Is Mayor Summers Worst Mayor In Lakewood's History?

[Jim O'Bryan]

I will have to get with LO Historians, but I cannot remember another Mayor that has had as many problems with ethic violations, many improper hirings, misinformation, and outright proven to be lies from a Mayor.

Add in that he is fighting the public's right to know and see the documents, which has been upheld by four courts that demanded the city produce the documents, has to be getting into the top 5? I mean his one mentor Tony Sinagra took tires, and a backhoe from the city, and his other mentors Ed FitzGerald and side kick Nate Kelley were joy riding in city cars, so to speak. I have to think back in the 20s and 30s mayors hired thugs too, maybe not.

Running the largest employer, and hospital out of the city. While grabbing our largest asset, it's funds and largest piece of property for personal friends to develop has to be getting him into the top spot. I mean taking Lakewood from $178 million asset to $000 is pretty amazing trick.

Where will Mike Summers end up in the final tally?

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[Michael Deneen]

Yes, not even close.
Although Fitzy deserves dishonorable mention.....after all, "Team Summers" is actually fulfilling the vision laid out by Fitzy.
Fitzy's hubris motivated him to flee City Hall before the poop started hitting the fan.

Fitzy does have his own distinction, though. "Most Embarrassing Major Party Gubernatorial Candidate in Ohio History".

BTW, much like comparisons of Trump to Nixon, it is wildly unfair to compare Summers to Sinagra.

The Trump/Summers regime is far worse than anything that has come before. They aren't the usual small-time political bribe takers.
Trump/Summers represent the wholesale takeover of democratic government by oligarchs.
They want to privatize public assets in every facet of life....hospitals, schools. social security, and much much more.
And they both are doing it behind closed doors......hiding information, failing to release documents, and bullying any media that dares to question.
Trump/Summers represent the conversion of our society into a "banana republic", controlled by a small group of very wealthy folks.

[Jim O'Bryan]

Yes, not even close.
Although Fitzy deserves dishonorable mention.....after all, "Team Summers" is actually fulfilling the vision laid out by Fitzy.
Fitzy's hubris motivated him to flee City Hall before the poop started hitting the fan.

Fitzy does have his own distinction, though. "Most Embarrassing Major Party Gubernatorial Candidate in Ohio History".

Mike

Let's not leave Nate Kelley out of the Ed FitzGerald mind trust.

Every screwed up idea, including leveraging the closing of Lakewood hospital for political clout and cash for supporters, saw Nate like a parrot on his shoulder.

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[Michael Deneen]

Let's not leave Nate Kelley out of the Ed FitzGerald mind trust.Every screwed up idea, including leveraging the closing of Lakewood hospital for political clout and cash for supporters, saw Nate like a parrot on his shoulder.

There are lots of guilty parties.....I was limiting my options to former mayors.

[Lori Allen _]

Is Mayor Summers Worst Mayor In Lakewood's History?

He must be.

If he isn't the worst mayor in Lakewood's history, why are some of the individuals closest to him, especially city employees suddenly "abandoning ship", mostly by vacating their homes and putting them up for sale? One of the founding members of BuildLakewood sold their house and booked town almost immediately following the mayor's re-election. One of the communications people the mayor hired also sold their house and booked town recently. This person also lived on the mayor's street. Combine this with about eight other city employees or BuildLakewood folks that have "abandoned ship" recently, including Mr. Dru Siley and Mr. Jason Russell. Although the last two went to find employment with companies that seem to be in close relations with Mr. Summers. Maybe they aren't really gone. Most recently, we had a person fairly high-up in management at City Hall vacate their house and put it up for sale yesterday.

My point being, and to get back at the point of this thread, if these people thought the mayor was great and was not the "worst mayor in Lakewood's history", why book town? My favorite was the people that had BuildLakewood signs in their yards and "for sale" signs. These people ended up leaving Lakewood, to my knowledge.

It does not imply that all of these people are guilty of anything, but perhaps they know what is coming down the road and they don't want to be here to witness it or be questioned about it.

