The Observation Deck

The letter above demonstrates that:

1. Summers knew that CCF made “unilateral” decisions without LHA to remove programs and services from Lakewood that threatened the viability of Lakewood Hospital.
2. Summers knew that CCF violated the "spirit and letter" of its agreement.
3. Summers knew that CCF had defrauded LHF and LHA (and presumably their charitable donors) by using charitable donations to fund the programs removed by CCF.

The taxpayers’ lawsuit advances all three of these facts, but Summers and LHA (over which Summers has great influence) now deny all three facts that Summers’ knew and believed to be true. In fact, in the taxpayer lawsuit, Summers and LHA adamantly claim that LHA, and not CCF are in control of Lakewood Hospital. So Summers is defending CCF's bad behavior.

Knowing and believing one thing, and simultaneously saying and doing another that is detrimental to Lakewood Hospital and the most vulnerable among us whom Summers has a duty to serve and protect, shows:
SUMMERS' ULTIMATE HYPOCRISY and BETRAYAL OF LAKEWOOD

The story just gets sadder and sadder.
I can't wait to hear Team Summers/Build Lakewood explain this one.

. . . and I thought NYC local politics was troublesome . . . This surely throws 'shade' on my utopian impressions of Lakewood.

At least this shows that the mayor did stand up to the clinic, at least for a time, until they finally got to him. Of course, really standing up to the clinic would entail so much more than sending them a letter...how about a subpoena Mr. Mayor?

From the way Summers acts now, he gives the impression he never much cared to keep the hospital open.

I wonder how they finally got him to "see the light".

Brian,

How do we know that this letter was created by Mayor Michael P. Summers or was even sent to the CCF?

Are we to be believe that the Mayor of Lakewood sent a letter to the President of the Cleveland Clinic Regional Hospital without it being on “City of Lakewood” letterhead or even “signed” by the Mayor himself?

Assuming that the July 3, 2014 letter was created around July 2014 – and not say, after January 2015, is there any evidence that it was actually created by Summers and sent to the CCF?

Was the letter ever authenticated in the legal proceedings?

Is there an affidavit from Summers stating that he created the July 3, 2014 letter and actually sent it to the CCF?

It just seems odd that Mayor Michael P. Summers would ever send a letter to the President of the Cleveland Clinic Regional Hospital without using City of Lakewood stationary or even signing the letter.

Matt

Matt,

Good questions and good points made through the questions.

All we know about this document is that:
1. it was attached to a legal brief filed in court;
2. it was produced by the City in the litigation;
3. it "purports" to be the Mayor's beliefs, knowledge at that time; and
4. it contains facts about what the Clinic did that have now been independently verified.

So Cameron, we don't know if it was ever sent so we don't know if the Mayor ever stood up to the Clinic on anything. Summers' LOI was so weak he could not have stood up to them while negotiating it.

Even if is was sent (which as Matt says would be odd that they don't have a better file copy with letterhead and/or signature), it would only prove that Summers backed down quickly---rather cowardly if he believed what he wrote.

BTW I don't believe a lawyer wrote this letter--a "PROTEST" in something you do at a sporting event like sailing, and not when writing an opposing party claiming millions of dollars of damages.

It was probably never sent.

This paper, and this forum, advertises itself to be a place where people can have discussions about facts. I've visited several times now, and what I see is personal attacks, innuendo and half-baked conspiracy theories, and attempts to litigate a lawsuit outside of court. Some of you are officers of the court. Act like it.

Jay Carson wrote:This paper, and this forum, advertises itself to be a place where people can have discussions about facts. I've visited several times now, and what I see is personal attacks, innuendo and half-baked conspiracy theories, and attempts to litigate a lawsuit outside of court. Some of you are officers of the court. Act like it.

Do you mean the conspiracy theory that the Clinic intends to destroy Lakewood Hospital?

Or do you mean the conspiracy theory that Lakewood Hospital will close the day Avon opens?

