As the BJ goes on endorsements, so goes the BJ

Were you surprised that the Beacon Journal endorsed Cuyahoga Falls Mayor Don Robert for reelection?  Yeah, I was, too, sort of, given the problems that he and Mayor Plusquellic have had with each other over the years.  "They ended up not talking to each other again," one City Hall insider recalled about Plusquellic's anger over Robart's "breaking his word" on a water deal.  "It was basically a handshake deal, " the source said,  "and Plusquellic felt that Robart had lied to him".

Robart has long had the reputation of being a loner in the Falls who disdained cooperative approaches with others beyond his city's borders. As one of the last Republican leaders standing in Summit County,  he remains a favorite of Summit County Republican Chairman Alex Arshinkoff, his financial  chaperone.

As for the BJ, its endorsements were a lot more effective in the days of Jack Knight than they are today,when it is calling for the reelection of a guy who has  been inimical to so  many other political entities and one  who is out of step at times with the BJ's views on urban policy.   Besides, when Robart tells a Tea Party crowd that the baggers are the moral AND fiscal conscience of America, you can see who is influencing his own decisions  in the second largest city in the county.