When he lost the Democratic primary one year ago today, he decided not to be a statesman, and quietly leave the stage.
The first thing he did was to go about assessing blame for his loss. And the stories about who was truly responsible are well travelled.
The guilty include;
The Independent newspaper - they were "anti-Cicchinelli" and were out to get him, despite the fact they endorsed him for a seventh term.
The Massillon Tiger Football Boosters - they could have done more to support one of their own.
The Carpetbaggers - those "anti-Cicchinelli" mayor haters who don't even live here. Remember the 'line in the sand?'
The people of Tuslaw - they worked against Frank for no good reason. We know he tried to annex the entire Tuslaw school system, but those people were making a mountain out of a mole hill.
Jackson Township Trustee John Pizzino - Mayor Cicchinelli's cousin. Cicchinelli demanded that Pizzino run against Massillon Clerk of Courts Johnnie Maier. Pizzino said no.
The no good voters - They forgot about all the good work our beloved mayor selflessly performed, solely for the good of the city.
The guilty did not include;
Himself.
None of it was his fault.
None of it.
Not the deplorable condition of our parks
Not the Legends of Massillon Golf Course debacle
Not the Arena swindle
Not the Hampton Inn sweetheart deal
Not the 59 Duncan Place scam
Not the overspending
Not the mismanagement
None of it.
To say he did not leave with grace and dignity is a vast understatement of biblical proportions.
In his last 8 months, he spent money he did not have.
He hired people he really could not afford.
He made sure his street was "one of the five worst streets in the city," in order to get it repaved.
With the help of City Auditor Jayne Ferrero, he left the new mayor with almost 3 million dollars of unpaid bills.
He set the city up for an extraordinary crash.
But it wouldn't happen on his watch.
This would be someone else's problem.
But he isn't finished.
Cicchinelli is not done.
He is still involved.
Working behind the scenes.
Working through his former loyalists.
Because it's not over until he says it is.
Multiple Massillon Review faithful readers have communicated the story of how just last week, our former mayor called our current fire chief and screamed at him. Cicchinelli took the fire chief to task for allowing "those people" to close Fire Station No. 3 on Wales Road.
Fire Station No. 3.
The building department deemed it's condition to be "deplorable."
The Fire Department understood why it was closed.
“We understand why the city closed it — the health concerns,” said firefighter Perkowski, of the International Association of Firefighters Local 251 (The Independent, April 28, 2012).
It needed to be closed because 'someone' didn't take care of it... for 24 years.
Uh, Mr. Cicchinelli? You aren't the fire chief's boss anymore.
And whether you believe it, or not, and we realize you won't, you are the person with the most responsibility for 27 people losing their jobs this week.
Perhaps you should contemplate this fact as you continue to "work behind the scenes."
And, as a point of correction.
It's over.