Or do you mean the conspiracy theory that the Clinic started its decanting of Lakewood Hospital immediately after convincing Council to support Vision for Tomorrow?

Or do you mean the conspiracy theory that the Mayor wanted a recreation center to replace the Hospital?

Or do you mean the mean spirited accusations that the Mayor lied about "no second offer" from Metro?

Or do you mean the mean spirited accusations that the Mayor lied when he said the hospital "was not closing"?

Or are you writing about the mean spirited accusations that the proposed 'Family Health Center" is just a second rate medical office building?

I hope you are not referring to my questions about the parking garage. If you want to replace the Hospital with a hotel I guess that's fine but you will still need parking.

Aren't you concerned about the misappropriation of parking lot revenue? Is it mean spirited to ask?

Personally I think it mean spirited to deliberately destroy 1,500 jobs, millions in economic activity and turn Lakewood into a healthcare desert.

Jay Carson wrote:This paper, and this forum, advertises itself to be a place where people can have discussions about facts. I've visited several times now, and what I see is personal attacks, innuendo and half-baked conspiracy theories, and attempts to litigate a lawsuit outside of court. Some of you are officers of the court. Act like it.

Jay,

This reminds me of the old saying: "When you've got the facts, pound the facts. When you've got the law, pound the law. When you've got neither, pound the table." We have the facts--and we've got the law. What Summers has done is, by definition, HYPOCRISY and BETRAYAL. It is documented fact.

So I get that you have to pound the table---by accusing some of us of "personal attacks, innuendo, and half-baked conspiracy theories" in the very post you make a personal attacks, create an innuendos of unethical conduct and allege a conspiracy that some are somehow "litigating" outside of the court.

I admire you for being one of only two Build Lakewood /Team Summers representatives to come on the Deck---I hope you continue.

But the discussion is about factual matters of Mayor Summers' conduct on the most important issue our City has faced in decades, so please don't think that you won't be called out for attempting to change the focus to a couple of posters who happen to be lawyers.

So Attorney Carson, please do let us hear some facts and law or anything at all that deals squarely with this issue.

BTW, If you would like to discuss the farce of alleged "conspiracy theories" and "personal attacks", here are two other threads I can join you on.

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=13587&hilit=personal+attacks

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=13500&hilit=conspiracy

Matthew John Markling wrote:How do we know that this letter was created by Mayor Michael P. Summers ...

Are we to be believe that the Mayor of Lakewood sent a letter to the President of the Cleveland Clinic Regional Hospital without it being on “City of Lakewood” letterhead or even “signed” by the Mayor himself

Brian Essi wrote:2. it was produced by the City in the litigation;
3. it "purports" to be the Mayor's beliefs, knowledge at that time; and

The city felt compelled by the rules of discovery to turn this letter over to the plaintiffs. That sure says something!! Even if we don't know if the Mayor banged it out himself.

If this is a printout from a word processing file at city hall, it would not have a signature or letterhead. Only after printing on letterhead stock would it then be signed and then mailed.

I agree with Brian that it was likely never sent to the addressee. (I'm sure Legal would never had allowed it!) But it wouldn't have been turned over to plaintiffs via Law Director Kevin Butler if it was not believed by the City to be relevant to the case and obligated to be disclosed. It would not be in their interest to have done so, obviously!

If there's someone at City Hall impersonating the Mayor and crafting letters like this on their computers, it's crazier than I thought over there.

Summers remains silent on whether or not he sent the July 3, 2014 letter bearing his name.

This guy owes the public answers.

This post started on August 24, 2015.

The public would never have seen this letter if the taxpayer lawsuit was not filed.

Still it took Summers almost a month and a half after the letter was produced to admit that he prepared it and hand delivered it to CCF.

Summers answered a question posed by his friends at the PD when he was trying to get something for himself---an endorsement for his campaign against the poor.

So Summers would not inform the public to help us better understand---he only speaks when he has something to gain from it personally.

This guy needs to go!