âDestination Cleveland will NEVER get support from me again.â
That message from Cleveland City Councilmember Anthony Hairston on a text thread kicked off a divisive and explosive argument between council members after news broke that Clevelandâs Ward 1 Councilmember Joe Jones was under investigation for inappropriate behavior.
The text thread, obtained by 91¸ŁŔű, appears to indicate two council members â Anthony Hairston and Richard Starr â intended to retaliate against the tourism nonprofit that raised concerns about Jonesâ behavior, sparking a third-party investigation.
Starr, whose Ward 5 includes the Central, Kinsman and Midtown neighborhoods, responded to Hairstonâs disavowal of Destination Cleveland with a series of seven â100â emojis, the text messages show. This type of emoji is typically used to signal support for a comment made by another person.
An investigation was launched last summer after Destination Clevelandâs chief experience officer lodged a complaint with City Council leadership about an âinappropriateâ interaction between a contracted female artist and Jones. The artist said Jones made comments about her physical appearance, invited her back to his office, asked her what she was doing that weekend and gave her his phone number.
The investigation into allegations from multiple women found Jones engaged in a pattern of behavior that likely violated councilâs sexual and non-sexual harassment policies, according to a summary of the investigation.
The texts were sent to a group of all 17 council members, including at least several of their personal numbers, shortly after that Jones was under investigation.
Hairston said in an interview with Ideastream Saturday he stands by the texts.
âI stand up when I use the bathroom, I donât sit down,â he said. âIf I said it, I meant it.â
Starr also defended his comments to Ideastream.
âI stand up when I use the bathroom, and I stand on business whenever I need to,â he told Ideastream. âAt the end of the day, all the text messages, all my words, my thoughts, my expressions, my support for (the) councilman, is exactly what I felt that day, the exact way I feel today.
The text message about Destination Cleveland, however, had ânothingâ to do with Jones, according to Hairston.
When asked about his response, Starr told Ideastream he was in no way intending to retaliate or support retaliation against anyone.
âI don't know exactly what was said that made it seem as if anybody says retaliation towards Destination Cleveland. I don't see that was in the text message at all,â Starr said.
Whatâs in the text message thread?
After the comment about Destination Cleveland, Hairston and Starr immediately began discussing the accusations against Jones, the text thread obtained through a public records request shows.
âEveryone in Cleveland and beyond has Joeâs number. He gives it out at every committee mtg, event, billboard, etc.â wrote Hairston, who represents Ward 10. âI better be careful and not [ask] someone if theyâre busy or not to meet outside the work weekâŚâ
He ended the text with a clown emoji.
Ward 10 includes Euclid Park, Nottingham Village and parts of the South Collinwood, St. Clair-Superior and Glenville neighborhoods.
âCouncilman Joe, Iâm with you,â Starr responded. âThis is some garbage how they are trying to come for you when the overall system is messed up! Staff in the council donât work for all 17 members until a council member cusses them out, now they want to scream foul!â
Starr appeared to be referencing a 2022 complaint in which Jones reportedly shouted and cursed at a female city employee over a spending request.
The investigation into Jones looked back at complaints over three years. Five witnesses, all of whom were deemed credible by the investigators, alleged instances of verbal abuse, outbursts of rage, inappropriate touching and comments about their physical appearances.
âIâm starting to speak up about how folks [grab] on my arms and rub my back as if itâs cool when itâs not welcoming!â Starr said in another message.
Someone, itâs not clear who, responded to that comment with a laughing emoji.
Starr appeared to be referring to a 2024 complaint in which a woman said Jones inappropriately touched her breast while patting her on the back.
Last month, Jones stepped down from his committee appointments, apologized for his behavior and agreed to participate in sensitivity and professional conduct training, as outlined in the investigation's recommended corrective actions.
Although unintended, I recognize that my actions have made others feel uncomfortable, and I sincerely apologize, Jones said in a written statement. I've learned a lot about myself and I feel a deep sense of remorse.
In an interview, Hairston said he was concerned the accusations and subsequent media coverage unfairly hold Jones, who is Black, to a different standard for his behavior.
âItâs Joe today, and it can be any of us tomorrow, and thatâs the truth!â Starr said in another text. Someone reacted with a heart emoji.
âMike Polensek, no more âHello Dearâ or âThanks honeyâ. SMH [shake my head],â Hairston texted. Ward 8 Councilmember Mike Polensek, , sometimes uses those terms when speaking to women.
âDamn near 2/3 of the folks I interact with in a day leads with a term of endearment. What has the world come to!â Hairston followed up.
The allegations include an incident where Jones allegedly told the Destination Cleveland artist, a muralist, that her face should be on murals because people in his ward would enjoy looking at particular attributes of her physical appearance, and another when he called a city staffer âbeautifulâ after he called her on the phone while in a dispute with another employee.
