IS MASSILLON READY FOR SCOTT GRABER AS MAYOR?

On May 5th Massillon voters almost took "a flyer" in terms of taking a risk on who is going to be mayor of Massillon.

While the SCPR thinks that Mayor Kathy Catazaro-Perry has been (be kind now, Martin) "less than satisfactory" as the mayor of Massillon since taking office on January 1, 2012; she is a known quantity.

Had J. David Ress picked up 43 votes in the final total votes cast for mayor in his head-to-head with Catazaro-Perry, he would be the odds-on-favorite to become Massillon's chief executive.

And he is an unknown quantity.

For he has no government chief executive experience whatsoever.  In fact, he has never held any government position; elected or unelected.

That Ress came so close to taking her out, makes it seem as if Massillon is ready to jettison Mayor Kathy.

Let's say for the sake of argument that in November there is a three-way race for the Massillon mayoralty assuming for the moment at both former mayor (for 24 years) Francis H. Cicchinelli, Jr., and Massillon gadfly Scott Graber (both last registered as Democrats) get certified to run as "independents" for Massillon's top administrative job.

And let's take the matter one step further.

We know what to expect from Cicchinelli as mayor.

We know what to expect from Catazaro-Perry as mayor.

Nobody knew what to expect from J. David Ress as mayor, but many Massillon Democrats were willing to take that risk apparently because they did not like what the known quantity was dishing out.

Let's say that the "take a risk" factor persists and grows in the general election.

Are Massillonians ready for this?

MAYOR SCOTT R. GRABER!!!

In recent days, Mister Graber has copied The Stark County Political Report on a series of his e-mails to a State of Ohio official.

The SCPR thinks the e-mail exchanges show that Graber has - to put the best face on it - a major problem with his thinking processes and seemingly plays pretty loose if not unethically in making representations that most folks would think are untenable.

However, that is nothing new because that is generally the reaction of yours truly when "you've got mail" from Scott R. Graber graces the tramols@att.net email account.

The first e-mail is a copy of an electronic letter Graber sent to Ohio Office of Budget and Management Financial Planning Administrator Sharon Hanrahan, the highly competent, engaging and responsive chairperson of the Massillon Financial Planning and Supervision Commission (MFP&SC, Commission).

Hardly someone would want as mayor, no?

But the Ress near miss on defeating the mayor may be a harbinger that Graber might more a factor in the outcome of the November general election (assuming he and/or Cicchinelli make the ballot) than the SCPR currently expects.

In October, 2013, Mayor Catazaro-Perry succeeded in convincing the State of Ohio Auditor Dave Yost - on the slimmest of grounds (a cash flow problem) - that Massillon be placed is fiscal emergency which brought the MFP&SC in to existence.

The Commission under the guidance of the capable Chairperson Hanrahan has been struggling to get a sustainable plan which seems reasonably certain of succeeding on bringing new revenues into Massillon's financial coffers.

The key has been to get Massillon voters to approve a tax increase.  Two income tax proposals (only one of which was directly tied to a Restoration Plan approved by the MFP&SC) have been overwhelmingly rejected by Massillonians.

A factor (probably not a key one given her close call in the May 5th Democratic primary) in the levy rejections has been the outright opposition (the first attempt) and lukewarm at best attitude of Mayor Catazaro-Perry to the levy initiatives.

The missing ingredient in coming up with "a reasonably certain of implementation" plan?

You've got it!

Massillion's very own "Boy Wonder:  Scott R. Graber," candidate for mayor of Massillon.

Yesterday, he sends out this e-mail:

No legal bar to making "extramunicipals" (non-Massillonians who work in Massillon) pay 3.8% of their income to fund Massillon government with residents working in Massillon paying absolutely zero?

Hmm?

And all on the authority of MFP&SC (also Ohio Budget and Management Financial Planning Administrator) Sharon Hanrahan?

