Yes, "a political paradox."
How so?
Mayor William J. Healy's administration of the city of Canton has been one debacle after another with sideshows galore.
One would think there is no way he could be re-elected. But think again. The SCPR believes that he is now the odds-on-favorite to win.
Wow!
No one should underestimate Healy's ability to politically contrive as a vehicle to his own political survival.
A part of the "teflon William" vignette is now being played out in Canton via his "I've got religion" series of meetings on Canton's deplorable financial conditions.
He blames his predecessor Republican Janet Creighton (now county commissioner), he blames the overall economy and any other diversionary factor he can find. But he does not blame himself and his utter lack of foresight.
Talk about diversionary. He has one of his opponent's (Councilman Bill Smuckler) chief supporters focusing on the city's travel expenditures. Councilman Greg Hawk is playing right into Healy's hands in introducing a bill to limit travel to "essential" travel.
Not that travel expenditures in a symbolic sort of way should not be monitored, but does anyone really think that this line item expenditure is going to resolve Canton's financial crisis?
Hawk's move is political posturing at its worst. There are much more significant things to lambaste the Healy administration over. Healy must be totally amused when he sees such stuff as this.
A clue for Smuckler/Hawk is contained in the following video at the first of a number of meeting that political-maestro Healy has concocted to make it appear he is dealing with Canton's financial crisis.
In this video Canton Finance Director Karen Alger talks about the "non-payroll" part of the Canton budget which in toto only amounts to 18% of a nearly $50 million annual budget or about $10 million. As she points out, a goodly number of these are mandatory.
However, the most significant item she talks about is the "underfunded" police and fire salary/benefits part of the budget. Yes, "underfunded." Underfunding is a "smoke and mirrors - creative financing" vehicle invented by Mayor Francis H. Cicchinelli, Jr. of Massillon and picked up upon by Canton's Mayor Healy.
As Council President Allen Schulman has said, Canton's finances are in a death spiral and no amount of meeting the public is going to solve that.
While Healy says everything is on the table, he then turns around and says the table is bare.
More political sophistry by a Mayor who is trying to survive politically day-to-day.
Here is Finance Director Alger's bio which is followed a video of part of her presentation on February 8th.
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