairs thing") and not much about taking care of the needs of Stark County.

In the 2014 election, Republicans increased their control in the Ohio House.

But the problem is that the veto-proof Ohio General Assembly Republican  majority could prove to be like "a drunken sailor at the helm of 'the ship of state.'"

The Ohio House in particular is dominated by right wing extremists (e.g. Christina Hagan of Marlboro Township) who in recent years have been tamped down "somewhat" by one William Batchelder who has been 101st Ohio Speaker of the House beginning in 2011.

Batchelder's significance to keeping the political wackos from gaining control of the asylum was noted in yesterday's Cleveland Plain Dealer, to wit:

Years of experience are walking out the Statehouse door on Dec. 31 when the 130th Ohio General Assembly expires, and with it the terms of term-limited state legislators.

First and foremost is the loss of House Speaker William Batchelder, a Medina Republican who was conservative before many Ohioans even knew what the word meant.

Term limits will retire Batchelder, one of the smartest and most adroit legislators the Statehouse has ever seen. The irony is that term limits, which Ohio voters approved in 1992, were directed first and foremost at Democrats' 22-year control of the Ohio House, and the 20-year speakership of Democrat Vern Riffe, not at Republicans, and certainly not at Bill Batchelder.

 Beatchelder, being a House member in 1992 (having initially become a member in 1969), undoubtedly voted for term limits.

Generally, one-party-control is bad for the people and good for the political party.

However, the one-term-limit aspect of the Ohio GOP gaining supermajority status might prove to be bad for the people of Ohio and Stark County it could also end up being bad for the Ohio Republican Party.

Without the thoroughly conservative but stable Batchelder being at the helm, it could be that especially in the Ohio House that redistricting power and term limits will put the "inmates in control of the asylum."

Only Governor John Kasich, not exactly a "flaming political liberal" and a few conservative and politically stable Republican Ohio senators stand in the way of the extremists.

To the SCPR, term limits with the ouster of Batchelder is clearly a case of the Ohio Republican Party being set up - at its own hand - to be a prime example of "one being hoisted by one's own petard."

Just desserts for them, no?

But how about everyday Ohioans?

LOCAL OFFICIALS (VIDEOS) ARE A "LOT OF HOT AIR" WHEN IT COMES TO STATE FUNDING OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT?

As early as December 20, 2010  the Stark County Political Report began writing about the draconian state funding cuts that were coming to local government (villages, cities and townships) in the wake of Republican John Kasich's election as governor in November.

And such talk was not just "whistling Dixie" on a dark, scary night to comfort oneself in the face of feared disaster.

The fact of the matter is that the Kasich administration has done what it was feared it would do on taking office on January 1, 2011.

As an Ohio political subdivision and one of the state's larger counties, Stark has absorbed the full brunt of the cuts which over the entire state has turned into a $575 million in cuts whereas Ohio now has several billions in surpluses in its "rainy day fund."

What the SCPR notes is that a few of Stark County's local government officials have struck out at state officials but that they for the most part are out-of-power-at-the-state-level Democrats.

A recent new entrant into the jawboning has been Democratic Canton city treasurer Kim Perez, who, the SCPR thinks is fixing to run against Canton mayor William J. Healy, II come next year's Democrat primary election (May, 2015).

The SCPR thinks Perez may be "more of the same" in terms of local officials (again, emphasizing mostly Democratic ones) whining about the state cuts in a grandstanding fashion and not doing anything about it.

In the following video of Perez at Canton's June 2, 2014 meeting of city council, he talks about "new" potential devastation to Canton and other Stark County and Ohio cities at the hand of proposed Amended Senate Bill 5 and of his effort to bring all of Stark County officialdom together in united action in bringing pressure to bear on the Ohio General Assembly and, of course, Stark Countians Oelslager, Hagan, Schuring and Slesnick.



As The Report wrote in October,2012 right before the 2012 general election:

The SCPR projects that Stephen Slesnick (Democrat - Canton, the 49th), Kirk Schuring (Republican - Jackson Township, the 48th) and Christina Hagan (Republican - the 50th) will win re-election next month by fairly comfortable margins.  And The Report is ready to project that the Stark County Democratic Party chairman Randy Gonzalez (who, as Jackson Township fiscal officer, 9-1-1 governance committee chairman and Canton Municipal Court employee frequently complains about the drop off  of funding of local governments) will offer up a "sacrificial lamb" in opposition to Scott Oelslager two years hence when he seeks re-election.

In re-electing this Stark County legislative foursome, the message they receive is a loud and clear:  your seat is safe and secure no matter that you have done nothing to stop the carnage of Ohio's Local Government Fund funding of Stark County's cities, villages and townships.

To add insult to injury, beginning January 1st, there will be no more revenues from what used to be Ohio's estate tax.

And there are other legislative initiatives and failures to hold harmless that the four have participated in to one degree or another.

The SCPR really has no sympathy at all for local officials and their complaints about what Governor Kasich and the Ohio General Assembly is doing to them and to Stark County taxpayers.

Who among them has organized any pressure on the re-elective future of any of the four?

Answer:  none!

All they do is whine.

And when any one of the four shows up in local government venues, they are likely to be treated as if they are political royalty.  Kissing up to those who are hurting you seems to be the standard protocol most local government types dish out notwithstanding the financial grief that none of the four has done anything to stop.

Not that the four should be treated uncivilly, but they should receive a barrage of criticism and they should be subject to meaningful and threatening to their political longevity opposition as the come up for re-election.

