Our First Endorsement

According to Ohio law, the President of City Council "shall be an elector of the city, and shall preside at all regular and special meetings of such legislative authority, but the president shall have no vote therein except in case of a tie."

That's it.

The job of City Council President is to run the meetings.

We would assume to run them in an impartial and fair manner.

Unfortunately, such is not the case in Massillon, Ohio.

Glenn Gamber sees his job differently.

His job is to enforce the will of his Extraordinary Mayor for Life, and not to run a fair meeting.

Of course Glenn Gamber realizes who butters his bread politically.

In 2003, Glenn Gamber narrowly holds on to his Ward 5 council seat by 8 votes over Republican Donnie Peters. Ward 5 is overwhelmingly Democrat, and Gamber almost loses.

In 2005, Peters is gearing up for a rematch. Gamber, who seems to have lost touch with the people of Ward 5, is expected to lose his seat this time.

Gamber then suddenly announces that he is "retiring from politics."

Except that right before the candidate filing deadline, Gamber pulls petitions to run against incumbent Democratic Council President Dennis Harwig.

Was Gamber really going to run against Harwig for council president?

Nope.

The fix was in. After the filing deadline, when it was too late for other Massillon Democrats to run for the office, Dennis Harwig was given a make-work job as "City Income Tax Investigator." Harwig resigns as council president, and Gamber, through political slight of hand, and through the patronage of our Mayor for Life, is the new Massillon Council President.

Master manipulator Frank Cicchinelli was able to salvage the political career of his ally, Glenn Gamber.

Gamber has become the Mayor's Loyal Enforcer as Council President.

It is clear that Gamber interprets the rules of council to benefit the mayor.

When Kathy Catazaro-Perry introduced legislation to repeal the city ordinance that granted the elected officials of Massillon automatic, unvoted yearly pay raises, Gamber did not even allow a vote.

He asked for an impromptu, unrecorded "show of hands," as not to embarrass those who wanted to keep their own small pay increases, and the mayor's much larger pay increase.

When Ward 4 Councilman Tony Townsend tried to rename a park after a trail blazing African-American politician, the late T. Roy Roberson, Gamber aggressively used parliamentary slight of hand to thwart Townsend's efforts.

Gamber has little interest in running a fair meeting. He uses his position to bully, intimidate, and coerce members of council so that the mayor's agenda is upheld.

His condescending remarks and profanity laced tirades are not conducive to fairly and impartially running council meetings.

When Kathy Catazaro-Perry and Tony Townsend objected to Gamber's interpretation of the rules during the park naming debate, Gamber attacked them personally, accusing them of taking their marching orders from Gamber's now opponent, Scott Graber.

"What did Mr. Graber tell you to say next?" (Glenn Gamber, The Independent, August 26, 2010).

Glenn Gamber should know all about taking marching orders.

During the city budget debate last week, Gamber was visibly angry that Larry Slagle, Donnie Peters, Gary Anderson, Tony Townsend and Kathy Catazaro-Perry opposed the mayor's budget.

"He stormed out of council chambers after hurling obscenity-laced remarks toward Councilman Larry Slagle, who is offering an alternative to Mayor Frank Cicchinelli's proposal. "This is dumb, this is (expletive) dumb," he said, only to return minutes later to apologize and then continue to question the proposal" (The Independent, March 30, 2011).

He shouldn't get angry. He shouldn't care how the votes go because his job, his only job, is to preside over the meeting. Fairly. Impartially.

Unfortunately, in Gamber's six years as council president, he hasn't learned that city council, as the city's legislative authority, can pass any ordinance it wants.

Our crack Massillon Review legal research team has been studying Ohio law for days, and still can't kind find the part that says city council has to vote how the mayor, or Glenn Gamber, tells them to vote.

Glenn Gamber's job is to run the meetings. Fairly. Impartially.

He doesn't.

It is absolutely crystal clear that we need a new council president.

One who knows his job.

One who knows the rules.

The Massillon Review endorses Scott Graber for Massillon City Council President.

Graber is a local expert on parliamentary procedure and the rules of council.

He has strong opinions on city government. Some we agree with. Some we don't.

It doesn't matter.

The job of the council president is to preside over the council meetings. To know the rules and to run the meetings fairly, regardless of personal feelings or animosity.

Gamber couldn't do this.

Scott Graber will.

Some days his friends will be happy, and some days his foes will be happy, but we believe the meetings will be fairly conducted, regardless of the issue, or Scott Graber's position on the issue.

This is a two year term. Gamber has failed. Graber has earned a chance.