Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Akron, Ohio A case study

I have written in the past at length my belief that we get the leadership and the republican government (note small r in republican) that we demand. Akron Ohio is a case where I believe this has played out.

Akron Ohio is a medium size city. A former industrial powerhouse as the rubber capitol of the world. Akron like most industrial cities has had its problems. They have a Mayor Don Pluesquallic that has been in office roughly since prohibition. (OK not quite). He is now mayor for life. The only competition he gets is occasionally from within his own party. He is a Democrat but I would object just as much to a Republican in a similar situation. We have one of those in Cuyahoga Falls which is a neighbor to Akron, and I similarly think the voters are wrong.

Recently the City Council chairman Marco Summerville was charged with felony possession of trying to take a gun onto an airplane. Mr Summervile has a gun carry permit but of course that does not entitle him to carry it on a plane. Mr. Summerville plea bargained his sentence to a misdemeanor and went on his way. I have no other grievance with Mr. Summerville other than his current legal troubles. I really don't know what kind of representative he is to his ward.

Yesterday he was re-elected as council president. Mr. Summerville has payed precious little in consequences for his error in bringing a gun onto an airplane. Let's contrast that with what an ordinary citizen might have received for a similar offense. I doubt that the plea process would have gone quite as quickly. Oh I may have forgot to mention that today the Beacon Journal reports that Mr. Summerville immediately has called for the Police chief to resign. I'm sure there is no relationship between his arrest and his call for resignation.

So the city council sees no problem with their council chairman being charged with a felony. I am going to go out on a limb and predict that his voters will overwhelmingly re-elect him when he stands for election. Like most inner cities Akron has a problem with gangs and thugs. Whenever there is a shooting in Akron there is the call for less guns. I don't happen to agree with this call but again we have a council president convicted of gun charges, and ---deafening silence.

My belief has been for some time that when the citizens hold their elected leaders responsible for crime, corruption and outright laziness something will be done. In the article I referenced earlier the Police Union chief referred to Mr. Summerville as "no friend to the Police. I quote:


''The last guy who knows what's good for the police department is Marco Sommerville,'' said Paul Hlynsky, head of the department's Fraternal Order of Police union.
Sommerville ''has never been a friend of the police department. He's made some very anti-police comments during his tenure on City Council.
''The only thing I can figure is Marco has one of his buddies in line to be police chief so he can further his efforts to influence the department. . . . To me, he's the enemy of the police officers.'''

This is of course the statement of one person and a person who may have a grudge, but in my life the Akron city government both in council and the Mayors office have been hostile to the Police department. The very department they need to help keep their inner city safe. My own name for Akron has long been Crack-ron. I grew up in Akron but now am a resident of a local suburb, because I can.

Once again, the voters get the government they deserve, because they keep re-electing it. Shouldn't we demand more of a council president than we would a local truck driver or factory worker? Akron doesn't seem to think so. I'll bet your town doesn't either, unless you are talking about some other representative, they will think theirs is just fine.

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