The SCPR's take is that local officials really do not care so long as they can convince locals to ante up with local tax increases.

 And what has changed as we approach the 2014 general election?

Exactly nothing!

As a parting reminder that he is Stark County's "whiner-in-chief," recently retired Canton Municipal Court chief deputy and former (as of June 5, 2014) Stark County Democratic Party chairman Randy Gonzalez has offered up a bevy of sacrificial lambs to the Republican side of the Stark County delegation in this fall's election and, in the case of his seeming "best - political - friend" J. Kirk Schuring:  nobody!"

Democratic Canton City Council president Allen Schulman is one of the foremost critics of the Kasich administration and members of the Stark County delegation of the Ohio General Assembly; namely,

• Republican Scott Oelslager of Plain township representing the 29th Ohio Senate District which includes most of Stark County
• Republican J. Kirk Schuring of Jackson Township representing the 48th Ohio House District,
• Democrat Stephen Slesnik of Canton representing the 49th Ohio House District, and
• Republican Christina Hagan of Marlboro Township representing the 50th House District

because they have done absolutely nothing to curb the $575 million in cuts despite pleas that they do so from area "mostly Democratic" local officials.

Here is a April, 2013 Schulman "rant" about the legislators.



As a consequence of the political impunity with which the Stark County delegation has failed to act to stop the financial bloodletting on local government funds, local voters have been asked (with varying degrees of success/failure) to make up for the cuts.

Accordingly, the recent outcries by Perez, Schulman, Healy and a few other outlier Democrat officials and a few whimpers by a scant few of Republican officials should be scoffed at by Stark Countians.

As far as the SCPR can tell, the protestations are all mouth.

As long as local officials can get the voters of Stark's cities, villages and townships (as, of course, school districts) to ante up new local revenues, all we will get from local officials is political rhetoric.

It could be that as voters consider new income tax increase requests and/or income tax credit reductions and the like (e.g. Alliance, Canton, Massillon and North Canton) and should they reject them, the seriousness and the authenticity of the clamor by "state cut" complaining Stark officials might actually bear fruit in terms of putting Oelslager, Hagan, Schuring and Slesnick on the "hot seat."

And, perhaps, Stark County voters ought to reject any and all new revenue requests so as to give local officials no other choice than to push back and push back hard on state government through the locals who we send to Columbus.

"'LEGISLATOR 'STRICT' POLITICAL PARTY ALLEGIANCE" HURTS STARK COUNTY CONSTITUENTS & COMMUNITIES, THE STATE AND THE NATION

The Republican and Democratic causes in the Ohio General have a rule.

And the rule holds that if 80% of the caucus members vote to support a particular piece of legislation, then the remaining 20% forego their opposition and vote for the proposed bill.

Sometimes a member gets excused from the rule because he/she has a compelling personal political reason (i.e. that folks back home are watching and the caucus vote will not play in the district) to depart from a party-line vote.

Yours truly is in the process of reading an in-depth book on each of our 44 U.S. presidents.

And in reading about John Quincy Adams (John Quincy Adams, American Statesmen Series, John Torrey Morse) for the time he served a Massachusetts district in the U.S. House of Representatives for upwards of 17 years (1831 - 1848) after he lost his reelection bid for the presidency (1828), it is striking how independent he was of political party influence both in his time as president and in the Congress.

John Quincy Adams can be said to have put the interest of the country and his district ahead of his political preferences.

He was very much in the tradition of George Washington, our first president, who viewed political parties as unhelpful at best and damaging at worst.

A Washington quote:

[Political parties] may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion.

Morse on John Quincy Adams as a member of Congress:

Mr. Adams took his seat in the House as a member of the twenty-second Congress in December, 1831. He had been elected by the National Republican, afterward better known as the Whig party, but one of his first acts was to declare that he would be bound by no partisan connection, but would in every matter act independently. 

Morse, John Torrey (2011-03-30). John Quincy Adams American Statesmen Series (p. 155).  . Kindle Edition.  

And Morse's book is replete with example after example after example of Adams voting what he thought was best for the country even though his vote and leadership on attaining a particular vote benefited his political opponents.

But Washington (a founding father) and Adams were men of the 1700/1800s.

We are now in 2013 and at the national level the nation is in what is termed as being in political gridlock.  So much so that it may be that in September the Republicans may vote to shut down the U.S. government in order to try to kill Obamacare.

Should such an eventuality materialize, you can bet your bottom dollar on the certainty that Stark's congressmen (Gibbs, R - the 7th; Renacci - R - the 16th and Tim Ryan - D - the 13th) will largely vote (90% or better) the party line.

And the same pattern (probably between the 95% to 100% range) has been demonstrated by Stark County delegation to the Ohio General Assembly, to wit:

• Scott Oelslager, Republican (Plain), the 29th Senate District,
• Kirk Schuring, Republican (Jackson), the 48th House District,
• Christina Hagan, Republican (Marlboro), the 50th House District, and
• Stephen Slesnick, Democrat (Canto), the 49th House District

When Republican Jim Renacci ran against then incumbent Democratic Congressman John Boccieri in 2010, one of his main negative points on Boccieri is that he nearly always voted with the Democrats and then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

But catch this from a 2011 SCPR blog:

And he was pretty much on the mark.  Stats show that Boccieri voted with Pelosi about 94% of the time. 

But what has Renacci turned around and done as Boccieri's successor? 

You've got it! 

He is pretty much in lockstep, too.  He is on record as voting with Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner 92% of the time.