Maybe these people just want to be "gone" and don't want to deal with the "worst mayor in Lakewood's history":

[Jim O'Bryan]

Lori

I find it hard for faulting Dru and Jason for their jobs in the private sector. While Dru's arrogance, mostly left over from Nate Kelley lessons, and both of their lack of depth in city planning, always put me off. But Jason's candor from day one, and ability to talk about so many pieces of so many things impressed me. I bet he goes far. Good kid.

I think good people did jump when it started to become obvious just how low the mayor would go to get his way, or reward close friends.

It is shocking the number of people that said closing the hospital would save the city. I thought I saw a for sale sign in Monique Smith's driveway getting ready to go up. Many of the loudest voices for closing the hospital moving or moved.

I think they all know Mike broke the City of Lakewood, and they helped him do it.

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[Pam Wetula]

Is Mayor Summers Worst Mayor in Lakewood's History?

Yes. At least in my lifetime.

[Lori Allen _]

Lori

I find it hard for faulting Dru and Jason for their jobs in the private sector. While Dru's arrogance, mostly left over from Nate Kelley lessons, and both of their lack of depth in city planning, always put me off. But Jason's candor from day one, and ability to talk about so many pieces of so many things impressed me. I bet he goes far. Good kid.

I think good people did jump when it started to become obvious just how low the mayor would go to get his way, or reward close friends.

It is shocking the number of people that said closing the hospital would save the city. I thought I saw a for sale sign in Monique Smith's driveway getting ready to go up. Many of the loudest voices for closing the hospital moving or moved.

I think they all know Mike broke the City of Lakewood, and they helped him do it.

.

You are correct. It looks like the for sale sign is indeed up. Interesting it is the same realtor that has sold some of the "ship-jumpers" homes, but probably just another coincidence.

Wasn't Monique the person City Hall hired part-time to do the notes at the council meetings? If I recall, she entered most of the executive sessions. I suspect she knows a lot, probably too much for her own good, and should probably be deposed. I will go out on a limb here and suspect that she probably knows some stuff that could be quite incriminating of City Hall, and probably wants out.

With so many employees and BuildLakewood people jumping ship at once, it does not implicate them as guilty, but it certainly does not help their case for innocence.

[Pam Wetula]

Just as a reminder of those delightful 2010 Vision For Tomorrow days... see the attached to refresh your memory.

Monique Smith was the ONLY Councilperson to question these changes to our hospital in 2010 and she told them that questions concerning this "Vision" had not been adequately answered.

I bet she know a lot of things that the city has withheld from us. I remember thanking her in 2015 (before a council meeting where she was to take council notes)for her courage to dissent in 2010.

(maybe it's a tie for worst Mayor between Fitzgerald & Summers!)

pam

[Bridget Conant]

Just as a reminder of those delightful 2010 Vision For Tomorrow days... see the attached to refresh your memory.

Monique Smith was the ONLY Councilperson to question these changes to our hospital in 2010 and she told them that questions concerning this "Vision" had not been adequately answered.

I bet she know a lot of things that the city has withheld from us. I remember thanking her in 2015 (before a council meeting where she was to take council notes)for her courage to dissent in 2010.

(maybe it's a tie for worst Mayor between Fitzgerald & Summers!)

pam

Yes she questioned the workings of the city vis-a-vis the hospital when she was new to council, but as we have seen, she changed her tune and was fully charged n support of the closing.

It seems to be a pattern: get elected while proclaiming you have an independent mind, but quickly learn to go along with the majority/administration agenda.

One Councilperson after the other gets swallowed up by the groupthink.

I'm hoping Dan O'Malley resists, but let's face it, he wants a political career and that depends a lot on support by the machine.

[Pam Wetula]

Just as a reminder of those delightful 2010 Vision For Tomorrow days... see the attached to refresh your memory.

Monique Smith was the ONLY Councilperson to question these changes to our hospital in 2010 and she told them that questions concerning this "Vision" had not been adequately answered.

I bet she know a lot of things that the city has withheld from us. I remember thanking her in 2015 (before a council meeting where she was to take council notes)for her courage to dissent in 2010.

