21-04-2025
5 Democrats seeking the party's nomination for 3 Canton council at-large seats
CANTON – This year's Democratic primary race for Canton City Council at-large is developing more storylines than a daytime soap opera.
One challenger is calling on three candidates who have branded themselves as the 'Democratic team' to apologize after the team sent campaign mailers that said they were endorsed by the Stark County Democratic Party when they weren't formally endorsed. One candidate scheduled their campaign fundraiser on the same night as another candidate's fundraiser, a move traditionally seen as a no-no for those in the same party. One candidate is facing a series of anonymous attacks about the companies she owns. And political signs have been broken or gone missing.
Five Democrats are seeking the party's nomination for the three at-large council seats: Incumbents James O. Babcock and Crystal C. Smith and challengers Kimberly D. Bell, Joe Cole and Bill Smuckler.
The three top vote getters in the Democratic primary will face Republican Carl Bliss in November for the three at-large seats, which are two-year terms and pay an annual salary of $22,922. Bliss is uncontested in the Republican primary.
Councilman at-large Louis Giavasis is leaving his at-large seat at the end of his second term to seek the Democratic party nomination for council president, which is being vacated by Kristen Bates Aylward who chose not to seek a second term. Giavasis, who is uncontested in the Democratic primary, will face the winner of the Republican primary contest between Roy Scott DePew and Kerry Jane Dougherty.
While the politicking in the Democratic primary for council at-large has been more contentious than recent years, the five candidates cited similar priorities for Canton: Improving housing, roads and neighborhood safety.
Here's a look at each Democratic council at-large candidate (listed alphabetically) and where they stand on each priority:
Babcock, a Realtor and lifelong Ward 3 resident, has never missed a council meeting since he was first elected in 2011.
'I get elected to be there, so you have to be there,' said Babcock, 75, son of former Canton Mayor Charles Babcock and former Canton Councilwoman Mary Babcock.
He wants to continue the progress that council has been making.
'I believe the city is on the move, that's why I'm running,' said Babcock, a 1967 Central Catholic High School graduate. '… My goal is to continue to improve the quality of life for the people of Canton.'
On housing: Babcock believes the land reutilization program that council approved last year will help turn more vacant city-owned land into tax-producing lots. The program allows the city to transfer vacant parcels to individuals, developers and nonprofits at the land's appraised fair market value without going through competitive bidding.
'We're maintaining these lots and it's costing us money, so we want to transfer them and have someone build on them,' he said.
He also plans to continue supporting the city's ongoing demolition of blighted homes and the multiple incentives the city provides residents to help them fix their homes.
On roads: Babcock supports Mayor William V. Sherer's initiative to repave every alley in the city within the next few years and looks forward to major corridors, such as Tuscarawas Street W, being repaved this year.
On safety: Babcock believes council's approval of the Canton Police Patrolmen's Association contract in March will help with recruiting and retaining officers so the department can return to full staffing. The contract provides raises, shortens the time it takes for officers to reach the top scale and allows experienced officers from other police departments to laterally transfer to Canton.
On campaigning: Babcock, who has been endorsed by Sherer, has joined Smith and Smuckler in branding themselves as the 'Democratic team.'
He said he joined the team because he supports Smith as a colleague and believes Smuckler's expertise would benefit council.
Challengers have questioned the team's recent campaign mailer that said the team had been endorsed by the Stark County Democratic Party.
Dimitrios Pousoulides, chair of the Democratic Party, responded to the Canton Repository's questions about the mailer by saying, 'While the Stark County Democratic Party has not formally endorsed any candidate in the May 6, 2025, primary election, the Stark County Democratic Party supports all Democratic candidates to the best of its ability.'
Babcock said similar wording exists in the party's bylaws.
'Supported and endorsed mean the same thing, more or less,' said Babcock, noting that Democratic candidates in other races have used the wording.
The team also has promoted endorsements from some current council members and other longtime city officials, such as the law director, treasurer and auditor. The Repository has not independently confirmed whether those elected officials have formally endorsed the team.
Bell, a lifelong city resident who operates a wash-and-fold service, is a write-in candidate for the seat. A frequent speaker at Canton council meetings for years, Bell has been critical of the city's support of the Hall of Fame Village and city police officers' treatment of Black residents.
The 1982 Canton South High School graduate says her background — being a single mother at age 21, facing a 2006 felony conviction for assault with a knife and attempted aggravated burglary, facing more recent misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and telephone harassment and earning her paralegal degree and a legal assisting certificate from Stark State College in 2018 — helps her understand the community better than many of the other candidates.