Notwithstanding the ballyhoo that Congressman Renacci made in his successful re-election drive against Democrat Betty Sutton (November, 2012) about his involvement in a bipartisan Congressional policy group, the SCPR sees very little if any separation between him and the Republican House Caucus.

Unless, of course, one considers the following U.S. Senator Rob Portman generated press release to be an example of " on policy issues" bi-partisanship:

Press Releases 

Home / Newsroom / Press Release 

June 11, 2013 

Portman, Brown, Manchin, Renacci and Gibbs Renew Push for Pro Football Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin Act 

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Rob Portman (R-OH) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) and U.S. Congressman Jim Renacci (R-OH-16) joined members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame to renew their push for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin Act in advance of the Hall’s 50th anniversary in September.

Although local Pro Football Hall of Fame afficionados are undoubtedly appreciative of the effort, the SCPR believes that most Stark Coutinans will not think that this joint legislative venture is indication that Washington partisan political gridlock will be ending anytime soon.

So to the question posed by the graphic that leads this blog, to wit:  In 2013 does Stark County have anyone at the state or national level of legislating that in any way, shape or form approximates John Quincy Adams?

A CHANCE FOR STATE REP. CHRISTINA HAGAN TO PUT SOME "DASH" IN HER "SPLASH?"

Recently, I was switching radio stations while out in the car and in the process checked into WHBC 1480 on your radio dial to catch a little bit of Ron Ponder's Points to Ponder.

Disappointing to me, Ponder was not hosting. Rather a gentleman by the name of Lin McDowell was.

Just about ready to tune-out when I heard a familiar voice that froze my dial-turning-hand.

Is that her I asked myself?

Her?

Her - who?

State Representative Christina Hagan (Republican - Marlboro - the 50th).

Indeed, it was!

Well, I have to hear this.

Maybe she has some "phenomenal" (you will get the play on "phenomenal" as you read on)) news out of Columbus to share with us listeners, I thought.

And she did not disappoint.

She blessed us with "phenomenal" news from straight out out of Ohio's capital city at least six times in the space of about 15 minutes on the air with McDowell.

But other than her prolific use of the word "phenomenal" interspersed with the word "powerful" or a variant thereof, I cannot recall anything equaling substance that graced her lips during the interview.

It was all fancy-mancy talk straight out of political "talking points" book of one her Ohio House mentors/minders.

I do remember that both she and McDowell are graduates of Malone University.

And, one other thing.

She said that college is not for everybody.  That is straight out of the playbook of her father John who held the "old" 50th District House seat 2000 - 2008. Must have been referring to himself.  As he is the personification of the statement.

Of course, she, McDowell and the like are exceptions.

For others:  merely having a high school education is enough.

Apparently, only the "phenomenal" go on to higher education.

Mind you folks, this is 2013 and advanced technology has taken hold on nearly everything and she thinks most of us are "good to go" with little or no advanced education.

Hmm?

But anyhow, she spent nearly all the time with McDowell talking in glittering generalities and superlatives.

Hagan has been a member of the Stark County delegation to the Ohio General Assembly for better than two years now.

In March, 2011 she was appointed by the Republican Ohio House Caucus to succeed Todd Snitchler who went on to bigger and better things as political godfather John Kasich's (current Republican governor)  PUCO chairman.

In the Republican primary of 2008, she got wiped out by Snitchler.  And in the course of her challenge of Snitcher, she said some pretty nasty things about him and the leaders of the Republican caucus.  Even accused them of trying to buy her off.

Now that she is on the inside looking out, Hagan thinks Ohio's Republican leaders are?  Can I say it again?  Okay - "phenomenal!"

In contrast to her view of the Republican bigs running the Statehouse, one thing should be clear to all but her family and friends; "phenomenal" she is not.

All she has shown so far is that she knows how to crank out press releases touting her participation in some pretty mundane legislative mishmash and other "style-driven" concoctions designed to get her maximum publicity without having to answer the question:  "Where's the beef?"

I said to myself:  "I need to find something for Christina to do in Columbus that is 'substantive' and which could be "phenomenal" for Stark County right down to the tiny hamlet of Marlboro Township which consists of some 4,000 or so souls."

So I have had my ears and eyes open looking for something of substance.

And, lo and behold! I think I have found something.

Yesterday, I received a press release from Attorney General Michael DeWine, another accomplished cultivator-extraordinaire of the media, to wit:

For those of you who are regular readers of the SCPR, you know that the Canton-Stark County Crime Lab (CSCCL - a unit of the Stark County Council of Governments [SCOG]) has run into some tough times of late.

The delays in processing evidence for criminal cases up for prosecution have stretched out so much that the Stark County police chiefs have taken the DNA work away from the locals and are sending it to Ohio's BCI regional facility located at Richfield which is just north of Akron.

With all the funding problems that Ohio's local governments are having at the hand of - you guessed it - the Ohio General Assembly with the help and assistance of one Christina Hagan; it does not appear that things can get better any time soon at the CSCCL.

And it is risky business to shift all the forensic work to the state of Ohio.  Whereas the floodgates of money are open for BCI now because Governor Kasich has decided that analyzing evidence is a top priority, such may not continue into another administration post-Kasich.

So the question becomes what to do to make sure Stark County has access to a first rate crime lab for the foreseeable future?

Answer:  Get Christina Hagan, Kirk Schuring (R-Jackson, the 48th) and Scott Oelslager (R-Plain, the 29th Ohio Senate District to push for the creation of a Kent State - Stark/BCI facility in the image of the BCI/BGSU project.

