Questions remain about what comes next after Akron City Council failed to seat the city鈥檚 new citizen police oversight board by the deadline earlier this week.
鈥淲e should have got it done Monday night, but people wanted to play games,鈥� said Ward 8 Councilman Shammas Malik. 鈥淲e have to get this done as soon as possible. I think we鈥檒l go ahead and figure it out, but it will continue to be messy, because some people do not like change.鈥�
Four councilmembers voted against a slate of candidates, but most had apprehension about just one of them: Imokhai Okolo, a 27-year-old Black lawyer.
Council voted multiple times in the five-hour meeting that lasted until midnight, with four members voting 鈥渘o鈥� each time: Ward 6's Brad McKitrick, Ward 9's Mike Freeman, Ward 2's Phil Lombardo and Jeff Fusco, At Large.
The other eight members voted in favor and Councilman Donnie Kammer was absent from the meeting, resulting in an 8 to 4 vote that narrowly missed the supermajority of nine votes needed to pass.
At the next meeting, council may consider the same slate but swap out Okolo with someone else, Malik said.
鈥淭here have been some discussions around looking back on some of the other applicants, but honestly, I haven鈥檛 had a problem with a single applicant so far,鈥� Malik said. 鈥淚 think everyone who has applied could do a decent job.鈥�
Councilman Fusco decided to vote no after hearing from police officers, the Fraternal Order of Police and some constituents who had concerns about Okolo鈥檚 allegedly negative views of police, he said. Okolo reportedly referred to police as 鈥減igs鈥� in a social media post.
鈥淭he way I鈥檝e always operated is, whenever I make that educated based on what I鈥檝e learned, then that鈥檚 my decision, and that鈥檚 it,鈥� Fusco said. 鈥淲henever I spoke to Imokhai, I said 鈥� I鈥檇 love to be able to support you, possibly, but I can鈥檛 do it today. I can鈥檛 do it Monday, because I鈥檝e told people I鈥檝e made commitments.鈥�
Fusco understands the importance of having a young Black man on the board, he said, and hopes to consider other candidates.
鈥淚f we can find someone else, a younger voice from the Black community who is male, absolutely, I would be happy to entertain that,鈥� Fusco said. 鈥淎nd again, I would do my research, have discussions and learn, and make an educated decision.鈥�
Malik remains frustrated that Fusco and others refused to vote for Okolo and said Okolo is more than qualified.
鈥淒o you know what that sounds like, when you say, like, 鈥榣et鈥檚 just find a different young Black male鈥�?鈥� Malik said. 鈥淎gain, it鈥檚 just playing games with this.鈥�
Going forward, council may also consider voting on each of the nine proposed members individually to try to get some of the board seated while they consider a different candidate than Okolo, Fusco added.
Malik hopes they call a special meeting before the next council meeting on Monday so they can get the board seated as soon as possible.
The nine-member oversight board was created through Issue 10, a charter amendment voters approved in November.
The deadline to seat the board was Feb. 27, 90 days after election results were certified.
While there are no specific repercussions outlined in the charter language for council not confirming the board members on time, residents have already talked of suing the city.
