UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio — In University Heights, debate and controversy are swirling surrounding a now-deleted Facebook post by Mayor Michael Dylan Brennan.
Following the Nov. 5 election, Brennan posted the below on his professional Facebook page, taking aim at two "MAGA council members,' who he says work "lock step" in opposing him and causing "dysfunction."
Vice Mayor Michelle Weiss, one of two councilmembers referenced in the post, says she initially didn’t see the post because Brennan blocked her on the app. However, when she did see it, she was shocked.
“I don’t think that it was the intent of the Mayor to call out certain religious denominations, the Catholic and the Jewish community, which live specifically in those precincts, but the impact was fast, and it was wide, and many, many people were hurt,” said Weiss.
Weiss says those religious communities are now feeling disenfranchised and disconnected, while some also fear for their personal safety.
“The mayor is the safety director, and they feel unsafe if the head of a city can call out certain precincts and say, ‘Hey, you're wrong, I'm right.’ What does that mean when it comes to public safety?” said Weiss.
Monday evening, community members packed in to attend the University Heights City Council meeting. There, the council censured Brennan, condemning the sentiments he posted online.
In an interview with 3News Tuesday, Brennan tells us he did not target Jewish or Catholic groups, he spoke to those who voted for Donald Trump, and he believes it’s well within his right to express his convictions.
“We have some spin by a couple of members of our council who are acting as if this is a widely held position, when it's a small group of vocal people who have said that they are offended,” said Brennan.
When asked if he believes Trump voters should feel ashamed, he replied, “I think it was a shameful thing. Whether they were ashamed or not is up to them.”
Brennan acknowledges the growing rift between him and city council.
“What we have here is push pull between the people that are actually doing the work and the people that are get in the way of the work, and the people that are getting in the way of the work, you know, the community needs to find better people to be on our city council,” said Brennan.
Below are the full comments Brennan prepared and delivered at Monday’s meeting:
"As it is not, or at least should not be, city business, before today I did not intend to bring up the election of November 5, 2024 or comments made publicly in its aftermath. But as the council has chosen to make this a matter of public business on tonight’s agenda, I will address it here.
"As mayor, indeed, as a citizen of this city and community, I have opinions on matters of public interest. As a community leader, I share those opinions. Sometimes I share those opinions with eloquence, and sometimes I fail to do so. Which is why I took down some comments that were unclear and therefore misunderstood. The outcome of the November 5th election is disappointing, but I take heart that results locally uphold democratic values by better than a 2 to 1 margin.
"As someone who stands for:
"The rights of women, including their right to bodily autonomy;
"The rights of the LGBTQIA+ community – including the T for trans people;
"The rights of people of color and Black Americans especially -- including through the continued support of the City’s Juneteenth celebration, which has been opposed by three members of this council repeatedly, and without apology or censure for their racist or racially tinged comments.
"I stand for and support the religious and the non religious. And I support the freedom of all to live and let live.
"Most of all, I support the rule of law and equal justice under the law.
"None of these things are or should be radical. All of these things are under threat at all levels of government including this one.
"I have a duty to stand up for what is right. As mayor, I did not check at the city hall door my opinions or my right to express them. Quite the contrary. I have an obligation to speak out and speak up in support of democracy when it is under attack.
"And members of this council. They are free to engage in using their freedom of speech to criticize me for using mine. They are free to use their political speech to stir people up, and to launch their next campaign – as clearly some are doing here this evening.
"But what the council does not have the right to do is misstate and fabricate the record with their proposed resolution. I have not violated my oath of office. There is no evidence that I have, and they cannot prove that I have, for I have not. Mere political disagreement is not a violation of my oath of office. To say that it is, is false. And the council has a legal obligation to ensure that what they put in their resolution is neither false nor in reckless disregard of what is false.
"Likewise, the council cannot cut the mayor’s pay because they disagree with him. At least not now. But with proposed ordinance 2024-82 on the agenda tonight, if that were to pass, beginning in 2026, the council can do exactly that. Mayors they agree with can make $100,000/year. Mayors they do not agree with may have the safety director position taken away from them and then make just $50,000 – down from the current salary of $75,500 and $1. That is an abuse of power that the community should not tolerate, regardless of who the next mayor is. If this law were in effect now, I do not doubt members of this council, in retribution, would be moving to cut my pay in half tonight.
"If the law would have been in effect several years ago, I am certain that council members would have moved to cut the pay in half for Mayor Infeld in her last term or Mayor Rothschild in her last term. And in a parallel universe, since this council never gets along with any mayor, I’m sure some council members would have already turned on a Mayor Blankfeld, or a Mayor Atkin, or a Mayor Simmons.
"That said, I continue to do the work for the benefit of ALL – ALL of the people of University Heights, Tonight we will consider and hopefully approve the proposed ALDI grocery store. I have been working on bringing ALDI to the City since the day after the proposed Chick Fil-A failed this council by a 7-0 vote. My administration’s record of accomplishment will continue to speak for itself and for the benefit of ALL in the community."
Sheri Sax, the other Councilmember explicitly called out by Brennan, shared with us this statement in direct response to Brennan’s posting: