A political wallflower in the state for decades and the Rodney Dangerfield of politics

When you have been a political wallflower in the state for decades and are the Rodney Dangerfield of politics in your hometown, there comes a point in your career when you say, “Aw, shucks!”– in the immortal words of Ronald V. Gerberry.

Gerberry was the politician who walked into a room, and nobody paid any attention to him (the wallflower reference.) He also was the guy who got no respect from other officeholders in the Mahoning Valley (the comedian Rodney Dangerfield reference), even though he kept winning election after election.

And, he was the public official who from his early days in politics was panned by veteran journalists for his remarkable ability to say nothing of substance – while affecting a professorial pose.

So, it’s possible that Gerberry of Austintown woke up one morning, realized that he was the dean of the Democrats in the Ohio House of Representatives, and yet was not getting the recognition he deserved.

Thus, he cooked up a scheme to stick it to the Ohio House Democratic Caucus, which requires each Democratic representative to pay an annual assessment. The money is generally used to help run campaigns.

What Gerberry did was take money out of his campaign fund, overpay vendors and funnel some to two Youngstown political consulting firms owned by Harry Strabala of Youngstown. He, thus, was able to show the caucus that he couldn’t come up with the amount he was being asked to donate.

However, when the dust settled, he would get the money back from Strabala and the vendors.

Unfortunately for the veteran politician, there was an inconvenient little law relating to campaign finances. He tripped over it.

And the rest is one more chapter in the sordid history of politics in the predominantly Democratic Mahoning County.

Gerberry tendered his resignation last week from the House of Representatives, and will plead guilty Friday to a misdemeanor charge of unlawful compensation.

As part of the plea deal that includes resignation, he will agree not to run for elected office for the next seven years. By then he will be 69.

No trailblazer

Thus ends a political career that didn’t blaze any trails but certainly contributed to a pretty comfortable lifestyle for the officeholder, with a respectable pension and health-care benefits.

An elected official who resigns from office after being convicted of a crime does not lose his or her pension. Go figure.

So, why did Gerberry risk everything on such a penny-ante scheme?

From this writer’s perspective – based on covering Gerberry for three decades – the answer lies not only in his being a miserly individual but his unfulfilled desire for public adulation. As he went through the various stages of his political life, he was forced to stand in the shadows cast by other state legislators from the area.

There was Harry Meshel, who served as the president of the Senate and the minority leader, waxing eloquent during floor debates, and drawing reporters to his office to hear his biting commentary about the Republicans.

There was state Rep. Joseph J. Vukovich III of Poland, known for his sense of humor (Gerberry would probably call it a sick sense of humor because he often was a target). Vukovich distinguished himself by publicly taking on the powerful, dictatorial Democratic speaker of the House, Vernal G. Riffe.

And who can forget state Rep. June Lucas of Mineral Ridge, whose use of the words “cavemen caucus” to describe conservative Republicans in the Legislature put her on the front pages of newspapers. Lucas was a champion of women’s rights and was willing to go for the jugular during clashes with her political rivals.

This writer always looked forward to her appearances before The Vindicator’s Editorial Board because she came armed with her sharp tongue and cutting comments about her enemies, real and perceived.

And then there was Gerberry – who was unable to keep up with his colleagues from the Valley and, thus, became an afterthought. It isn’t easy living in the political shadows.

But today, he’s on the front page of The Vindicator and is topping the news on television and radio.

He’s in the spotlight, and will continue to be when he is called as a witness in the Oakhill Renaissance criminal conspiracy trial. The three defendants in what should be the first phase are former Mahoning County Commissioner and now Youngstown Mayor John A. McNally, former county Auditor Michael Sciortino and Youngstown Atty. Martin Yavorcik.

Gerberry is no longer in the shadows.