EAST CLEVELAND, Ohio — East Cleveland Mayor Brandon L. King narrowly retained office by just 19 votes during a recall election in 2022.
City residents once again got the chance to remove him on Tuesday, but this time, the results weren't nearly as close.
In the second recall attempt in as many years, voters overwhelmingly chose to keep King in his position, as more than 70% of the 1,058 official ballots cast were for the "no" side. It marks the decisive end of yet another ugly chapter that has seen both the mayor and City Council at each other's throats in the embattled community.
The recall effort came months after 3News obtained video that appeared to show King drinking and smoking on city property. As 3News previously reported, Council President Juanita Gowdy called the mayor's behavior "out of control," while King defended his desire to relax on the job and blasted the legislative body as the "most disrespectful, uneducated, unorganized, illogical city council in the history of the city."
At a September City Council meeting, residents and councilors debated everything from the proposed restoration of Forest Hill Park to the mayor's status and whether or not he is even eligible to hold the position. A defiant Gowdy declared, "I didn't vote for him. He is not my mayor." King was given very little time for rebuttal.
Later that month, some of King's critics announced their latest recall effort after gaining enough signatures from city residents. They accuse the mayor of multiple things, which include:
- Creating a $60 million budget deficit
- Allowing the police department to become "a criminal enterprise"
- Eliminating city services like grass mowing and park maintenance
- Towing more than 5,000 cars for profit
- Sexually harassing his former secretary
"If Council asks for finance information council needs to have the finance information," Councilor Patricia Blochowiack told WKYC Tuesday before the votes were counted. "He’s just not appropriately dealing with any of those issues."
"What can he point to that shows he's up for the job? And he's not pointing to anything," voter William Fambrough added in support of Blochowiack's position. "I’m hoping the recall is successful and give East Cleveland a chance to come out of the condition that it’s been in."
Still, others expressed frustration at yet another recall election, and urged both the mayor and legislators to work together to solve the city's problems.
"This situation here is very uncalled for. It's very unfortunate," voter Dale Atison said after voting against the recall Tuesday. "We got a good mayor. He made a lot of progress in his tenure."
"You cannot make 100% of the people happy," Walter Melton Sr., who also opposed the recall, noted. "Everything that’s going on right now is hurting the city. Do they care about the people? Do they care? Keep on doing recalls costing taxpayer money. Taxpayer’s money. The city’s already in poverty. Why [do] you all keep doing this?"
Even Fambrough, who wanted King to lose his job, wanted more people to focus on "the real issues in East Cleveland."
King, the former vice president of City Council, became mayor in 2016 following the successful recalls of then Mayor Gary Norton and Council President Thomas Wheeler. The Democrat was subsequently elected to two full terms in his own right, most recently in 2021.
If King had been removed from office, Gowdy would have replaced him as mayor with a special election to be held later. However, even that situation came with questions, as Gowdy lost her Ward 2 Council seat in November to former Councilor Timothy R. Austin.
Austin spoke to 3News during Tuesday's election. He acknowledged valid concerns surrounding King but disagreed with the recall. He described this moment as a "critical and pivotal point" in the city's history.
"While I don't condone everything that's transpired, I do condone a stable government," Austin said. "Stability is what we need in our government, and right now, Brandon King brings the best stability in our government."
3News has reached out to King for comment but has not heard back. Council will elect a new president come January once Austin and Terrie Richardson (who defeated Korean Stevenson in Ward 4) take office.
According to the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, just over 10% of East Cleveland's roughly 10,000 eligible voters turned out for the recall race.
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