CLEVELAND — A group of community activists has launched an effort to recall Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb.
Members of The Accountable Cleveland Era said Bibb should be held accountable for his "extravagant" spending on travel and his security detail, problematic hires, and a lack of transparency, among other issues.
"It's time for us to rise up. It's time to revolutionize the city, the way things are going in our government," said Juan Collado Diaz, a community activist.
He and another community activist, Darrell Houston, said the mayor is fundamentally disconnected from the community he was elected to serve, during an exclusive interview with News 5 Investigator Sarah Buduson Thursday afternoon.
"Sometimes, it's okay to say, 'We're done,' and we're just going to act." Collado Diaz said about the decision to start a recall petition.
Collado Diaz and Houston launched the process Thursday afternoon when they submitted a notarized affidavit to Cleveland's Clerk of Council.
According to the city charter, the clerk will then print out and provide petitions to the activists. After they receive the petitions from the clerk, The Accountable Cleveland Era will then have 30 days to gather signatures from at least 20% of the voters who cast a ballot during last fall's general election. If the group gathers the required number of signatures, the city council is required to schedule a special election between 40 and 60 days after the recall petition is presented to council.
Among the activists' key concerns: how much Bibb spends on travel and his security detail.
For example, records News 5 Investigators obtained show Bibb spent at $50,825.62 on a networking trip to Martha's Vineyard last summer for lodging, airfare, and a vehicle rental for him and two members of his security detail.
"Like nobody in their right mind should literally take that trip and, again, he's the mayor of Cleveland. He's not Zohran Mamdani in New York," Collado Diaz said.
The costs included over $4,000 to rent a luxury SUV and a "King Room with Ocean View" at Harbor View Hotel.
"Those are the behaviors of someone who is not ready to be in a political office," Collado Diaz said. "Those are the behaviors of someone who is just being a playboy, Bruce Wayne-style individual."
Among several other issues, the activists are also concerned about Bibb's spending on office renovations, his failure to provide public records to the Community Police Commission, and a story News 5 Investigators broke in 2024.
We found Bibb hired his college roommate as a public safety adviser, despite the fact that Phillip McHugh was accused of violating an elderly black couple's civil rights.
"It sends a deep message to me that he's very disconnected from what the city is experiencing," Houston said.
News 5 reached out to Bibb for a response Wednesday.
When News 5 Investigator Sarah Buduson went to his office Wednesday afternoon, no one would do an interview with her, and no one returned her calls.
The mayor's spokesperson, Tyler Sinclair, sent the following statement about our request for an interview with Law Director Mark Griffin about the recall process:
"The recall process is clearly outlined in the city charter, which is available online. You can learn all about it there."
Collado Diaz wasn't surprised by the city's response.
"Our mayor is behaving like a king," he said. "He has the luxury and the life of a king."