Richfield is not a good interstate highway interface for a regional BCI site and does not have the advantage of a university connection.

Canton/North Canton/KSU-Stark would serve northeast Ohio much more ably.

And let's make Christina the lead in doing something "substantive" for her political career, for Stark County and for Marlboro Township.

Marlboro Chief of Police Ron Devies was among the first to blow the whistle on the shenanigans on Canton's Healy administration that made existing CSCCL problems even worse.

Connecting a BCI lab to an institution of higher learning makes its long term funding much more secure than if left to the whims and caprice of a successor governor.

Moreover, such a setting would be a boon for workforce development in that the university will be training lab workers and scientific-oriented investigators (for government and private industry) in a hands-on, clinical environment that satisfies Hagan's bias towards vocational training as the best basis for employment for the rest of one's life.

And so what if the lab workers get some college exposure and maybe develop a mind powerful enough to become, perhaps - you know this is coming - "phenomenal!"

Read the rest of the DeWine press release:

... . “This new facility will enhance the laboratory and investigative services we provide to our law enforcement partners in Northwest Ohio,” said Attorney General DeWine.  “We’ll also be able to work with BGSU to advance forensic science in Ohio and help prepare our state’s next generation of scientists and investigators.” 

"The collaborative possibilities between the University and the BCI lab are endless," said Mazey. "Not only will it enhance our already strong science and criminal justice programs, we will be able to offer a number of research opportunities to develop new cutting edge techniques." 

The new BCI facility will elevate BGSU to the select group of colleges nationally that have on-campus crime labs.  BGSU will begin offering forensics as an undergraduate specialization this fall through the departments of criminal justice, chemistry, and biology to help students prepare for careers in public safety and forensic sciences.   

The expanded BCI location will encompass about 30,000 square feet and serve law enforcement and prosecutors in a 22-county area with on-site laboratory and investigative resources.   ... .

Now readers, you tell me.

If Christina Hagan puts her nose to the grindstone and leads the way to bringing a BCI/Kent State - Stark collaboration project to Stark County, wouldn't we all be willing to say:

"Christina Hagan:  yes she has "style," but she is one powerful and PHENOMENAL substantive legislator!"

(VIDEO) UNDER "MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS" ON THE CANTON CITY COUNCIL AGENDA: COUNCIL PRESIDENT ALLEN SCHULMAN SHINES!

It would be a mistake to leave a Canton City Council meeting before the final bell.

The very last item on the meeting agenda before adjournment is "Miscellaneous Business."

The SCPR has learned over the years that some of the most riveting stuff occurs during this part of the Canton City Council agenda.

It is the opportunity for council members and members of the Healy administration to pipe in with just about anything that they want to get out into the public.

Council President Allen Schulman is a regular participant in "Miscellaneous Business" and is known to use this aspect of the meeting for going after various national, state and Stark County political personages on "issues of the day."

Monday night's meeting was Schulman at his finest insofar as the SCPR is concerned.

Earlier in the day, The Report published a blog (LINK) showing how disingenuous the Ohio General Assembly (OGA) can be and indeed is on the matter of K-12 public school funding.

The main point of the blog was working through the numbers from $45.4 million newspaper headlines in casino profits (per half) that the OGA has earmarked for local school districts and how by the time one gets to how much it means per student the amount gets whittled down to $20.

Compared to the cost of educating a student in Stark County's schools (ranging from a high of $11,631 in Massillon to $7,426 in Tuslaw), the $20 is "one big - though cruel -laugh" at the expense of public education.

But the legislators always focus on the $45.4 million like they really have done something for the financing of public education.

A particularly reprehensible part of the actions of the Republican super-majority (meaning governor veto proof) in passing the 2014-2015 biennium budget bill (including Stark County Republicans Scott Oelslager, Kirk Schuring and Christina Hagan was to make it more difficult for local school districts and other local government units to get new property tax issues passed.

Schulman picked up on the essential points of the blog plus other "screwings" of local government by our state government in his quintessential and unique style on Monday past.

He also got on the voting public for its apathy in just sitting by and dutifully accepting whatever the Legislature dishes out to the public's own detriment.

And he fired a shot across the bow to the local print media for largely ignoring what transpires at the Statehouse that damages the ability of local governments to responsibly and effectively serve their cities, villages, townships and local school districts.

For the SCPR's money, Canton City Council President Allen Schulman is a model of passion and political energy that other Stark County officials would do well to emulate.

Many, if not most Stark County elected officials, are like eating vanilla ice cream.

Few local officials have the spark and fire of Democrat Schulman.

Another Stark County political figure who has loads of "fire in the belly" is Republican Stark County commissioner Janet Creighton.

With a few other exceptions, in the view of the SCPR, Stark County officialdom is a pretty bland lot which explains in large part what local government is getting dumped on by the folks in the Washington and Columbus beltways.

Here is Schulman at his finest!

STARK COUNTY SCHOOL OFFICIALS SHOULD BE "JUMPING FOR JOY." WHY - THEY LIKELY ARE NOT!

UPDATED AT 12:19 PM

FORTY-FIVE MILLION DOLLARS FOR OHIO'S PUBLIC SCHOOLS!  (LINK to Columbus Dispatch article of July 12th)

WOW!, WOW!! AND WOW!!! A THIRD TIME, NO?

Not really.

Of the $45.4 million, the SCPR calculates that Stark's 17 schools districts will get a little over $1.2 million

No doubt that the $45.4 million sounds impressive.

