Earlier in the year, in discussing the Republican primary for Mayor of Massillon, we pointed out, as Martha Stewart would say, it was a "good thing" that the Republicans of Massillon were once again showing signs of life.
Lee Brunckhart won the primary and was Massillon's GOP standard bearer for the November election.
It would be an up hill fight for Brunckhart in a city dominated by Democrats, but we were confident he would extol Republican values, such as fiscal responsibility and limited government.
Now, it would appear, he is merely an echo chamber for someone far more 'extraordinary'.
According to the Independent, "Brunckhart believes the city is running a "bare bones" operation..." (The Independent, October 22, 2011).
Of course the problem is "You must find a new source of revenue" (Lee Brunckhart, The Independent, October 22, 2011).
"Bare bones operation"
"new source of revenue"
Not exactly the Republican talking points.
We have heard this terminology from someone in the recent past.
He lost the Democratic primary.
Word is all over the street that our Extraordinary Mayor for 67 days is helping the Brunckhart effort.
It would appear that a Brunckhart win will help ensure that the Cicchinelli loyalists maintain a continued place in city hall;
"In fact, he (Brunckhart) has no plans to immediately change city department heads" (The Independent, October 22, 2011).
We had hoped the Republican candidate would be, well, a Republican candidate.
We don't expect Brunckhart to win at this point.
But we had hoped that Brunckhart would become a part of the next generation of Republican leadership.
That a good campaign would spring board him to future opportunities, on city council, or possibly the school board.
He needed to be "the key" to a resurgent Republican party.
Not someone talking about "bare bones" operations and "new revenue sources."
