What Would Frank Do?

According to an article in Saturday's Independent, our Mayor for Life has a little advice for his potential challengers: keep it clean.

"If there is some opposition I want it to be concentrated on the issues," he said. "I absolutely anticipate (personal attacks)... It's going to get nasty. I do not like to get into those types of elections. They are not productive. They are not good" (The Independent, July 31, 2010).

Our Mayor for Life doesn't want a negative campaign run against him. It is, however, OK for him to do it to someone else.

WWFD, What Would Frank Do?

One of the nastiest campaigns in recent Massillon history occurred in 2007 when former Councilman Dale Walterhouse challenged current 3rd Ward council representative Kathy Catazaro-Perry. Catazaro-Perry was a pain in the mayor's side, as she would not blindly rubber stamp for the mayor. Our Mayor for Life decided we needed a change in Ward 3. He recruited Walterhouse, a Republican, to run against Catazaro-Perry, a Democrat. Our Mayor for Life, also a Democrat, had no qualms about supporting a candidate from the party opposite.

Walterhouse was initially reluctant to run, but the mayor and his cronies talked him into it. Kevin Smith, a former mayoral appointment to the Massillon Zoning Board of Appeals, currently facing trial in federal court for his marijuana agribusiness, collected Walerhouse's petition signatures to place him on the ballot.

Walterhouse's direct mail campaign was absolutely vicious. After reading one particular mailer, a person would wonder if Catazaro-Perry was responsible for the 9/11 attacks as well. Cicchinelli, Kevin Smith, and Ron Pribich were left to cry in their beer as Catazaro-Perry prevailed over the mayor's political machine. Rumor has it that Walterhouse felt used afterward, as these efforts were not entirely his own.

Cicchinelli now wants to keep city politics clean. It kind of looks more like he doesn't want done to him what he has done to others.