And even dropping down to the county level $1.23 million is nothing to sneeze at.

It is when one gets to the school district level that it becomes apparent that the casino profits which are distributed twice a year are pretty much a dud.

It is at the local level that educators (i.e. superintendents and board of education members) cringe.

What sticks in the mind of the local taxpayer?

Of course, $45.4 million.

So why school officials are you asking for "new" monies?

This past May, five Stark County school districts asked for "new" money notwithstanding already receiving casino money AND, mind you, lottery profits.

So why levies for "new" money?

Answer - the casino monies and lottery profits are not what the politicians passing laws in Columbus including Stark County's:

• Scott Oelslager (R-Plain, 29th Ohio Senate District) who is chairman of the Senate Finance Committee,
• Kirk Schuring (R-Jackson, 48th Ohio House District),
• Christina Hagan (R-Marlboro, 50th Ohio House District) and
• Stephen Slesnick (D-Canton, 49th Ohio House District).

Oh, they love to talk about the $45.4 million.  Maybe even the $1.23 million you do not see them (this would be Christina Hagan for East Canton) high-five school officials over $18,000.

For East Canton schools with about 900 or so students the $45.4 million gets reduced to about $18,000 per half year or $36,000 for a full year of sharing in casino profits.

To give perspective to what $36,000 a year might mean in terms of meeting the annual school budget in the Osnaburg (East Canton) School district, let's take a look at what the district spends each year educating a student.

Scan down through the cost per student list for 2010/2011:

(Note:  2011/2012 - 2012/2013 figures are not yet available, but does anyone think costs have gone down?)

In East Canton it costs $9,568 (remember 2010/2011 numbers) to educate a single student.

So with the additional estimated $36,000 per year from casino profits East Canton can educate 3.75 students.

Remember that East Canton has to spread the $36,000 over let's say 900 students.

How far does $36,000 spread out?

How about $40 compared to at least $9,568 to education.

To be fair, let's look at Stark County's largest school district:  Canton.

Canton is likely to get about $400,000 a year from casino profits.

Okay.

Canton has about 10,000 students.  Divide 400,000 by 10,000 and what do you get.

Bingo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

$40 a student.

But Canton is worse off than East Canton.

It costs at least $11,308 (nearly $2,000 more) to educate a student Canton than in East Canton so the $40 does not buy as much in Canton as it does in the Osnaburg Local School District.

with the additional estimated $400,000 per year from casino profits East Canton can educate about 35 of nearly 10,000 students.

So are you still wowing about the $45.5 million in casino provides allocated to K-12 Ohio education?

And we haven't even touch on the lottery profits.

Suffice it to say, in the opinion of the SCPR Ohio's schools get absolutely nothing out of the lottery profits (2012 was a record year for profits LINK), because - though denied by state legislators and the Kasich administration) the folks in the Statehouse play a "shell game" with Ohio taxpayers.

As required by the Ohio Constitution, each and every single profit dollar from the Ohio collection of lottery games DO GO TO EDUCATION.

But the dirty little secret of the $62 billion Ohio biennium budget is that general fund money equivalent to the lottery profits are redirected to "other than education" appropriations.

Folks that's how honest the likes of Oelslager, Schuring, Hagan and Slesnick and their colleagues are with you.

And educators "shudder" every time they see a headline about lottery profits going to the schools.

If their disingenuousness were not enough as to the "shell game" they play with us, the legislators (including ours, except for Slesnick [because as a Democrat he voted against the 2014/15 biennium budget bill]) Oelslager, Schuring and Hagan supported:

• taking away the 10% tax rollback on real property taxes, 
• taking away the 2.5% tax rollback on real property (owner occupied) taxes,
• taking away the Homestead Exemption for those making $30,000 or more.

In doing so they made it significantly more difficult for the school districts across Ohio to pass new levies.

Only Stark's Lake Local School District is asking for "new" monies in a levy issue on November's ballot.

In view of Lake's state representative (Christina Hagan) having made it harder for the district to pass its levy, the very least she could do is to wish the district good luck.

So in the firm belief that Representative Hagan will approve, the SCPR has put together this graphic for Lake Local School District users to take solace in.

WHO WOULD HAVE EVER THUNK IT? A KOOL-AID DRINKING SCOTT OELSLAGER!

The Stark County Political Report has been tracking state Senator Scott Oelslager (Republican - Plain Twp - 29th Ohio Senate District) for the better part of a week now on his stepping back from openness and transparency in government.

It all started with a blog last Friday (LINK) which revealed that he, Kirk Schuring (Republican - Jackson Township - 48th Ohio House District) and Christina Hagan (Republican - Marlboro Township - 50th Ohio House District) voted with a majority (all Republicans) in accord to the Republican Kasich administration desire to insulate JobsOhio (a "private" enterprise corporation running economic development for the "people" of Ohio) from the audits of State of Ohio Auditor (SOA) Republican David Yost notwithstanding that about $100 million of the people's money is under the control of JobsOhio.

No surprise at all here in the Schuring and Hagan votes.  Both have pretty much have been Kool-Aid drinking imbibers with whatever the Kasich folks have wanted from day one of the administration beginning on January 1, 2011.

Moreover, neither has anywhere near the historical strong record supporting democratic enhancements to Ohio local government as does Oelslager with his going back years involvement with improving openness and transparency in government over the course of 25 years as a member (varying between the Senate and the House) in the General Assembly.

