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Cleveland Heights mayor could face recall, limits on power as early as next week

Cleveland
Ygal Kaufman
/
91福利
Cleveland Heights residents successfully petitioned to recall Mayor Kahlil Seren after months of turbulence between the mayor, city hall and residents.

The embattled mayor of Cleveland Heights could be facing not only a recall, but limits imposed by City Council on his power.

Both council and Mayor Kahlil Seren were notified Monday that recall petitions were certified by the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections after it determined the required number of signatures was gathered.

If Seren doesn鈥檛 resign within five days of receiving the notice, City Council is mandated to put a recall of the mayor on the city鈥檚 September ballot, according to Council President Tony Cuda. He said a vote would be taken Monday.

鈥淔our-thousand people signing a petition in three weeks just speaks volumes about the dissatisfaction with the present mayor, Cuda said.

Seren was targeted for recall after former assistant filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Ohio Civil Rights Commission, claiming both Seren and his wife, Natalie McDaniel, created a hostile work environment at city hall. The complaint accuses McDaniel of making antisemitic and homophobic comments while acting as a de facto representative of the mayor.

鈥淭here are many people who really feel powerless about everything that鈥檚 happening in our city and just want to be able to have a way to do something about it, said Josie Moore, one of the residents collecting petition signatures.

The mayor declined to comment for this story and said through a spokesman that he'd answer questions Monday.

In a City Council committee meeting this week, council members discussed four items they plan to bring to a vote Monday that would limit the mayor's actions.

They are:

  • A requirement that official city email accounts, and not private ones, be used for city business by the mayor, staff, contractors and council and a limit on access to those accounts by others, such as family members.
  • A policy that prohibits access to any city emails without consent, unless done by the law department in response to public records requests.
  • A policy that prohibits the use of city social media accounts and email for personal or political messages and not city business.
  • A policy that limits the mayor鈥檚 authority over city property, such as security cameras.

During the committee meeting, members of council said they suspected the mayor was reviewing staff and council emails without consent.

鈥淚 know it鈥檚 public records and I have nothing to hide, Councilmember Jim Posch said. I don鈥檛 mind someone doing a public records request, but for someone looking over my shoulder every single time because they鈥檙e paranoid, that鈥檚 just plain, darn creepy.

Some council members said they grew frustrated with messages the mayor had been sharing on Facebook and the city鈥檚 official email messages.

鈥淭here needs to be a prohibition of personal messaging that is non-city business, Cuda said. What I've seen is non-city business over and over and over again.鈥

In addition to facing a recall, Seren failed to get enough signatures to file to run for re-election. His term will end at the end of this year, unless he a recall is successful.

The firing of the communications director has some residents concerned, especially as the mayor's term is ending this year.

鈥淲hen the mayor didn't qualify for the ballot, I became concerned that the recall was more necessary than ever because he had nothing to prevent him from taking what I would consider destabilizing actions in his final months in office,鈥 said Jeanne Gordon, one of the residents who petitioned for a recall.

A statement from the city said Jessica Schantz, who was promoted from assistant director to director of communications and public engagement in December, 鈥渇ailed to meet performance expectations鈥 and 鈥渂reached internal confidentiality by leaking tentative personnel matters publicly.鈥

鈥淭his office does not typically comment on personnel decisions of this type,鈥 Seren said in the statement. 鈥淏ecause the conduct at issue includes a release of information in violation of the fiduciary duty of the position, transparency in this process is necessary.

Schantz responded with her own statement.

鈥淎ny claim that I was in breach of professional conduct or leaked personnel matters publicly is false. I am alarmed that my professional integrity has been so mischaracterized,鈥 Schantz said.

Seren appointed Frances Collazo, a communications specialist for the city, as the new director of communications.

A newsletter email Collazo sent to subscribers, which landed in in-boxes during the Monday committee meeting, also frustrated some council members.

鈥淚n recent years, communication from this office has too often missed the mark, Collazo said in the email. The Mayor has not always been positioned appropriately, and messaging has at times relied on half-truths, unclear narratives, or reactive framing.鈥

Some members said an email like this would be prohibited under the proposed guidelines.

鈥淲e should be able to go five minutes without some of this stuff,鈥 Cuda said during the committee meeting.

City Council last week passed an ordinance to hire local attorneys to serve as independent legal counsel for city council.

鈥淲e鈥檝e seen multiple instances where the city鈥檚 law department was legally conflicted, most recently with a no-confidence legislation council passed in regard to Kahlil Seren,鈥 Posch said. 鈥淚 have confidence in our law department and Bill Hanna, our law director. Again, this action is necessary because of the conflict that exists between our city administration and City Council.鈥

If Seren is recalled, Cuda, as council president, would take over.

Candidates that made the Sept. 9 primary ballot are Deanna Bremer Fisher, Marty Gelfand, Laura Kingsley Hong and council members Jim Petras and Davida Russell.

Gabriel Kramer is a reporter/producer and the host of 鈥淣ewsDepth,鈥 91福利's news show for kids.