CAN STARK'S POLITICIANS WORK TOGETHER TO BRING JOB PRODUCING BUSINESSES TO STARK COUNTY?

The news for Stark County was bad yesterday in terms of the Stark County commissioners having to sue Alliance and Massillon to get them to pay up on what the owe for jailing their prisoners in the Stark County jail.

As longs as these silly fights persist in the county, there is very little chance that the county can right itself economically and become a once again prosperous community.

The same goes for Canton.

Mayor Healy has created such a negative political situation with Canton City Council that he will end up spending his four years (if he lasts that long) in one political brouhaha after another. The SCPR suspects that Healy is relishing in the political cover the infighting provides for his failure to have made meaningful progress in turning around Canton economically.

The one bright light in Stark County is Commissioner Todd Bosley. He has been trying to get something going to turn around Stark's dire economic downturn. But he is getting resistance. The SCPR has learned that Commissioner Tom Harmon is resisting Bosley's effort to get Stark to collaborate with Chevron on a biomass economic joint venture.

Rather than fight and/or sitting on their collective duffs, Stark County's politicos should be brain storming ways they can work together cooperatively to bring economic revitalization to our county, cities, villages and townships.

Stark County has an opportunity to be the first in Ohio to become a magnet for auto manufacturers of electric/hybrid cars.

USA Today did an intriguing piece in today's edition revealing that electric/hybrid car makers are accelerating their electric/hybrid car production schedules to meet anticipated demand. Nissan (per the quote in the accompanying graphic), will be focusing its market on communities that build a support infrastructure to accommodate buyers of these vehicles which get the gasoline equivalent of up 387 miles per gallon.

Perhaps Congressman John Boccieri could find some federal money to help Stark local governments build this infrastructure. Could Reps Oelslager, Slesnick, Okey and Senators Schuring and Shiavone do the same at the state level.

A North Canton elected official supports an unasked for tax breaks to Albrecht's Acme grocery store operations in the city, "just to show them that North Canton is business friendly" and thereby to send a message to the business community at large.

The SCPR can see the officials' perspective, but questions whether or not this is the kind of ambiance that will "really" jump start economic development.

A better plan would be for North Canton to band together in a countywide infrastructure development plan like the "re-charging station" idea. Now this really would create a "buzz," if that is one is looking for.

And who knows, it might even promote a local businessman to open a "first of its kind" selling electric/hybrid motor vehicles to the Stark County consuming public.

As much as the SCPR likes Commissioner Bosley and his demonstrated initiative, there is a missing element.

It is critically essential that a Stark County put together a "continuously-existent economic development taskforce" which brings all stakeholders to the table to develop a sustainable program of countywide economic development.

The taskforce must be broad enough to include all stakeholders, but structurally efficient enough to see its consensus based recommendations (always in the state of being refined) realized in actual economic development projects throughout the county; the cities, villages and townships of Stark County.

Commissioner Bosley needs to be pushing for the creation of such a taskforce.

DISCUSSION: ARE STARK COUNTY'S CITY, VILLAGE & TOWNSHIP OFFICIALS OUT TO DESTROY STARK COUNTY'S ECONOMIC FUTURE?

Stark County is indeed a mess.

There are a lot of family fights going on (i.e. the annexation fights).

But is it a zoo?

No.

Stark County is in the midst of a "fits and starts" modality in which the county moves one step forward and two steps backward; then two steps forward and one step backward.

The problem with this "fits and starts" reality is that Stark County is kind of walking in place, at best.

What Stark County lacks is a visionary leader. The best the county currently has is Commissioner Todd Bosley. But our county needs more than one person.

Who could, if they would - first, cleaning up their act in terms of shedding their ties to parochial interests - to step-up-to-the-plate to help Commissioner Bosley.

Here is the STARK COUNTY POLITICAL REPORT (The Report) list of possibilities:

Randy Gonzales could perhaps be a visionary witness:

* his work-in-progress making 9-1-1 a first-class countywide emergency services unit,

* his overall work in the Stark County Council of Governments [SCOG]

* his work in putting together the Stark County Criminal Justice System (SC-CJIS).

