Advocates of an effort to remove East Cleveland Mayor Brandon King from office have gathered enough petition signatures to put the mayor鈥檚 political fate on the November ballot.
The Cuyahoga County Board of Elections on Thursday certified that the campaign had gathered 322 valid signatures, just more than the 311 needed to force the issue. Under East Cleveland鈥檚 charter, King has until Aug. 18 to resign or face a recall vote 鈥� likely in the Nov. 8 general election.
William Fambrough, an organizer of the recall campaign who is also suing the city and the mayor, accused King of allowing police to abuse their power and of circumventing the city council鈥檚 authority.
In a lawsuit filed in June, Fambrough alleged that East Cleveland police towed and damaged a van that he was using to promote the candidacy of one of King鈥檚 2021 Democratic primary opponents.
鈥淭he mayor is using the police as a private 鈥� a kind of private police force that attacks his enemies, that鈥檚 what he鈥檚 doing,鈥� Fambrough told 海角破解版.
A message seeking comment was left with the mayor鈥檚 office in East Cleveland.
Fambrough, who runs a media company, had outfitted the van with sound equipment to broadcast messages supporting Juanita Gowdy, an East Cleveland City Council member who criticized King and ran against him.
In August 2021, weeks before the Sept. 14 primary, police towed Fambrough鈥檚 van and cited him for a noise violation, according to the lawsuit. In addition to the mayor, Fambrough named the police chief, law director and several officers as defendants.
In court filings, East Cleveland Law Director Willa Hemmons has denied the allegations and asked a judge to dismiss the case.
鈥淭he majority of the 鈥榝acts鈥� set forth in Plaintiff鈥檚 Complaint reflect an elevated sense of importance at being a political operative that converts to an grandiose misperception of events,鈥� Hemmons wrote. 鈥淧laintiff鈥檚 Complaint is premised upon a lot of social media and mass media hype designed to inflame and incite the public.鈥�
No ruling on the motion to dismiss has yet been made.
Fambrough also faulted the mayor for the frequent police chases in this eastern Cleveland suburb. In the first 120 days of 2021, 40% of East Cleveland chases ended in crashes, .
鈥淭he mayor sets the tone, really, for the police department,鈥� Fambrough said. 鈥淭he mayor tells his appointed chief of police what will be tolerated and what will not. And it鈥檚 just like the Wild West here with these police chases.鈥�
King took office in Decmber 2016 after his predecessor, Gary Norton, was recalled along with the council president. Then the vice president of council, King was next in line of succession. He has since won reelection in 2017 and 2021.
East Cleveland has been in state-declared fiscal emergency for almost 10 years. The city previously spent 17 years in fiscal emergency from 1988 to 2006.
The city has sold off property, laid off workers, increased garbage fees and opened its own impound lot to cut costs and bring in revenue, .
Nevertheless, the city ended 2021 with a deficit in one fund and spending outpacing council appropriations in many line items in the general fund, according to the report. The city also could be on the hook for damages in several legal cases, the report said.
鈥淚t is not anticipated the City will be released from fiscal emergency in the near future,鈥� the report read.
