Being Canton's next mayor: Ins and outs of city's top job
CANTON – The city's next mayor will be a newbie — at least when it comes to being a mayor.
Six candidates will ask voters, beginning in the May 2 primary, for the opportunity to lead Canton for the next four years. In March Madness terms, primaries are the semifinals, where the field gets sliced to a pair of finalists who advance to the Nov. 7 general election.
On the Republican side of the bracket is political newcomer Roy Scott DePew. Because he's the only GOP candidate, he's guaranteed a win in that party's race, and a spot on the November ballot.
The Democratic half, though, has a field of five candidates: Kimberly D. Bell, Willis Gordon, William V. Sherer II, Bill Smuckler and Thomas West. The top vote-getter in their party's primary will advance to the general election to square off with DePew.
Democrat Thomas Bernabei is not seeking a third term, making this the first time in 20 years an incumbent isn't on the ballot. The last time was in 2003, when Janet Weir Creighton bested Smuckler for the seat, after Richard Watkins decided not to run for a fourth term.
The mayor's seat comes with plenty of responsibility. Not only tangible duties, laid out by law. But also the intangibles, because a mayor is essentially the face of the city.
Something good happens in Canton, hooray for the mayor.
Bad things happen, blame the mayor.
"It's the most stressful job I ever had," said Creighton, now a Stark County commissioner, who's also served stints as county recorder and auditor, and in Washington, D.C., where she was a deputy assistant to President George W. Bush and director of intergovernmental affairs.
Everyone wants a mayor to attend their civic function, but there are only so many hours in a day. Creighton recalled one Saturday where she appeared at 11 events around the city.
Being mayor, she said, is more than a job.
It becomes your persona.
"Death of employees in tragic ways ... deaths of people in the community," are what Creighton explained often tormented her, because she forever wondered if she could have done more to prevent them. "I always carried those kind of things on my shoulders."
Thoughts from Canton mayors, past and present
Whomever is elected Canton's 61st mayor could, perhaps, learn a thing or two from the city's four current or former living mayors, about what to expect in the office.
Along with Bernabei and Creighton, the group is comprised of Democrats Sam Purses and William "Jamie" Healy II. All four shared insight into, and details of, their respective mayoral terms.
After losing to Stanley Cmich in 1979, Purses came back to defeat the five-term mayor in 1983. Purses won a second term four years later, before he was toppled by Watkins in 1991.
"I surrounded myself with individuals who were independent thinkers; I wasn't a dictator," said the now 80-year-old Purses.
Teamwork, he added, produces good outcomes.
Healy, whose father was an Ohio House member for a quarter-century, was Canton's mayor from 2008 through 2015. Now 60 years old, the former mayor lives in Connecticut.
"What typically is best for the city, is not good for you politically," Healy said, explaining that long-term, expensive projects, such as upgrades to water and sewer plants don't make voters swoon. "The reason infrastructure doesn't get addressed is because it doesn't get you elected."
Short-term projects, including paving roads, are the type of things voters can see, he added.
Healy said he never looked at the mayor's office that way. He said he didn't want to be a career politician. He said he ran for the office to try to fix what was wrong in the city.
"Politics get in the way of good government," he added.
Closing a fire station, or laying off employees, for example, may cost a mayor future votes. But if it makes sense and is best for the city, then it should be done, Healy said.
"A mayor has to be able to make tough decisions," he said.
Bernabei served a decade as city law director, briefly worked as an assistant to Healy, and was a county commissioner before he set his sights on the mayor's position. Running as an independent, he edged Healy in 2015's general election, then won re-election as a Democrat in 2019.
"It is a very, very demanding job," Bernabei said.
The city has other elected officials, such as City Council, auditor and law director, and plenty of boards and commissions, but the mayor's office is where residents often go for questions and complaints.
"Everyone assumes the mayor is responsible," he explained.
And that's OK, he added.
Bernabei said he tries to appear at as many events as possible. Throw in requests for proclamations to recognize people, places and events, before you even get to the big stuff — and it's a lot of responsibility.
Like overseeing an annual budget — expected to be about $333 million this year — in a government structure responsible for everything from police and fire service to youth development, with hundreds of employees, many of them covered by collective bargaining agreements.
That's why some former mayors likened the mayor's role to being a company chief executive.
"Every day is different," Creighton said. "And there's no book that tells you how to be the mayor."
The mayor's duties are mostly outlined in state law
The only written directions for the post — which has a $128,092 salary this year — are contained within the Ohio Revised Code and city's codified ordinances.
Unlike cities such as North Canton, Canton has no charter. It's a a statutory city, so its government and duties for its officials are largely outlined in state law. In short, the mayor:
Enforces all laws of the city and signs commissions, licenses, and permits granted by City Council.
Maintains safe streets by appointing and supervising the public safety director, who works with the police and fire chiefs to preserve the health and welfare of residents.
Manages city operations, short and long term.
Recommends legislation to City Council and provides them with requested information.
Delivers a State of the City address once each year.
The nonprofit website Ballotpedia notes that Ohio has 66 statutory, or general law cities, compared to 183 with charters.
"And Canton is the largest non-charter city in the state," Bernabei said.
Efforts to create a charter have failed in the past, rejected by voters as recently as 2015. Still, Bernabei said he'd be in favor of the idea, because charters allow cities to tailor-make how their government operates and functions, which could make it more efficient.
Reach Tim at 330-580-8333 ortim.botos@cantonrep.com.On Twitter: @tbotosREP
Learn more about the mayoral candidates
The Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce and Canton Repository, and the League of Women Voters of the Canton Area are hosting public forums with the mayoral candidates in advance of the May 2 primary:
The chamber and Repository will host The Future of Canton: 2023 Mayoral Primary Forum at 6:30 p.m. April 4 on the main stage of the Cultural Center Theater at 1001 Market Ave. N. The doors open at 5:30 p.m., and there will be a cash bar and hors d'oeuvres. The event will feature the only Democratic candidates because the Republican candidate is unopposed in the primary. Registration is required and $20 tickets can be purchased through the chamber's website: https://www.cantonchamber.org/2023-mayoral-primary-forum. The ticket revenue will cover the site rental and any excess will be donated. The event will be recorded and available afterward to the general public.
The League of Women Voters of the Canton Area will host a forum for all mayoral candidates at 7 p.m. April 13 in the Timken Commons, 521 Tuscarawas St. W. The event is free and open to the public. For more details, go to: https://cantonlwv.org.
The Repository also will profile the five Democratic candidates this week. Republican Roy Scott DePew is unopposed in the primary. The profiles will appear in the newspaper and at CantonRep.com as follows:
Monday: Kimberly D. Bell
Tuesday: Willis Gordon
Wednesday: William V. Sherer II
Thursday: Bill Smuckler
Friday: Thomas West
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Duties of Canton mayor, and insight from four who've had the position