That's what Graber said this past Wednesday in this 3:54 a.m. (how about that!) e-mail:

Here's Graber (an extract) of e-mail to Hanrahan on Tuesday:

Hanrahan's response:

How would Chairperson/Adminstrator Hanrahan react to Graber's assertion as her being legal authority for his proposition that it would be legal to have non-residents working in Massillon pay a 3.8% income tax to support all of Massillon government leaving resident Massillonians working in Massillon free of any income tax whatsoever?

Chairperson Sharon Hanrahan is impressive to the SCPR in her conduct of the MFP&SC proceedings and her willingness to deal with the likes of Graber.

The Report trusts that her experience with Graber will not alter her leadership style which is to say:

• open, 
• forthcoming, 
• respectful, and 
• responsive to one and all.

It will be interesting to see whether or not she is willing to be communicative with Graber going forward.

Of course, it is her choice to make.

Who would blame her if she were to make Graber an exception to her assumed role of being responsive to all to contact her in her official capacity?

But she may have to consider that these are weird political times and it might be that she as chairperson of the Massillon Financial Planning and Supervision Commission might have to deal with?

Mayor Scott Graber!

Wouldn't that be a trip!!!

(VIDEOS) OHIO'S SHARON HANRAHAN IS MASSILLON'S "DOVE OF PEACE?"

UPDATE: 8:00 PM  "FINAL"

"ENTIRE" COUNCIL PLANNING SESSION VIDEO  NOW POSTED

"ENTIRE" COMBO COUNCIL/COMMISSION

SESSION NOW POSTED

VIDEOS

REACTIONS TO LAST NIGHT MEETING

SHARON HANRAHAN

OMB REPRESENTATIVE
POSTED

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 COUNCILWOMAN

SARITA CUNNINGHAM-HEDDERLY

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COUNCILWOMAN NANCY HALTER

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 COUNCILMAN ED LEWIS

POSTED

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COUNCILMAN PAUL MANSON

POSTED

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 COMMISSIONER MEMBER

ELAINE CAMPBELL

POSTED

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ENTIRE 

COMMISSION/COUNCIL MEETING

POSTED

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ENTIRE

COUNCIL PLAN 2 WORK SESSION

POSTED 

Last night "peace" seemed to break out among the participants in Massillon's effort to find a "financial recovery plan" that might eventually bring Tigerland back to fnancial solvency.

But the SCPR must say that Massillon's Iron Lady was the least prone of all "to give peace a chance."

The peacemaker-in-chief was Sharon Hanrahan of Ohio's Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

The Report believes a breakthrough occurred after the Massillon Financial Planning and Supervision Commission rejected Massillon City Council's first plan at the end of last month.

Hanrahan - post rejection - went to council and apparently gained a different perspective on council's attitude as a result of talking one-on-one with members.

Hanrahan spoke with the SCPR after last night's meeting.


 
 Another commissioner member speaking with the SCPR was Elaine Campbell.



Campbell's son, Matt Campbell, by the way, is the outstanding coach of the football Toledo Rockets of the NCAA Divison 1 Mid-American Conference of which the University of Akron and Kent State University are members.

The SCPR believes that up until that Hanrahan/council meetup, the commission was largely dependent on Mayor Catazaro-Perry for information and perspective on council efforts to construct a financial recovery plan acceptable to the commission and to council.

Both most agree on a plan by April 24th if Massillon is to avoid "across the board cuts" of 15% to all general fund departments of Massillon's government except for the courts on May 1st.

The Report thinks that council will come up with a Plan 2 that likely include a 1.95 or 2.0 income tax rate for Massillon (a rise of .195 or .2).

Why 1.95?

Guess?

Because of Mayor Catazaro-Perry.

Although Finance Committee chair Ed Lewis, IV (Republican Ward 6 [and, the SCPR thinks, likely opponent in the November, 2015 election to the mayor]) believes that the mayor did not last night reject a 2% Massillon income tax rate ballot initiative; The Report thinks she in reality did.

Why is 2% so important?

Because council is resisting the reduction in Massillon's income tax credit that Massillonians get for paying out-of-city income taxes to other Ohio villages and cities in which they work.