While there was no vote by Stark's legislative delegation on the matter, it became conclusively apparent that the Kasich administration is identifying itself more and more as a matter of a pattern as being "anti-democratic" in allowing Kasich appointee and director James Zehringer of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR)  to, through Stark Countian (Lake Township) Richard J. Simmers (Chief, Division of Oil and Natural Gas) to basically shutdown the right of Ohio's to redress their grievances at what in reality is a "public meeting" context.  Moreover, the attending public was prohibited from videotaping or audiotaping the event in seeming contravention to, at least "the spirit of ," the Oelslager shepherded Open Meetings Law.  LINK to prior SCPR blog for details.

The noteworthy thing about supposedly "open meetings" enhancer Oelslager is that he has not uttered "a peep of protest" about the ODNR anti-Open-Meeting-Law stance.

To complete "the hat trick," Oelslager announced this past Tuesday that as the Senate Finance Committee chairman he was supporting a direct attack on the Open Meetings Law.

As put by  Chrissy Thompson of the Cincinnati Enquirer (Bill would expand secrecy on economic development deals, June 4, 2013 LINK):

Local governments could discuss economic development in secret under a change to the Ohio Senate’s latest version of the 2013-2015 budget.

The amendment, unveiled Tuesday in the Senate Finance Committee, would create an exception to the Open Meetings Law: Governing bodies could call closed sessions to discuss businesses’ requests for tax breaks.

Committee Chair Scott Oelslager, R-North Canton, said those discussions include businesses’ “proprietary information.” Requests to keep that information secret should be honored because it relates to job creation, Oelslager said.  (emphasis added)

Consequently, the SCPR no longer counts Oelslager as among the champions of citizen oversight of government operations.

The Report never again wants to hear Oelslager to tout his historical embrace of citizen rights to be seen, heard and accounted to by their state and local government.

His actions over the past week have obliterated any claim he might have had as being a man "by, for and of the people."

So why this change?

To the SCPR, it is pure political ambition.

Only recently (probably co-incidently with the election of Kasich) has Oelslager reclaimed the attention of Statehouse Republicans as being a viable candidate for leadership in the Legislature.

With the takeover of the General Assembly in recent years by the Tea Party wing of the Ohio Republican Party a few years ago, Oelslager (generally thought to be one of the few remaining vestiges of "moderate" Republicanism) was left on the outside of the legislative process looking in as the right wingers commandeered key committee posts to do as they willed with the substance and processes of Ohio government.

Somewhere along the line Oelslager has signaled to the right wing GOPers that he is willing to play ball with them.

Okay, the question is still on the table:  why?

The SCPR thinks because he likely does not have all that many years left in the Legislature, Oelslager realizes that time is running out for him to either become president of the Senate (or because he may be term limited out of the Senate before that can happen) or Speaker of the House.

Hence, he had better get in line with the political make up of the Republican side of the Ohio General Assembly.

Alternatively, he could be looking at a cabinet position with the Kasich administration.

But anyway one cuts it, Oelslager's abrupt change from being a key supporter of building up our democratic-republic to a destroyer, must be wrapped up in a cloak of political ambition.

For the sake of personal political achievement, Scott Oelslagers appears to have become a Kool-Aid drinking partner with Republican Governor John Kasich.

ONLY SLESNICK IS SHOWING UP AT CANTON COUNCIL TONIGHT TO DISCUSS URBAN LOCAL FUNDING DISTRESS AT HAND OF OHIO GENERAL ASSEMBLY/KASICH. OELSLAGER TOO BUSY. SCHURING? HAGAN?

UPDATED:  03/05/2013 at 10:00 AM

VIDEO

Council President Schulman

Announce Delay on 

Slesnick & Schuring

Coming to Council

Council president Allen Schulman announced at last night's meeting that due to scheduling conflicts state Rep. Stephen Slesnick postponed coming to council.

Accordingly, the SCPR retrieves his "Hip, Hip, Hooray" Award and places it in escrow until such time as he does show up.

Schulman also announced that Representative Schuring has indicated that he is willing to come and engage council at a time that his conducive to his scheduling.

Schulman told the SCPR that he cannot say exactly when Slesnick and Schuring would be appearing. 




ORIGINAL BLOG

Note on prior blog:  Healy Finally Acts on Tree Commissioner Appointees (See on Update of 2/26/2013 blog:  LINK)

VIDEO

 Schulman on His Frustration with Legislators

Schulman Takes on Repository's Hillibish

Cerilli Wants to Help Get Legislators to Canton

Hawk:  Ask Them Head-on Why They Are Not Coming!

At the February 11th meeting of Canton City Council it president Allen Schulman as he is wont to do in miscellaneous business got on his soapbox and decried the financial troubles of Canton due to the State of Ohio (and to a lesser extent - because of sequestration - the federal government) "pulling the financial rug from underneath" The Hall of Fame City.  (LINK to prior blog)

He then initiated an invitation to Stark County-connected state and federal legislators to come to Canton City Council (originally February 25th, rescheduled for tonight March 4th) and explain what is going on.

At council's meeting on the 25th, a number of them (Schulman, Cirelli and Hawk) and Mayor Healy are seen in the following video expressing consternation, disbelief and even outrage that Canton is being blown-off by Hagan, Oelslager and Schuring.



Tim Ryan (Democrat, the 13th Congressional District - the Alliance area; a man who is considering a run for governor of Ohio next year) did have one of his PR people send the SCPR a copy of a communication bearing on the funding of local governments from the federal/state level.

However, unlike other area media, The Report refuses to provide any space for such communications when the office holder will not respond to specific and critically attuned questions regarding the PR piece.

