Council President Blaine Griffin made his case Thursday for censuring Joe Jones over an employee’s complaint that the Ward 1 council member threatened to kill him. But the voters will be Jones’ “ultimate judge,” he said.
“This is about accountability,” Griffin said. “There is no political agenda here. This is about doing the right thing.”
Council could vote on the public reprimand at the body’s next meeting Sept. 15. That is just days after the Sept. 9 primary, where Jones will face several opponents.
Reached Thursday morning, Jones said news of the letter was “shocking” to him. A text message seeking further comment Thursday afternoon has not yet been returned.
On Facebook Thursday afternoon, Jones posted, “I will not let falsehoods and smear tactics distract me from serving Ward 1.”
City Council released a letter Thursday morning detailing an investigation into two new employee complaints about Jones. One employee told Griffin and others that Jones threatened to kill him. Another employee, who had complained about Jones before, said that he sat next to her at a council meeting despite instructions not to contact her.
In an interview with a law firm investigator, Jones denied saying he would kill the worker but said that he may have joked, “I’ll blow you up on your motorcycle,” the letter said. He told the investigator that he didn’t know sitting next to the other employee violated the no-contact instruction, according to the letter.
Griffin received both complaints in May but did not send the letter until this week. At the news conference, he said the report was finished only recently. Jones did not sit for an interview with the investigator until Aug. 11, the letter said.
After a string of complaints about Jones last year, council hired the law firm McDonald Hopkins to investigate. Council released a memo in January saying that Jones likely violated workplace policies.
The council president said he would not release the latest investigation, citing attorney-client privilege and a desire to protect the identities of the complainants. The employees did not sign up to be public figures, he said.
“These are just hardworking people who come here to serve City Council and the City of Cleveland every day,” he said. Griffin called the employees “brave souls” for continuing to work for City Council.
Council members and staff work in small offices connected by narrow hallways. Griffin said that council was “vigilant” in trying to keep Jones away from the employee he had been told not to contact. He even told Jones to stay away from City Hall, he said.
“We wanted to avoid that kind of workplace confrontation,” Griffin said. “That’s part of the reason why it’s a little frustrating, as I said in my letter, because we tried to make sure that we mitigated this situation a long time ago.”
A censure vote was council’s “top option” for disciplining Jones, Griffin said. It has been tried three times in the city’s history and succeeded twice, he said. It takes a simple majority to censure a council member. A two-thirds vote is required for council to expel a member.
Council member questions speed of investigation
Griffin largely faced the media alone on Thursday, while Council Member Rebecca Maurer watched from the side of the committee room. But as the council president wrapped up, Maurer said that she wanted to make a statement.
Although Griffin said council acted “swiftly” to investigate the new complaints about Jones, Maurer disagreed.
“It’s clear that Joe Jones was given an endless set of chances to be a team player, including delaying an interview that would have finalized this report months ago,” she said.
The release of the letter on Thursday, just after council’s August meeting, meant that it would be a month before council met again to vote on a censure, she said.
Griffin stood at the lectern next to Maurer and thanked her, saying all council members were entitled to their opinions.
Joe Jones faces the Ward 1 voters
Four candidates are challenging Jones, including state Rep. Juanita Brent, who is also a leader in the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party. Jones won the party’s endorsement. [UPDATE: On Aug. 15, the Cuyahoga Democratic Party Chair David Brock announced the party was going to reconsider its endorsement in the Ward 1 race. A new vote will be taken on Aug. 23. Jones could have to get 60% of the votes to keep the endorsement. If another candidate in the race gets 60% of the votes, they will have the party’s endorsement. See the full statement below.]
Griffin said he is not currently endorsing any of Jones’ opponents.
“At this time, Ward 1 is going to be up for grabs,” he said. “We’ll see what happens.”