The day after a jury convicted Mayor Brandon King of theft in office, East Cleveland moved to cut off his paycheck. Sandra Morgan, who was appointed interim mayor during King’s suspension, told the finance director in an email to stop paying King.
“He is effectively no longer Mayor of East Cleveland, and as such, is no longer entitled to salary payments,” Morgan wrote. “He is officially separated from employment at the City of East Cleveland.”
That email is now evidence in the court battle over who succeeds King. Lateek Shabazz, the council president, said he is now the mayor. His attorney argued that Morgan’s email supports his case.
Shabazz’s argument is this: If King is no longer a city employee, then East Cleveland’s charter dictates that the council president is next in the line of succession. The principle of home rule should take precedence over the state law that triggered King’s suspension and Morgan’s appointment, Shabazz’s lawyer wrote.
Morgan contended that she is still the interim mayor. She pointed to Probate Judge Anthony Russo’s order appointing her. The order said Morgan will serve as mayor until King is reinstated by an appeal, until he is acquitted, until the charges are dropped or until a new mayor is elected. Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley has taken Morgan’s side in the court fight.
Meanwhile, Morgan has switched up her legal team. Initially, Assistant Law Director Heather McCollough represented her. But this week, two attorneys from Akron-based law firm Roetzel & Andress told the court that they had taken on Morgan’s case.
(Shabazz, writing on letterhead identifying himself as the mayor of East Cleveland, released a memo in early June telling McCullough that she was fired.)
Ohio’s Eighth District Court of Appeals has yet to rule on who rightfully should get the keys to East Cleveland City Hall. The court won’t have the last word, however. This is a mayoral election year in East Cleveland. Both Shabazz and Morgan have made the ballot.