FOCUSING ON THE STARK DELEGATION ON THE OHIO GENERAL ASSEMBLY

OELSLAGER

Initially, only Scott Oelslager (Republican [Plain] - the 29th Ohio Senate district) did the courtesy of even responding to the invite.  And that was to say "'No,' I am not coming."

The SCPR did contact his office and was told this past Friday that he is too busy and if any council person or President Allen Schulman wants to talk to him about Ohio General Assembly funding of Ohio's cities, they should telephone him.

Oelslager who has been a member of the Ohio General Assembly since the late 1980s (about 25 years) is now chairman of the powerful Senate finance committee and could be of help to Ohio's urban centers in coping with their financial woes if he was inclined to do so.

Or could he?

Perhaps not.

As most politically sophisticates know, the Republican Party seems to be the captive of the party's right to extreme right wing elements these days.  These political rightists have their base in rural areas of the country.

And Ohio is no exception.

The Ohio Republican Party controls the Ohio Legislature with a supermajority and has done it by electing representatives and senators from "rural Ohio."  Moreover, they have gerrymandered themselves into somewhat of a more or less permanent structure of control by creating cockeyed legislative districts to herd Democrats into relatively few and mostly urban of the 132 Ohio General Assembly seats.

They have done the same thing in Ohio's sixteen congressional districts.

This is hardly a recipe for either the state of federal Legislature to have any interest whatsoever in helping Canton (Ohio's eight largest city) and Stark County (Ohio's 7th largest county) or urban school districts with their finances.

So to be fair to Oelslager (who is largely viewed as being one of the Republican Party's few remaining moderates); he likely has his hands tied by the rural-based supermajority and pretty much has to do its bidding.

Scott is not the most courageous legislator around.

And he has forgotten who elected him in the first place.

It is obvious to yours truly that he is thoroughly ensconced in the Columbus Beltway and only makes it back to Stark County for cameo appearances and a little glad handing.  He is not into taking on tough questions from constituents. 

His office says he is busy.

Busy doing what?  Who is he busy working for?

It doesn't appear to be for urban/urban cluster areas like Canton, Ohio.

Nevertheless: Canton, Massillon, Alliance, North Canton, Louisville, Minerva, Canal Fulton, Hartville, East Canton, Magnolia, Brewster, Navarre and Waynesburg keep sending him back to Columbus with big majorities.

Hmm?

With that kind of response for getting kicked in the teeth, why wouldn't he and the others (who likewise have no problems getting reelected) continue to blow them off in spades.

SCHURING

A Stark County-based legislator since 1995, J. Kirk Schuring (Republican - Jackson Township - 48th Ohio House district) apparently is also going to be a "no show."

Although he is going to be in Canton on Tuesday at a Stark County Council of Governments (SCOG) meeting to be held at Canton City Council chambers at 4:30 p.m., the word as of late last week was that he is not going to be at tonight's meeting.

Could it be that Schuring is afraid to come to Canton at night?

Witness this statement (videotaped, but has been pulled from public view) he made back in June, 2008 when he ran against Democrat John Boccieri to succeed the-then retiring Ralph Regula as Ohio's 16th district congressman.

Schuring as a political persona is not a right-wing, extreme right-wing Republican.  But he does appear to be intimidated by them.

He seems to want to help local office holders when they ask him to do so, but has to grovel to likes of Lynn Watchtmann (Republican - Napoleon, Ohio).

A couple of years ago, Stark County Court of Common Pleas judge Taryn Heath chaired a county task force to get certain Ohio Legislature "unfunded mandates" eliminated (thereby saving Stark's local governments significant money) and at a meeting of Stark County commissioners got Schuring to agree to be Stark County's point man to work on the goal.

To the SCPR, his failure to achieve much on the announced objective of getting the unfunded mandates eliminated say all you need to know about Schuring's effectiveness. 

What's more, he introduced a bill at the behest of The Report to require local politicians to report the identity of vocation/organization that large contributors ($200 or more) make to their campaigns which he proved totally ineffective at getting through the Legislature.

And there are countless other examples of Schuring's failure to deliver for Stark County notwithstanding his repeated reelections spanning 18 years.

Oh yes, he produces here and there.  But the SCPR believes that if one were to take the requests for Stark County legislative benefiting action compared to this success rate, the success rate would be in the single percentage digits.  That's how confident The Report is on yours truly's take on the ineffectiveness of J. Kirk Schuring for Stark County.

Schuring's legislative record so far this year:

HAGAN

Cities like Canton can just totally forget Christina Hagan (Republican - Marlboro Township - 50th Ohio House district).

If anyone is symbolic of the Ohio General Assembly being dominated by small town, rural Ohio, she is it.

And to boot, she is clearly the personification of being a religious right, right-wing Republican.

Totally, totally out of touch with urban Ohio.

She does like to send press releases out to area media trumpeting her meager legislative accomplishments to area media (i.e. the one located at 500 Market Avenue, South) which seems to dutifully report them as written without any critical questioning).

This is what Hagan has done so far in 2013:

The SCPR seriously doubts that she can find her way to Canton City Hall.  Nor is she inclined to learn.

SLESNICK

Well, Stephen Slesnick (Democrat - Canton - the 49th Ohio House District) is coming to council tonight.  So the SCPR is told.

The only problem is that as a marginalized Democrat he has absolutely NO CLOUT in the Ohio General Assembly. His being at council will definitely be as a "hand-holding" exercise.

But at least that's something.

That is why the Stark County Political Report has created the "Hip, Hip, Hooray Award" to bestow on him.