'I will bring new ideas to the city at the ground level and not bring the ideology and failed policies that has gotten the city of Canton to where it is now,' said Bell, 60, who lives in Ward 6 and will hold a free clothing giveaway in May for residents of Stark Metropolitan Housing Authority properties for the second consecutive year.
On housing: Bell believes the city should crack down on landlords who continually raise rents but fail to improve their properties. She said landlords who complain that tenants damage their properties, causing rents to rise, should do a better job of vetting the tenants at the beginning, or should file court action against the tenants to garnish their wages, which can pay for the repairs.
She also believes the city should redevelop existing empty buildings into housing for the homeless or for educational centers to help youth and people rebounding from the justice system learn the skills they need to get jobs that pay better than the service industry.
Bell, a volunteer for Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, believes the long-vacant Northeast Community Center at 2600 25th St. NE, which is privately owned, should be developed into a trades training center, and the former Smith nursing home at 2330 Penn Place NE, which is privately owned, could be used to help people earn their GED and develop job skills.
On roads: Bell believes recent college graduates with degrees in engineering could provide new ideas on better materials to fix Canton's deteriorated roads.
'The younger generation is our future,' said Bell, who wants the city to create a youth advisory board. 'They are the ones who will take the seats that council members are retiring from. We have to get the people coming out of the colleges to give us better ideas and (road material) formulas to fix these roads.'
On safety: Bell believes the key to lowering crime is restoring the community's trust and faith in law enforcement. She believes Police Chief John Gabbard and Safety Director Andrea Perry should interview officers roughly every six months to ensure the officers still want to serve the community.
'Ask them about whatever call they went on, ask them about the arrests they had to make,' said Bell, a member of the National Action Network and the Stark County NAACP. 'Not the same questions for everybody, but to get to know this officer's mindset and how this officer is doing his job, if it's a proper way and not using violence or mistreating people.'
On campaigning: Bell, who said several of her campaign signs have been broken or stolen, has focused her campaign on preventing Smuckler from being reelected. Bell and Smuckler both lost in their bids for Canton mayor in 2023.
Cole, who has served as a teacher, principal, coach and adviser over his 26-year career as an educator, now teaches social studies at Canton City Schools' Early College Middle School at Lehman. The 1992 Green High School graduate who earned degrees in history and educational administration from the University of Akron is also an academic challenge coach, chess club adviser and Model United Nations team adviser.
Cole, who moved to Canton roughly 25 years ago and lives in Ward 9, is seeking to return to council where he served two terms as an at-large councilman, from 2010 to 2013. He believes he has more time to devote to being a councilman than he did a decade ago when his now-teenage daughter was a preschooler.
'I'm doing this because this has been a great city to me and I want to see this city turn around and go in a positive direction,' said Cole, who unsuccessfully ran for council at-large in 2023 and for Stark County commissioner last year. '…If (longtime council members) had the answers, we would've already seen those results.'
On housing: Cole believes Canton needs to do a better job of marketing its low cost of housing and its water, sewer and sanitation services to attract families. He said the city also needs to change the perception that Canton is an unsafe place and needs to help its older residents remain in their homes.
On roads: Cole believes city roads have not improved much since he left council more than a decade ago. He believes the city should use better planning so that newly paved roads are not torn up within a few years, stop using chip-and-seal to pave certain roads and install manholes outside the tire lanes.
He believes city leaders should further discuss possible alternatives for the roundabouts that are proposed for Tuscarawas Street W near Aultman Hospital. He also would like to see the city streamline its sidewalk program so more residents can take advantage of it.
On safety: Cole supports council's recent approval of the patrol officers' union contract that increased wages and decreased the time it takes for officers to reach the top wage scale. But he believes more needs to be done, including looking at a higher pay increase for officers, relaxing requirements to create better working conditions and increasing recruiting.
'Until our small city doesn't have the crime it does, we're never going to get folks to say this where I want to be, this is where I want to put down roots,' he said.
On campaigning: Cole, who is a member of the Canton Professional Educators' Association, has earned endorsements from multiple labor unions, including the Canton Educators' Association, Teamsters Local 92, Ironworkers Local 550, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union 540 and Hall of Fame Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO.
Cole has called on Smuckler, Smith and Babcock to apologize to voters for suggesting they had been formally endorsed by the Stark County Democratic Party, but does not plan to file an elections complaint against the trio. He will host a town hall from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. April 28 at the Stark Library North branch at 189 25th St. NW.
