BEACHWOOD, Ohio — It was a tense night of emotions and drama in Beachwood on Wednesday as city council took a vote to fire Mayor Martin Horwitz, who faced multiple allegations of harassment in the workplace and inappropriate comments.
The mayor had a lot of support in the jam-packed room during the special city council meeting. People voiced their concerns that his actions didn’t justify removal from office. Lawyers from Baker-Hostetler presented a summary of findings of the investigation into Mayor Horwitz and revealed some of the statements under investigation.
Horwitz said to a visibly pregnant city employee, "you’ve really let yourself go.” He also allegedly asked 'whether the pornography on his computer was a public record that could be searched.'
Lawyers say of the 24 allegations, 14 were found to be substantiated or highly credible, while 10 weren’t substantiated at all.
Mayor Horowitz then apologized to the public, saying in part: “To the city employees who found my words offensive in anyway, I am deeply sorry. I did not intend this and I apologize for hurting you or causing you embarrassment. I take full responsibility for my words and my actions."
More than a dozen people spoke in support of the mayor while others criticized the Beachwood City Council for spending upwards of $30,000 on the investigation.
“It is despicable in my mind that you couldn’t have worked with the Mayor and work among yourselves to find a solution that is appropriate,” says one local woman.
City Councilwoman June Taylor says they had no other choice but to use outside help to investigate the allegations.
“I think that internally, we don’t have a robust enough human resource department so that our employees feel empowered enough to report to a generalist,” says Taylor.
In the end, there was a unanimous decision allow the mayor keep his job. A decision he doesn’t take lightly or think will impact his relationship with city council members moving forward.
“This was difficult for them, this was difficult for me, but at the end of the day, we are friends. And every one of them is here to do a good job for the residents and that’s all we care about,” says Mayor Horwitz.
Horwitz says he plans to work with human resources to take classes on harassment and hostile workplace training.