Mayor Summers Stepping Down? He Should.

[Jim O'Bryan]

[*]Mayor Summers, Kevin Butler, Sam O'Leary, Tom Bullock, HR Director Jean Youseef, Finance Director Jenn Pae, please consider stepping down.

Over a year ago, we pointed out Mayor Summers' fascination with hiring a known and convicted thug for his re-election campaign. We also documented it when this same thug was moved over to a job at City Hall he had no qualifications for. We noted that this person went after residents who dared to disagree with Mayor Summers and BuildLakewood (where this man was a founding member) though the organization knew fully of his criminal past and his talent for harassing/intimidating people. Not only did everyone know, they worked to cover those facts up, and worked overtime to help him grab information on any resident who was opposed to Build Lakewood's agenda, and then use that information for nefarious means. They even bragged to police that they got information on their targets "from Lakewood Early Childhood PTA to Lakewood Police." While being paid by us, using City Hall computers.

A week ago, we found a second example of the Mayor and Law Director hiring a criminal with a long history who had worked on the Mayor's Campaign, the Close the Hospital Campaign, worked with BuildLakewood, and other pro mayor groups. He was hired by City Hall, and immediately became a collection point for information on other people as he looked for data that could be used against private residents who disagreed with the Mayor, or who they didn't like.

Not only did City Hall members cover this up, they tried daily to get you into the clutches of these criminals. Even when they knew these criminals were dangerous people.You see, any time any City Official shared a post from Lakewood Citizen, Lakewood Patch, or Lakewood Community Facebook page, they were not just pointing you to false information and faux conversations, they were sending you blindly into traps, with some very bad people at the other end, with long criminal records. This was their "media plan" and all elected officials knew about it. Many of your friends knew it. I know many "decent people" who knew about it but were afraid to speak up. Welcome to Lakewood.

Hospital is gone, creepy behavior is not.

City Hal, to show that you are at least aware of your hideous actions,
1) Apologize to those whose lives were ruined, who were followed, intimidated, and had information on them collected, and/or had to hire lawyers to defend
themselves on totally bullshit charges, and/or attacks of intimidation that continue with your help and guidance to this day.
2) Full background checks on everyone hired from day one of the FitzGerald Administration until today and on into the future. No more claiming, "I don't how that happened."
3) Full drug tests on ALL EMPLOYEES, with medical help and rehabilitation offered to all who fail.

Mayor Summers, you have the most corrupt administration I have ever witnessed. Please consider saving Lakewood this ugly drip drip drip of revealing troubling facts from your 2+ year fight to hide PUBLIC DOCUMENTS.

Release the records, release the emails, release the text messages, release the minutes, release the computer useage, and logins.

Stop destroying, and talking about destroying and changing public documents.

The courts have ruled that these are public records, residents agree that we have a right to see them. We are not asking for personal information on anyone, we are asking to check the public paperwork we own. Not to save a hospital, but to save our city, and to defend our rights to safety and protection.

[Michael Deneen]

As you should know by now, Team Summers (especially its captain) is completely incapable of feeling any sense of shame.
He's been shameless through this entire farce.....so why would he change now?
His minions ignored the fact that he lied about the hospital closing, that he lied about the rec center, that he lied about Metro, etc.
His minions don't care that he has used a fake newspaper, fake Facebook page, and is bringing back Fitzy as developer of the hospital site.
They don't care that he covered up the police abuse incident, or that he is clinging to increasingly out-of-date racist policies.
To paraphrase our Commander-in-Chief, Summers could shoot somebody on Detroit Avenue and get away with it.

He will remain in office unless and until he thinks that he can give his successor a "head start" by retiring earlier.
This will be a purely political calculation.

[Stan Austin]

I think Tony Sinagra lived in an alternative universe of presumed respectability and the old time criteria of power. It wasn't so. He had some blinders on and opprobrium turned into detritus.

[Jim O'Bryan]

Stan

Tony was here while I was merely enjoying the city, not thinking of the workings.

He struck me as an old time politician, "How could that be wrong? I'm Mayor!" In an era when police would escort you home when driving drunk. When beating up a wife, was just domestic nonsense.
A character from a B-Movie that kept the city clean, and murder free.

When Demora was sent off the only thing that changed county wide was, instead of amassing $$$$$$, it became about amassing power, and then $$$$$$ for those around you.

Power, that grows nearly the same way,the mob grew. A couple favors, a favor less than ideal called in, a couple wedding parties, a special favor, just to test you, some more parties, and then the hit. They got you every inch of the way, now you are part of it. Now you work to cover it up, and protect the family.

Almost 3 years ago, we pointed out that a group was liquidating the clinic, and channeling the money into private foundations controlled by friends of the mayor. The Mayor and friends called me a liar. Numbers like $178 million, $60 million, $20 million, $500,000 a year. People get ugly and stupid over money. "First they are not that sharp, and it got out of control." Deepthroat, Watergate

Mayor Summers, give Lakewood a clean start, and a chance to be proud again. Step down, and let the next group sort this out. Youth owns the future, step down.

.

[Stan Austin]

Jim-- I get you. We grew up at the same time, same rules and standards.

Lots of folks are off the treads and have been for awhile.

You know who you are, quit, resign, go to a pleasant existence.

If you do that now, you won't experience the perplexed revulsion of the Lakewood community.

Stan Austin

[cmager]

They won't step down. This is their peak existence and these are their peak years. They'll hang on long as they can, and then connive to get that time back. Power! Money! Power!