Just showing up is enough to win the award!

Otherwise, as readers of the SCPR know, The Report is totally unimpressed with Slesnick.

Though he represents urban, working class folks; he is not one of of the 47%.

Even if he were a Republican, The Report believes that he would get no respect at all from the Republican supermajority currently in charge of the Ohio General Assembly.

He appears to The Report to be a person who has nothing to do but be a state legislator.

You know, the sort of thing that children of well off families do just to have something to do.

Anyway, here is his legislative track record so far in 2013:

A YEOMAN'S BUT "POLITICALLY CORRECT" EFFORT

Kudos to Allen Schulman for trying to get the attention of area legislators.

But is he likely to ever take on a "I'm mad as Hell and I'm not going to take it anymore!" and organize - for example - an "anybody but Scott Oelslager" effort at election time?

The SCPR thinks not.

And Oelslager and his fellows from Stark County are banking on their knowing (in their political heart of hearts) that Stark's urban/urban cluster elected officeholders will never, ever take punitive political action against them ignoring their plight.

For many of their years in the Ohio Legislature, Stark Countians need to keep in mind that Oelslager and Schuring have been a part of Republican majorities/supermajorities as they have switched back and forth between the House and the Senate.

What a waste of seniority/legislative experience status, no?

In the end, all the SCPR thinks will come out of it is:

The SCPR Hip, Hip, Hooray! Award to state Representative Stephen Slesnick for merely showing up!

STATE AND FEDERAL LEGISLATORS ABANDON LOCAL GOV'T FUNDING. IGNORE (EXCEPT FOR OELSLAGER) CANTON COUNCIL'S REQUEST FOR THEM TO PRESENT THEMSELVES & EXPLAIN WHY!

At the February 11th meeting of Canton City Council (SCPR blog LINK), President Allen Schulman got all over Stark County's federal and state legislators for allowing local government funding to plunge to levels that threaten the ability of Stark County's local governments to provide basic services.

On the 19th, he followed up with a letter, to wit:

Guess how many responses he has gotten so far?

Answer:  One!

That was a telephone call from state Senator Scott Oelslager's office (Republican [Plain] - the 29th which covers most of Stark County) saying:  "No, I am not coming to Canton City Council!"

No reason given.

And Oelslager is chairman of the Ohio Senate finance committee.  He just might be a guy who can do something about the plunge in state funding of local government.

But of course because he puts his political party's interest (more specifically Governor Kasich's balancing the state budget on the backs of local governments) over his constituents' local interests, he is going to be "a no show."

Hmm?

The rest of the Ohio General Assembly Stark County delegation:

From Christina Hagan (Republican - the 50th - Marlboro), Kirk Schuring (Republican - the 48th - Jackson) and Stephen Slesnick (Democrat - the 49th - Canton) NOT A WORD!

Well, how about Stark three congressional representatives:  Bob Gibbs (Republican - the 7th - Holmes County), (Jim Renacci - the 16th - Wadsworth [Summit County]) and Tim Ryan - the 13th - Youngstown [Mahoning County])?

And add U.S. Senators Rob Portman (Republican) and Sherrod Brown (Democrat).

These are the folks who are about to take the federal government into dramatic budget cuts (sequestration) and thereby cause financial hardship for local communities such as Canton.

Again, NOT A WORD!

What arrogant, unaccountable people, no?

At election time they are swarming all over us.  But when they are asked to do their job for local constituents, they are nowhere to be seen!

Just let some local government (let's say a school board) gin up an honor to bestow on one of them.

Oh, that's different.

He/she would be at the meeting dressed to the nine's and with photographers in tow.

And most likely, the locals would be licking their boots with nary a question about his legislative matter or that legislative matter that the legislator hasn't delivered on.

One doesn't like to be knee-jerk, but why would anybody vote for an incumbent legislator who will not come to the halls of local government to answer the constituents tough questions?

When are Stark County's political/governmental leaders going to unite and come out full force and say to the people of Stark County:  "do not vote for these people!"

• Christina Hagan,
• Scott Oelslager,
• Kirk Schuring,
• Stephen Slesnick,
• Bob Gibbs,
• Jim Renacci,
• Tim Ryan,
• Rob Portman, and
• Sherrod Brown

"They disrespect us to the point that will not come hear our grievances."

The SCPR's attitude has always been that to the degree local government officials play nice with these folks, is the degree to which they get kicked in the teeth.

Schulman is showing some promise. He has chided Chris Borello and her Concerned Citizens of Stark County for besieging council with their anti-fracking concerns to go after Hagan, Oelslager, Schuring and Slesnick (who all support or supported taking local control of fracking away from local governments) at the right time - election time.

You can be sure that anyone of these legislators if they think they are going to be ex-Senator Oelslager or ex-Representative Stephen Slesnick over a given issue, are going to get attentive yesterday.

It is up to the likes of Schulman to bring people together at critical election times in order to get results.

What is good for Chris Borello and her followers is good for Schulman and all Stark County local government leaders.

Only yesterday, Policy Matters Ohio put out a graph that shows the devastation that the Ohio General Assembly has wrought on local government. 

A second graph shows that new revenues fall substantially short of projected losses.

And it not just Canton that is under the financial gun.

So are Stark's other cities and villages.

And townships.

The question that the SCPR has is whether or not Stark's cities, villages and townships will continue to allow the likes of Hagan, Oelslager, Schurng and Slesnick to thumb their noses at them.

If they do, then they get everything they deserve!