East Cleveland mayoral debate set for tomorrow at city library
Most of
the news coming out of East Cleveland over the past year has been the stuff of
misfortune and tragedy. To cite only a few of the lowlights: the city descended
once again into fiscal emergency, the mayor called the police to escort the
council president from his office, the school board rejected the favorable
terms of offer to merge its shrunken and overburdened library system with the
county’s acclaimed library system, more than 100 police officers from Cleveland
gave chase to an unarmed pair of suspects, first cornering them in a school
parking lot and then executing them on the spot, and finally, just last month,
the decomposing bodies of three women were found in one of the city’s more
desolate areas, victims of an apparent psychopath.
These
and other issues are likely to be part of what should be a lively debate when the three Democratic Party candidates for mayor meet on stage at 1 PM tomorrow at the East Cleveland Public Library.
Residents
will get to hear Mayor Gary Norton, City Council president Joy A. Jordan, and Vernon
Robinson share their visions of better days ahead for their city, along with
perhaps their plans for achieving their vision. Each candidate will have
fifteen minutes to address the audience. A question and answer session will
follow, moderated by Charles E. Bibb, Sr., president of the Ohio Eighth House
District Black Caucus, the debate’s sponsor.
Bibb
told the Real Deal yesterday that all three of the candidates have confirmed
their plans to attend and participate.
The
three candidates will square off in the Democratic primary to be held October
1. The winner will be the city’s next mayor as no Republican filed for the
office and the city’s charter does not permit write-in mayoral candidates.
A
suspect was indicted and arraigned this week in the suspected serial murders.
He is being held in county jail in lieu of bail. No criminal charges have been
filed as yet in the deadly 100 mph chase by dozens of police cars that led to
the 137-bullet volley that killed Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams. That
case, like the serial murders, is in the hands of County Prosecutor Tim
McGinty.
Cleveland police to discipline 75 officers for role in
deadly chase
Cleveland
Police Chief Michael McGrath said today that 75 policemen would be disciplined
for their involvement in the police chase last November that ended in the
neighboring city of East Cleveland with the deaths of Timothy Russell and
Malissa Williams.
None of
the officers facing discipline is among the 13 who shot at the victims. Eleven
supervisors have already been disciplined, including one who was fired.
Nineteen
of the 75 officers will be referred to Cleveland’s Department of Public Safety and
face temporary suspension.
Of the
75 officers facing discipline for violating police protocol, 19 will be
referred to the Department of Public Safety for disciplinary hearings and could
face temporary suspension, McGrath said.
