Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz has issued an ultimatum to the four Toledo councilmen facing federal bribery charges: resign or face suspension.
In a statement released Thursday afternoon, the mayor said if councilmen Larry Sykes, Gary Johnson, Yvonne Harper, and Tyrone Riley don’t resign from their positions by 6 p.m. Sunday, then he will ask Ohio Attorney General David Yost to begin the process to suspend them.
Under Chapter 3 of the Ohio Revised Code, public officials who are charged with a felony related to official conduct can be suspended from their positions.
While starting the suspension process wouldn’t prevent the four from attending council meetings or voting on legislation, it would at least start the process of their removal faster than any other option the city has, the mayor said.
Council President Matt Cherry on Tuesday adjourned council’s meeting without conducting any business after three of the four attended and refused to leave, and Mayor Kapszukiewicz said in order for council to move forward with passing legislation needed in the city, he took the step of contacting Mr. Yost.
Mr. Cherry said he is in favor of the mayor asking for the attorney general to step in, even if his colleagues' removal would not be immediate. Council business cannot be held up indefinitely, he said, and he'll likely allow next week's voting meeting to proceed.
"If they don’t resign by Sunday, I would love to see them just not attend the meetings because the eight of us want to get the city’s business done with the public’s trust," he said. "We’re going to have to vote on Tuesday."
The four charged councilmen could not be reached for comment on Thursday. Mr. Sykes' lawyer Ronnie Wingate and Ms. Harper's lawyer Jon Richardson also could not be reached for comment.
"It is regrettable that people only give lip service to the principle that people are guilty only after they are shown by the government to be guilty beyond a reasonable doubt," said Rick Kerger, Mr. Johnson's lawyer. "At this point, I believe Mr. Johnson and I will be forced to deal with whatever the attorney general decides to do."
Mr. Riley, himself an attorney, has not yet retained legal representation, though he said during his June 30 court appearance he intended to.
Ray Wood, president of the NAACP Toledo Chapter, has opposed the efforts to remove the four elected officials from their posts before their cases are decided in the courts.
On Thursday, he said he was "disheartened" to hear the mayor "rush to judgment."
"Innocent until proven guilty is an American right." he said. "I’m really disappointed in the mayor and in City Council President Cherry, that [they] would vote against allowing them to have the opportunity for their day in court."
Mr. Wood said his position is not a statement about whether he believes the accused are guilty or innocent. The NAACP has always fought for fairness, equality, and due process, he said, and this stance is part of that.
He said councilmen are elected, not appointed, to their posts, and it should be their decision to resign, not up to other officials to remove them.
If the voters who elected Ms. Harper, Mr. Riley, Mr. Johnson, and Mr. Sykes were to initiate a recall election, that would also be a fair process, Mr. Wood said.
Councilman Cecelia Adams, too, has emphasized that her colleagues are innocent until proven guilty, but she also believes Mr. Kapszukiewicz has the right to pursue their removal.
"It seems that the concern is whether or not their presence impedes or reflects poorly on the entire body since they’re under the weight of the charges," she said. "Because of that, I can see why the mayor would want to try to do whatever he can to make sure that nothing impedes the ability of the city to do its business."
Mr. Yost confirmed Thursday Mr. Kapszukiewicz contacted him about invoking Ohio Revised Code Section 3.16 to suspend the council members.
"I told him that we would be prepared to assist him if he felt that was a direction he wished to go and we'll see what he wants to do," Mr. Yost said.
How the process works is Mr. Kapszukiewicz would ask Mr. Yost to begin suspension proceedings against the four councilmen, which the mayor plans to do on Monday morning for any of the four who haven’t resigned.
Mr. Yost would then send the suspension request to the chief justice of the Ohio Supreme Court, who would convene a commission of three retired judges to decide if the official should be suspended from office.
Public officials can choose to accept a provisional suspension until the commission makes its determination. And even under a suspension, while their criminal cases are pending, they would still be members of council though they would be barred from performing their duties.
If any of the four are suspended, Mr. Kapszukiewicz said the probate judge, in this case Judge Jack Puffenberger, would appoint temporary replacements for them until their criminal cases are resolved.
“That’s how this plays out long-term,” the mayor said.
As a result, any mechanism to permanently replace any of the four councilmen — such as appointments or special elections — would likely not take place until next year, he said.
If suspension proceedings begin, it could be several weeks to a few months before a decision was reached. But he was confident that at the end of the process, any of the four who hadn’t resigned would be suspended.
“I would be incredibly surprised and shocked [if they weren’t],” he said. “This is why the legislature wrote this section of the code.”
Michael Ashford, chairman of the Lucas County Democratic Party, said he believes this is the right move from the city.
Even if the suspension process would take some time, it’s possible that after the July 7 meeting, which was adjourned after three of the four councilmen refused to leave, they might think twice about trying to attend meetings, he said.
“I think it’s the right move,” he said. “It’s the only move we can move forward with.”
First Published July 9, 2020, 7:47 p.m.