From his overall "what is good for Stark County" perspective he (as Jackson Township fiscal officer) steps back into the world of provincial, parochial interests and actually feeds a mindset counterproductive to his Stark countywide work. By wearing "conflict-in-interest" hats, Gonzales has undermined his ability to be that additional piece to complement Bosley's effort.

Daryl Revoldt of North Canton. Daryl probably is the best government finances and economic development mind in Stark County.

Daryl served has a top aide to former Congressman Ralph Regula. From this perspective, he not only gained a countywide perspective, but also a regional appreciation of the strengths and weaknesses of our area.

Little wonder why Bob Taft selected Revoldt to be Regional Director of the Ohio Department of Development office located in Akron.

The Report in particular believes this Revoldt quote to " jumpstart news" (2005) shows that he understands the elements that need to be brought together to make economic development work, to wit:

"What is driving companies to open ... here is a skilled workforce and the lower cost of living," ... "Because of our good transportation grid it's easier for companies to draw employees from several counties, and the lower cost of living in this area means there is less pressure on wages."

With all due respect North Canton, The Report believes Revoldt is a potential countywide asset that is wasting away in North Canton city government (he is county council president).

Perhaps the Stark County commissioners should entertain the idea to appoint one of these as Stark County Economic Development Czar?

Or, do you have somebody else in mind?

DISCUSSION: STARK COUNTY CITIES & THE COUNTY ITSELF PARCEL OUT OUR MONEY. WHERE'S THE ACCOUNTING?

A question that every Stark Countian ought to have on his or her mind?

What are taxpaying Stark Countians, Cantonians, North Cantonians, Massillonians and Allianceites getting for their economic development money?

Yesterday, the Alliance Review ran an outstanding AP wire piece which critiques how government accounts for our tax dollars in the area of economic development.

When the STARK COUNTY POLITICAL REPORT (The Report) visited with Democrat Mayor Francis Cicchinelli a few months ago, he decried the absolute need to ante up taxpayer money as a precondition to even begin discussions with companies about expanding in or relocating to Massillon. Cicchinelli doesn't like this reality, but a reality it is. Being kind, one would call this an "entitlement attitude," but to be brutally honest about this corporate economic development reality would be to term it: "we have you over a barrel and we are going to put the screws to you - grin and bear it."

A couple of days ago, The Report e-mailed Commissioner Todd Bosley an asked him whether or not Stark County could account better than Ohio does. No answer as of the writing of this piece. But The Report will be patient, with the storm and all.

The Report turns attention to Ohio House 50th District candidate Republican Todd Snitchler on this "reality." Here's a guy who has unbridled faith in the goodness of corporations and their "PR organizations" to wit: Stark County's local chambers of commerce and, of course, the Ohio Chamber of Commerce.

As far as The Report is concerned, Snitchler's fascination with the chambers has more to do with his deficient ability to think of new approaches to get at solving severe Stark County and Ohio economic problems than anything else. The chamber of commerce thing is a cover for his inadequacies to think outside-the-box. He is so utterly unoriginal in thought that he needs the chambers to have any economic program whatsoever, notwithstanding Ohioans' clear understanding that the Ohio Chamber of Commerce has been and continues to be a failed key player in solving Ohio's economic problems.

By his own account, his own Lake Development Foundation is floundering. How's that? Snitchler says on a video published by The Report (prior article) that the foundation has no money.

With ties like his, it is not likely that Stark Countians can count on him to push for greater accountability in the slipshod relationship between government and the corporate world on the matter of economic development.

Snitchler's only consolation in his race is that his opponent, Democrat Celeste DeHoff, is even more anemic on this front. All she has to do, if elected, will be to call on former state representative Johnnie A. Maier, Jr., (now clerk of courts in Massillon and chair of the Stark County Democratic Party and her chief sponsor) for direction. We all remember what a "giant of a legislator" he was in the Ohio House, don't we?