(maybe it's a tie for worst Mayor between Fitzgerald & Summers!)

pam

Yes she questioned the workings of the city vis-a-vis the hospital when she was new to council, but as we have seen, she changed her tune and was fully charged n support of the closing.

It seems to be a pattern: get elected while proclaiming you have an independent mind, but quickly learn to go along with the majority/administration agenda.

One Councilperson after the other gets swallowed up by the groupthink.

I'm hoping Dan O'Malley resists, but let's face it, he wants a political career and that depends a lot on support by the machine.

Dan O'Malley is already on the other side(dark side). Starting with the moment he refused to sign the Referendum petition to put it on the ballot, I knew that he was a politician. We had a number of people who signed the Referendum petition who questioned that we should keep the hospital but the point is that they felt putting on the ballot was a righteous thing to do.

The next year, as he started his tenure on City Council, Dan O'Mallery tried to explain that he supported having the Referendum on the March ballot and that was how he supported us. (instead of delaying it as the rest of the council preferred) (snort).

Unfortunately, once you are elected, you have to support everything the other council persons want or they won't support your initiatives. I swear, we should only have council at large so all council members would be beholden to the entire community.

Dan had a Ward 4 meeting a couple of weeks ago and few (not sure - well under 50- tons of pizza left) people attended. Cindy Marx & her husband, Ed Favre our City HR were there but when I asked around my neighborhood in the following days why they had not attended, it was because they did not know about the meeting.

The meeting started late but ended on time. I was going to ask Mr. O'Malley about his views in Transparency since he had not responded to requests made to him on the Deck. I had to ask after the Ward 4 meeting at Harrison ended. His response was:

1. He didn't know anyone wanted his views on Transparency because he rarely reads the Deck.
2. He thought transparency was ok but wasn't there a lot of records requests for information that the public didn't need to have access to.
3. I reminded him that the courts had rebutted that THEY would make that decision and that Lakewood was to turn all records requests to the courts for their review.
4. Dan O'Malley then said something like there was going to be another meeting in that soon. He was kind of quiet and muffled at this point.

I voted for Dan O'Malley but what I see is someone looking for a bright political future and someone who is turning into a politician - standard edition. It happens a lot. Sad for Lakewood.

We need city representatives - people that can stand up to each other when necessary to reflect their constituents and those they serve if not elected. We do not need people who have to support the Mayor or everything the other Council members want in order to have their ideas taken seriously and implemented. Their ideas that benefit their neighborhood or Lakewood as a whole. We need people of courage, that do not want to cut deals behind closed doors. People who do not believe in holding a press conference with armed guards to keep the public out when announcing a hospital closing agreement they knew was decided behind those closed doors & through covert action. People who do not have to agree with a corrupt mayor and have the courage to say that the direction that mayor is taking Lakewood is wrong on so many levels.

I am so ok with people who do not agree with me IF they have taken the time to do their homework and they do not auto-engage in groupthink. I want our representatives to hold each others toes to the fire and demand integrity from each other. We need to see and hear dissenting views on many issues. Instead we get a unified front on everything because no one has the brass balls or brass ovaries to speak the truth or question the mayor or his law director- or each other.

Pathetic.

[Michael Deneen]

Monique might be leaving for work-related reasons.....we don't know.
We don't know that she is leaving because of the impending crash of Lakewood. However, she was smart enough to know in 2010 that the Clinic would harm our town.
However, her "flip" to the Clinic's side is a permanent mark on her record.
Plus, she was Jen Pae's first helper with the "Fake Lakewood Community Page". On the very day the page launched (the day after Pae left the regular Lakewood page in a huff), Monique was on there giving the company line.

As for Mr. O'Malley, submission might be a good way to get legislation through (I know he's been working hard on the BSL issue).
However, if he thinks that pandering to Republican Summers and his crew will advance his career long term, he is gravely mistaken.
At every level, the Left has had enough of "Business as Usual"......the Bernie voters are the future of the progressive movement. They don't like corporate Dems that submit to big business and Republicans.

