Friday, May 15, 2015

#10 - THE SCPR "BOTTOM 10" (I.E. WORST) STARK COUNTY POLITICAL SUBDIVISION ELECTED OFFICIALS



At least Plain Township trustee Louis Giavasis has the dubious distinction of being "the best of the worst" Stark County political subdivisions (i.e villages, cities, townships, the county government itself and boards of education) - in the opinion, of course, of The Stark County Political Report.

Before it occurred to yours truly how utterly political Giavasis is, he received positive reviews from the SCRP and an assessment that his primary concern is good government and not being a political insider.

And even to this day, The Report thinks Plain Township is Stark's most fiscally responsible township compared let's say to Jackson Township specifically and compared to many of Stark's remaining 15 township halls.

Giavasis also was instrumental in enhancing public access to trustee meetings in leading the way whereby the trustees approved a video taping system that is accessible to public.

And that is a good thing.

Just on the matter of police services alone, Plain gets effective police services for about what 1/10th the cost of Jackson.

And Plain trustees do not have the headaches of a poorly managed (owing, the SCPR thinks to the Jackson trustees themselves) police department.

While the SCPR thinks by virtue of being the senior trustee in terms of years on-the-job Giavasis deserves a lion's share of the credit for the fiscal, policing, democracy enhancing matters, it is ashame that he appears to be mucking it up in bringing politics - in a dissembling way - (i.e. "aw shucks, me being political?") into how he interacts with others and to a degree in his governance modality.

As early as early January, 2010 it began to dawn on yours truly that Louis Giavasis was honing the art of being deeply involved in organized Stark County Democratic Party politics at the highest level but maintaining the persona of someone who only cared about doing the largely non-partisan, non-political work of being a township trustee.


To get the full flavor of the beginning of the SCPR's disenchantment with Louis Giavasis, yours truly encourages readers to read a blog done on January 3, 2010,
  • ... [Stark County] Recorder Rick Campbell's conduct [re:  the hiring of Kody Gonzalez as chief deputy recorder]
    • SCPR Note: 
      • includes a description of what The Report thinks was Giavasis' primary role in helping Campbell's wife (daughter of former Stark County commissioner Gayle Jackson) to get a job as township administrator,
      • while disingenuously, yours truly believes, making it appear to a Lawrence Township trustee think he had a real shot at the job,
        • it also seemed that there was a "show of force" on the part of Campbell, Gonzalez and Giavasis designed to intimidate yours truly 
          • (Campbell actually started jawboning with yours truly)
As far as the SCPR is concerned, Louis Giavasis was "over-the-top" in Stark County partisan political activity with campaign of George T. Maier to be elected Stark County sheriff in the November, 2014.


And now it appears to the SCPR he is at it again with the Kristen Guardado campaign for Canton Municipal Court judge.

In the series currently underway with the SCPR in which The Report is providing chapter and verse on allegations that the Stark County Democratic Party leadership promised neutrality in the recently concluded primary contest between Guardado and Angela Alexander, a name mentioned prominently in enabling the Dems' leadership to say one thing but to another is none other that Plain Township trustee Louis Giavasis.

The Report will save that one for future blogs in that particular series.

In addition to all the foregoing, it is interesting to note:

And that is one thing.

But when Louis all of a sudden surfaces as one of her chief deputies, that is quite another.


Was the job posted to the general Stark County taxpaying public?

The Report would be shocked to learn that Clerk Reinbold posted the position.

That's how Stark County "inside politics" both Republican and Democrat work in way too large measure.

And now it stands to reason that Louis is the "odds-on-favorite" because of his political connections to succeed Reinbold when she retires which The Report believes could be announced at anytime.

Oh! He may do a fine job as chief deputy.

But there are lots of folks who could have done a fine job.

Isn't really sweet to have a brother who is chairman of the Stark County Democrat Party who appears to have an interest in "keeping it 'all in the family.'"

The SCRP thinks that in evaluating the overall Louis Giavasis and his involvement with the political; he is not in reality the virtually non-political Louis Giavasis he seems bent on perpetuating.

The dichotomy The Report sees in him degrades your truly's estimate of his credibility of his capacity to govern and thereby unfortunately earns him a spot on the SCPR "Bottom 10" list of the worst Stark County political subdivision elected officials.

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