Investigation exacerbates divisions on council
The texts illustrate an acrimonious divide among council over the accusations of inappropriate behavior. After the back and forth between Hairston and Starr, Ward 12âs Rebecca Maurer, who represents parts of Slavic Village, Old Brooklyn, Tremont and Brooklyn Centre, sent a fiery response.
âThese comments are embarrassing and unbecoming for anybody, let alone elected leaders,â she wrote. âI wonât be silent in this thread while they are sent to the entire council and I hope that the leadership team and others are not silent either.â
Someone, it is not clear from the texts who, reacted with a question mark.
âWhat comments?â Hairston asked.
âI have not seen this report and I would like to read it in its entirety,â Maurer said.
City Council has not made the investigation into Jonesâ conduct public, citing attorney-client privilege. Council members received a summary of its findings, which council leadership later released publicly.
âI commend the staff members and partners who made reports about what they saw and experienced. The comments in this thread are exactly why itâs so hard for people to come forward,â Maurer said in the thread.
She doubled down in an interview on Saturday.
âThose comments would not be acceptable in any workplace,â she told Ideastream. âElected officials should never be able to go behind closed doors, belittle the staff who come forward or threaten retaliation for genuine allegations of misconduct that the council president has investigated and again found genuine. And I have too much respect for the public and Cleveland and our City Hall staff to get messages like those and not say anything.â
Hairston responded that he didnât take issue with people who reported the behavior, but rather with the mediaâs treatment of Jones.
âNo one said anything against anyone who decided to âcome forward,ââ Hairston said in the text thread. âMy issue is the bias reporting and the assassination attempt on his character. In life, there will be many opinions. Itâs up to the individual to accept them or not based on who theyâre. I expected you to respond the way you did!â
âThe article is one-sided, and thatâs simply unfair,â Starr wrote.
It is unclear which news report Starr was referring to. In an interview Saturday, Hairston said he believed most news reports â including Ideastreamâs â were biased and a âcharacter assassinationâ of Jones.
Jones either declined to comment or did not respond to requests for comment by all media organizations, including 91¸ŁŔű, that reported on the allegations.
âThe Joe Jones I know would never allow me to remain silent, regardless of the circumstances,â Starr wrote in the text thread. âMy comments reflect my genuine feelings; I stand firmly with Joe Jones because I know his true heart and character. Additionally, itâs worth questioning the cost of the investigation conducted by the law firm--how much did that really cost?â
A City Council spokesperson told Ideastream the city paid more than $8,000 to law firm McDonald Hopkins to conduct the investigation last summer.
âWhatâs more concerning is how quickly you, Rebecca, rush to the media with every situation,â Starr continued in the text thread. âI will continue to support my colleague, regardless of your actions.â
âYouâre a smart young lady, so you should know what intentions mean - right? It all comes down to that!â Hairston responded. In an interview, Starr criticized Maurer for ârunning her mouthâ to the media. Hairston expressed similar sentiments.
Ideastream received the text messages through a public records request to the city.
Maurer said in an interview she is concerned about retaliation for pushing back on her colleagues in the text thread.
âWhen I sent those texts, I knew the risks for me were real,â she said. âI certainly hope there doesn't come a time when legislation for my ward isn't passed through committee because of retaliation for speaking up, but I worry about it. And yet I felt that the risks of not saying anything in that moment were greater.â
Hairston added that sometimes people say inflammatory statements to âbaitâ others and âsee what they do with it.â When asked if he was implying that he made those comments to see if the messages would be leaked, he did not respond directly.
Maurer said she wants Council President Blaine Griffin to address the full body about the texts.
In a written statement Monday, Griffin said council is currently reviewing their policies and procedures. All council members will be required to participate in a retraining to ensure cultural changes that strengthen how we work together as a legislative body.
I want to make it clear that retaliationâwhether against staff, external partners, or fellow Councilmembersâwill not be tolerated, Griffin said in the statement. Our responsibility is to serve the residents of this city with integrity, and I am committed to ensuring that we uphold that duty in all our interactions.
Other council members call for unity
Some members of council responded to the text message thread with calls for unity and warnings against making comments in writing.
âMy dear Honorable colleagues,â Polensek texted. âI would urge all to step back from the cliff of no return. I donât know what transpired between a member of this body and whoever. So before we start taking sides and vilifying whoever or each other, we need to use our collective heads.â
Polensek, who represents North Shore Collinwood, Collinwood Village, and part of the Glenville neighborhood, urged the other members on the thread to âdisengage from pointing fingers or insults at each otherâ and to let the council president and clerk handle the situation.â
âGood Evening Everyone, I will offer this to all of you,â Ward 7âs Stephanie Howse-Jones wrote. âTo refrain from texting and have whatever conversation you believe is needed in person. You all be blessed.â
âThanks, Steph,â Hairston responded. âYouâre right. I rarely comment on this thread. Iâll be at caucus.â
âAnd Iâll tell the media exactly what Iâm saying on this thread,â he wrote. âThere is no need to sneak diss.â