Establishment hacks like Tim Kaine, Frank Jackson, and our local chairwarmers like Bullock will not fare well in the new political alignment.
They might hold power for another election cycle....but that would mean more GOP wins at the federal and state level.
That will mean more cuts to the safety net, more pollution, more corporate domination over our lives.
That will only further fuel the progressive movement...it's a matter of when, not if.

[m buckley]

Dan O'Malley is already on the other side(dark side). Starting with the moment he refused to sign the Referendum petition to put it on the ballot, I knew that he was a politician. We had a number of people who signed the Referendum petition who questioned that we should keep the hospital but the point is that they felt putting on the ballot was a righteous thing to do.

The next year, as he started his tenure on City Council, Dan O'Mallery tried to explain that he supported having the Referendum on the March ballot and that was how he supported us. (instead of delaying it as the rest of the council preferred) (snort).

Unfortunately, once you are elected, you have to support everything the other council persons want or they won't support your initiatives. I swear, we should only have council at large so all council members would be beholden to the entire community.

Dan had a Ward 4 meeting a couple of weeks ago and few (not sure - well under 50- tons of pizza left) people attended. Cindy Marx & her husband, Ed Favre our City HR were there but when I asked around my neighborhood in the following days why they had not attended, it was because they did not know about the meeting.

The meeting started late but ended on time. I was going to ask Mr. O'Malley about his views in Transparency since he had not responded to requests made to him on the Deck. I had to ask after the Ward 4 meeting at Harrison ended. His response was:

1. He didn't know anyone wanted his views on Transparency because he rarely reads the Deck.
2. He thought transparency was ok but wasn't there a lot of records requests for information that the public didn't need to have access to.
3. I reminded him that the courts had rebutted that THEY would make that decision and that Lakewood was to turn all records requests to the courts for their review.
4. Dan O'Malley then said something like there was going to be another meeting in that soon. He was kind of quiet and muffled at this point.

I voted for Dan O'Malley but what I see is someone looking for a bright political future and someone who is turning into a politician - standard edition. It happens a lot. Sad for Lakewood.

We need city representatives - people that can stand up to each other when necessary to reflect their constituents and those they serve if not elected. We do not need people who have to support the Mayor or everything the other Council members want in order to have their ideas taken seriously and implemented. Their ideas that benefit their neighborhood or Lakewood as a whole. We need people of courage, that do not want to cut deals behind closed doors. People who do not believe in holding a press conference with armed guards to keep the public out when announcing a hospital closing agreement they knew was decided behind those closed doors & through covert action. People who do not have to agree with a corrupt mayor and have the courage to say that the direction that mayor is taking Lakewood is wrong on so many levels.

I am so ok with people who do not agree with me IF they have taken the time to do their homework and they do not auto-engage in groupthink. I want our representatives to hold each others toes to the fire and demand integrity from each other. We need to see and hear dissenting views on many issues. Instead we get a unified front on everything because no one has the brass balls or brass ovaries to speak the truth or question the mayor or his law director- or each other.

Pathetic.

Dan O'Malley, You know the question. You are aware of the question...

"What is your position on Lakewood's Law Director and Public Records Keeper, Kevin Butler, defying a court order and refusing to turn over public records in this current case."

How is it you can't answer that question? How is it you lack the mettle to answer that question?

You're a political poseur.

[Lori Allen _]

In my opinion, Mr. O'Malley and Ms. Smith knew, and have known, what has been going on at city hall. There are no excuses. They could have gone to the proper authorities to report what was going on and choose not to. Silence is complicity.

Mr. Summers is the worst Mayor ever.

Did anyone notice that it appears that Mr. summers lined up at least two comrades to run in the last council election in each ward? Was this done to be sure that he would have a "friend" to say aye to pushing through the illegal and immoral hospital deal? If this is the case, he must have something to hide.

It appears that two Ward 3 candidates were brought in to spread out the vote to assure a win for John Litten in Ward 3. We all know what Mr. Litten has been up to, another Ward 3 candidate has abandoned ship and moved to another state, and God knows what city the other has decided to reside in for now. I believe the two Ward 3 persons brought in were friends of Ms. Antonio.