Smith, a lifelong city resident, is seeking her second term on council.
The 1999 Timken High School and Ohio Media School graduate has operated several businesses over the years, including spas, boutiques, marketing and investment companies. She operated a childcare business for 10 years before starting the Stark Youth Technology Center in 2021. The company provides assessment, support and therapy services, life skills training, housing and advocacy for people with developmental disabilities.
The Ward 3 resident also volunteers as an after-school mentor for She Elevates, which supports young girls, and serves on the advisory board for EN-RICH-MENT, which offers fine and performing art classes, workshops, training and leadership opportunities for youth.
Smith, 43, said she wants to return to council to continue the progress she made during her first term.
She noted that council in February updated the city's comprehensive plan, which guides how the city spends the money it collects from the half-percent income tax increase that voters approved in 2018. Instead of the original plan's six core investment areas, council amended the plan to shift the focus to 16 prioritized neighborhoods. Smith believes the change will lead to more investment in all city wards.
'Improving the quality of life for people is really my focus,' she said.
On housing: Smith wants the city to continue partnering with nonprofit organizations, such as Habitat for Humanity and Canton for All people, to help increase housing options while also providing financial help for existing homeowners who want to repair their properties.
On roads: Smith said the updated comprehensive plan will help the city address roads as it improves neighborhoods holistically.
On safety: Smith pointed to crime statistics that show most violent crime and property crime decreased in 2024 compared to 2023. She supports partnering with organizations to improve the aesthetics of neighborhoods as a way to further reduce crime. She also is working with the city police and law departments to improve the police department's interactions with the community.
On campaigning: Smith, a mother to 10 children including two teenage foster daughters who are nonverbal and autistic, has faced anonymous allegations that her company's group homes are compromising the community's stability, safety and property values.
Police reports for a northwest group home, which Smith has owned since 2020, shows that officers have responded to numerous calls since 2022 for complaints mostly about arguments or fights between residents or between a resident and caretaker, that someone (often not a resident) was threatening a resident, that an item was stolen from the home or that a resident ran away. A December 2023 report shows that a youth had concealed a handgun at the home.
Smith views the accusations as attacks on the vulnerable population she serves. She said the residents who live in the homes have intellectual disabilities that can cause certain behaviors that outsiders may not understand and often are too fearful to learn more about.
'Even though the attack is political, they are really attacking a community of people and that's the sad truth,' said Smith, noting that the property values in the neighborhood of the northwest group home have increased since 2020.
Smuckler, who has served 32 nonconsecutive years as a city councilman, is co-owner of the Canton Hotel & Restaurant Supply, a family business he joined in 1982.
The 1973 Oakwood High School graduate who earned a journalism degree from Bowling Green State University is a member of Temple Israel, the Temple Israel Brotherhood and the Canton Ex-Newsboys, a charity that raises money to clothe children.
The father of three first joined council as a ward councilman in 1984, and has served as council president, councilman at-large and council majority leader. He left council in 2023 when he unsuccessfully sought for a third time to be elected Canton's mayor.
Smuckler, 70, a Ward 8 resident, said he's fielded multiple phone calls from residents and city leaders asking him to come back.
'I seem to be very good at helping people get things done, Smuckler said. "Even over these last two years, because I have a good relationship with the mayor and other city council members, I've got some things fast-tracked for people. One of my fortes has been to help people out.'
On housing: Smuckler wants to increase the number of homeowners in the city in the same way he and former Ward 1 Councilman Greg Hawk, who died in February, helped a nonprofit organization build market-rate, owner-occupied homes around Summit School.
He said council can help by allotting the money to tear down structures that are no longer viable, invest in the neighborhoods that need more housing and work with nonprofit organizations already helping to build new housing.
He believes the city should also use its best asset, its water system, to further entice businesses — and their income-tax paying workers — to the area. One way would be to offer different tiers of water rates for large businesses.
On roads: Smuckler believes city crews will catch up on repairing the roads damaged during the harsh winter. He supports the mayor's initiative to pave city alleys and said council must review the budget holistically before making promises to increase road funding.
On safety: Smuckler said he will continue his push to get as many police officers on the street as possible by making the salaries and working conditions attractive to new officers.
'When people call, they want a policeman to show up in a reasonable fashion,' he said.
On campaigning: Smuckler, who has been endorsed by former Mayor Thomas Bernabei, said he joined Babcock and Smith as a team because he believes they will work well together.
Reach Canton Repository staff writer Kelli Weir at 330-580-8339 or
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Five Democrats are seeking three Canton council at-large seats