There is a growing citizen suspicion that taxpayers are getting worked over by companies who are working a system they invented and who are insulated from public scrutiny by bumbling government officials or those who are in the hip pocket of corporate interests.

We have "No Child Left Behind" to document achievement/non-achievement as a check on educators. But what to we have to measure how state and local governments are "investing" taxpayer dollars and whether or not recipient companies are producing according to their promises.

Ohio, for its part, in The Review piece admits that it has no way to tell whether or not the 200, 000 promised jobs over the past 10 years have materialized for the $1.7 billion in tax breaks, et cetera.

How about this for a laugh (to the lament of the taxpaying public)? Ohio is going after Skybus which is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy. What genius in the Ohio Department of Development (Lee Fisher?) helped this company with taxpayer money? A company which was offering $10 fares (a terrific business model). Gee, maybe it would have been prudent to require the company to post a bond with the state of Ohio?

All Ohio has is a fragmented, case-by-case, way to track. And currently, it is obvious that the fragmentation reduces to some Department of Development bureaucrat scrambling to come up with a scintilla of data to satisfy an inquiring newspaper reporter for the moment.

And remember, in January, 2006 Governor Strickland, in his Inaugural address, promised government accountability as well as personal accountability. Now, according to the AP report, in the light of big deficits that Ohio is currently running - there's a question: Is there money for devising a tracking system that will provide the promised accountability.

Returning, for a moment, to Todd Snitchler and his chamber friends. Next we will hear how requiring corporate accountability and requiring them to return taxpayer money for promises unkept will hurt Ohio's and Stark County's ability to compete.

The question: (Republican or Democrat) Will Ohioans, Stark Countians, Cantonians, North Cantonians, Massillonians, and Allianceites ever get accountability from our government executives? From beneficiary-corporate executives?

DISCUSSION: THE PERFECT FIT?

Of course, Democrat Governor Ted Strickland is obligated to support Democratic candidate Celeste DeHoff who is Tuscarawas Township trustee and Stark County Democratic Party chairman Johnnie A. Maier, Jr.'s protege.

But wouldn't it make more sense for Ohio if he were to take a page out of the book of Democratic U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman and do what's best for the state (in this instance) over his political party?

Since the Ohio Chamber of Commerce has a huge stake in the success of the Strickland administration plan, doesn't it stand to reason that Strickland would want a solid chamber of commerce guy in the Ohio House to support his economic development efforts - the one one issue in Ohio these days?

Todd Snitchler, the Republican candidate for the Ohio House (50th) has vastly superior chamber of commerce credentials over the Democrat candidate Celeste DeHoff. He's a past president of the Lake Chamber of Commerce and currently president of the Lake Development Corporation which has a very strong association with area chambers of commerce.

The STARK COUNTY POLITICAL REPORT (The Report) recalls a recent presentation that Snitchler made to the Uniontown Business Association (the non-political, political event it was), outlining how he went to the Massillon Chamber of Commerce for advice on setting up the Lake Development Corporation.

It is somewhat mystifying to The Report why Strickland has turned to the Ohio Chamber.

Hasn't the Ohio Chamber of Commerce had a large role with the Ohio Republican Party (which some say are joined at the hip) in constructing economic development plans over the past 20 years? Haven't those 20 years been a economic disaster for Ohio? Is the Strickland administration so bereft of new ideas that it has to turn to the "old idea" machine?

The saying is: "If you do what you have always done, you will get what you have always gotten."

Apparently, the Strickland administration has dipped, once again, into the reservoir of stale ideas that haven't worked.

Ohioans and Stark Countians can only hope that Strickland gets lucky and pulls a rabbit out of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce hat.

Who better, The Report asks, to help Strickland than chamber devotee Todd Snitchler? Who does Strickland care more about - the future of state of Ohio or the success of a Democratic candidate for the Ohio House?

What choice do you think he should make?