EAST CLEVELAND, Ohio — It will be up to a Cuyahoga County Probate Court judge to decide who takes over running the day-to-day operations of East Cleveland while Mayor Brandon King is suspended.
RELATED: East Cleveland Mayor Brandon King suspended from office
Presiding Judge Anthony Russo said Wednesday he will accept applications for King’s interim replacement until February 14 and then select an applicant for the position.
But who runs the city in the meantime is causing confusion.
East Cleveland’s city charter spells out two scenarios for succession to the mayor’s office depending on whether the absence is temporary or long-term.
However, the charter does not define what constitutes each.
Wednesday morning, Law Director Willa Hemmons told city department heads that she was acting mayor.
“The succession of a temporary absence of a mayor is first of all the finance director, then the law director and then the director of public service,” said Hemmons. “However, we only have an interim finance director and I’m the law director, so it would be me to be acting mayor.”
But City Council President Lateek Shabazz disagreed.
Shabazz said King’s suspension following indictment on corruption charges is not a temporary absence.
“I heard that Willa said she’s the mayor,” said Shabazz. “That’s ludicrous. Either she can’t read, or she’s the worst attorney the country has ever seen.”
Shabazz believes there’s no acting mayor until a probate court judge names King’s replacement.
That person will come from a pool of applicants.
Something City Councilman Twon Billings calls heartbreaking.
“It speaks about the corruption in the City of East Cleveland that the court has to put together an application process of anybody who wants to be the mayor of the city,” said Billings.
Billings said he hasn’t decided if he’ll apply for the position.
Both Shabazz and Hemmons believe the court should appoint them as King’s replacement during the suspension.
In the meantime, it’s not clear what effect the situation could have on city business, including passing a city budget for 2025, which has not happened yet.
King, who’s pleaded not guilty to four felony and eight misdemeanor charges, will remain suspended until his criminal case is resolved.
The mayor’s trial is scheduled to begin in late April.
