We envision him at City Hall right now, plotting his return to power, as smoke billows from the office shredder.
He must be leaving with mixed emotions.
Yes, he absolutely bankrupted the city in his final 8 months as sovereign, leaving the incoming mayor so broke we doubt she can make the city's first payroll, doing his level best to set her up for failure while sewing the seeds for his own comeback.
But he is leaving, and this must be extraordinarily difficult for a man who truly believed this was his city, in the literal possessive sense of the word 'his.'
"...he (Frank Cicchinelli), is an extraordinary mayor."
(Outgoing Safety-Service Director Mike Loudiana)
Yes, Extraordinary.
And to commemorate his Extraordinary reign as sovereign, the hard working staff at the Massillon Review is planning the mother of all celebrations, our first annual 'Extraordinary New Years Eve Bash.'
The Massillon Review offices are festooned with streamers and balloons, the Dom Perignon is on ice, and the pork and sauerkraut is slow cooking in our wood fired oven.
We will be offering periodic live updates throughout the day as the City of Massillon transitions to new leadership.
And we say goodbye to Massillon's former Mayor for Life.
"Mayor Cicchinelli told 4th Ward residents there are no plans to sell Shriver park, or many others, and he pledged to Councilman Tony Townsend that he would help him rename Shriver by urging his Parks and Recreation Board appointees to vote in favor of it" (The Independent, August 31, 2010).