No different than old Senators who won't give it up (how many of them are over Fn 80 yo). Hell look at Bob Dole repping some Russian interests. Bob Dole...

[Jim O'Bryan]

Jim-- I get you. We grew up at the same time, same rules and standards.

Lots of folks are off the treads and have been for awhile.

You know who you are, quit, resign, go to a pleasant existence.

If you do that now, you won't experience the perplexed revulsion of the Lakewood community.

Stan Austin

Stan


What we are seeing is 1)Tribal politics, where ANYTHING your tribe/team does is tolerable for the... say it together "the good of the community."

This is step 4, in "Keys to Power and Control.", and a key part of "1984."

The social media kangaroo courts get all upset when sports figure teach kids bad manners, but when it comes to their tribe/team they stay quiet.

.

[Mark Kindt]

These problems are embedded in the chosen structures of governance.

1. The City of Lakewood does not have even a basic set of ethics-in-government policies;

2. The City of Lakewood is a "one-party" polity because of its non-partisan ballot;

3. The Charter enables inappropriate or reckless decision-making to the extent that the executive branch has no meaningful checks and balances.

Nothing "tribal" about any of this. These fundamental issues of governance have been understood and debated in both the West and the East for 2,500 years.

[Jim O'Bryan]

These problems are embedded in the chosen structures of governance.

1. The City of Lakewood does not have even a basic set of ethics-in-government policies;

2. The City of Lakewood is a "one-party" polity because of its non-partisan ballot;

3. The Charter enables inappropriate or reckless decision-making to the extent that the executive branch has no meaningful checks and balances.

Nothing "tribal" about any of this. These fundamental issues of governance have been understood and debated in both the West and the East for 2,500 years.

"Tribal" refers to, how anyone can justify anything the "tribe" or "team" does to win. Anything.

Lakewoodites have shown they do not care about elected officials, lying, cheating, misleading, intimidating, following, reporting on law abiding residents.

What is amazing is that so many cheer for this behavior from elected officials. aka their tribe/team

.

[Mark Kindt]

No. What is so amazing is that there are no checks and balances on these sorts of malfeasance, misfeasance and nonfeasance by public officials and public employees.

The "team" you describe is evidently much bigger than just Lakewood.

Aside from the various lawsuits that were filed, formal written (and often multiple) complaints were made to the following agencies (and institutions) by experienced lawyers and respected citizens:

1. The Federal Trade Commission (both locally and nationally),

2. The United States Department of Justice (both locally and nationally),

3. The Office of the Attorney General of Ohio,

4. The Office of the Auditor of State (Ohio),

5. The American Civil Liberties Union (locally),

6. The New York Times.

From my perspective, the so-called Hospital "debacle" was a major success for its advocates and proponents.

It establishes a clear and viable model for future public initiatives that will transfer public or community assets to private parties. All in addition to the existing models for public incentives used for economic development. It's a recipe for disaster.

As a life-long Democrat, I was sadden to learn how willingly my local Democratic office-holders were prepared to lie to achieve their plan.

[Lori Allen _]

Since Jim first posted this post, more and more information regarding city hall keeps coming to the surface.

I encourage every Lakewood Citizen to call Summers and Council members and demand that they step down.

I believe things are going to continue to get uglier and uglier.

[Jim O'Bryan]

"We should not be normalizing the type of behavior we are seeing here. The fact that we accept lies means that we as a public are not looking at this. This situation has us saying, “Is it true?” The fact that we have to ask ourselves that, the fact that he may have committed a crime, has become the standard. That shouldn’t be a standard we accept. The importance of this is that from Watergate to now, democracy depends on having an honest government and it depends on the voters having facts. We need to know exactly what went on, and the underlying reasons for all of these meetings."
Jill Wine-Banks
Former Assistant Watergate Special Prosecutor

Not only did council members for years, allow this to become normal behavior, they actually worked to help cover-up every little bit of the mess.

Good honest god fearing family members, turning a blind eye, to this behavior, while residents bear the brunt of the abuse, just to be part of the group.

Since October, 2014 I have pointed out time and time again, Lakewood City Hall has lost their moral compass, it now borders on a criminal enterprise.

This is why they fight LEGAL public record request, even when ordered to do so by courts to do so.

Essi, Markling, myself and others have produced document after document that proves they knew they were lying, they knew it was illegal and wrong, but they pushed ahead.

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[Mark Kindt]

Lakewood City Hall has lost their moral compass, it now borders on a criminal enterprise.

I have prepared the attached summary "A Local Lawyer Looks At Lakewood City Government" to determine whether or not Mr. O'Bryan's statement has any truth-value.

Please read my summary and come to your own conclusions.

Sadly, Mr. O'Bryan's observations are correct. Perhaps this explains why the Lakewood Observer is banned from City Hall.

[Dan Alaimo]

Mark,
This document is an excellent resource. My question for all here is how can we maximize its effectiveness. How can we get through to the many in Lakewood who, when they hear or read this kind of thing, stick their fingers in their ears and loudly sing, "La-La-La-La-La, I can't hear you"? Or the many who won't see it all because of what they have been told about the Oberver and/or Deck (see Corey Rossen's recent post on the administration's FB page)?

[Mark Kindt]

Mr. Alaimo: To the extent that the City administration is using a social media page to offer a platform to criticize The Lakewood Observer, The Observation Deck, or the opinions of citizens, I encourage you and other readers of this post to write complaints to the Ohio ACLU Chapter.