From the beginning of the Catazaro-Perry administration when it became apparent that Massillon had to do something to either increase revenues or make expenditure cuts or a combination of the two, the mayor has insisted that part of any fiscal package that she would agree to absolutely must include a reduced income tax credit.

To finance chairman Lewis,  a 2% tax rate (meaning .2 percent) is the key number at which council would be able to avoid an actual implementation of a  proposed .25% reduction the city income tax credit which is part of the package being negotiated between council and the MFPSC.

As the SCPR understands the plan, voter approval of a .195 or .2 increase in the November election would effectively eliminate the credit reduction.

Lewis explains.



And such of turn of events would undoubtedly please Massillon political power broker and Stark County prosecutor John Ferrero (a former Massillon law director) who has adamantly fought (mostly through political proxies) a reduction in the credit.

The political background to all of this is that Ferrero (a least currently) is the arch-political-enemy of Catazaro-Perry prop-ups Johnnie A. Maier, Jr and his "I couldn't exist without you" ally R. Shane Jackson.

Maier is Massillon's clerk of courts, (Jackson is his chief deputy).

Maier is currently executive vice chairman of the Stark County Democratic Party (former chairman 2003 - 2009) and Jackson in the party's political director.

Ferrero immediately preceded Maier as Stark Dems chairman.

And both (Ferrero and Maier) see themselves as dominant players in Massillon city politics.  There are plenty of examples in which they go after one another in the context of Massillon political life.

All of which brings us to a key moment in last night's discussion between the commission and council at their joint meeting.

Newly elected councilperson Megan Starrett (Democrat, Ward 5) works on Ferrero's staff and is perceived to be a Ferrero proxy on council.

It was Starrett who came up with a proposal in the meeting for council to abandon its heretofore insistence that any income tax reduction be sunset to expire on December 31, 2015.

Commissioner member Robert Gessner of Massillon Cable TV had - earlier in the meeting - talked about how an arbitrary sunset date was just that and made no sense.

He argued that council needed to have a change of heart on the matter and tie the retirement of the reduction to rational financial numbers rather than "just pick a date."

Starrett picked up on his plea and that is when the tone of the meeting began to change in a more positive and productive way.

As a consequence "the sticking point" is no longer a "drop-dead date" on the income tax credit reduction.  Now it is increasing the rate 2%.  At least as far as Catazaro-Perry is concerned.

The Report suspects that the mayor's digging in against a ballot initiative of going to a 2% rate is more about the near certainty that a 2% would ensure that the credit reduction never goes into effect and if that happens, her insistence (remember, pretty much from the beginning of her administration) in a reduction in the credit will have been in vain.

So while the SCPR believes that Sharon Hanrahan with her peace-inducing style of leadership has achieved a breakthrough, it is a fragile peace to say the least.

While Hanrahan cannot give the slightest indication that the latent belligerence of Catazaro-Perry is the "elephant in the room" of the commission and council reaching an agreement on Massillon's Financial Recovery Plan; behind the scene she needs to continue what appears to the SCPR to be her good work of bringing the two sides together.

The Report believes that one way or another the diplomatic Hanrahan will trump "it my way or the highway" Catazaro-Perry.

To the SCPR the majority of the commission is sensitive to and prone to follow the lead of the mayor.

A key part of Hanrahan's work is to provide Catazaro-Perry with a face saving way out of her intransgiance.

If last night's movement forward is a true indication as being the fruit of Hanrahan's labors, then Massillonians have reason to believe that "peace may be at hand"  between Mayor Catazaro-Perry and her allies and Massillon City Council.

Other councilperson reactions to the joint meeting include:

Councilwoman Sarita Cunningham-Hedderly.



And Councilwoman Nancy Halter who Hanrahan scored points with in remembering a prior exchange between the two.



Councilman Paul Manson looms large as a factor in the back and forth between council and the commission.



Although lengthy, the SCPR is posting the entire sessions of both the joint commission/council session and the separate council work session on intracouncil discussions of what the content of Plan 2 ought to be.

First, the joint session.

Next, the council planning session video: