SHEFFIELD LAKE, Ohio — Weeks after the election, there’s a new battle over a Sheffield Lake city council seat. It comes as the city’s law director raised concerns that a councilman-elect’s criminal history affects his eligibility.
In November, Aden Fogel, a write-in candidate, won the Ward 3 council seat with more than 70% of the vote. He said he was originally compelled to run for office because of what he viewed as a lack of basic amenities in the city.
“We have no post office, we have no bank and we have no pharmacy,” Fogel said.
He told News 5 he was also motivated to represent the citizens opposed to a high-rise apartment complex proposed at the Shoreway Shopping Center.
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Weeks after Fogel’s election win, he said he was shocked to see a letter calling his eligibility into question.
“I looked at it and it was almost unbelievable, just absurd,” he said.
In a letter from Nov. 27, city law director David Graves informed the city council president that Fogel’s previous felony convictions made him ineligible for office, citing the Ohio Constitution and the Ohio Revised Code.
Sheffield Lake Mayor Rocky Radeff said the law director consulted with the board of elections, Lorain County Prosecutor and Ohio Attorney General after complaints made by city residents.
“This wasn’t even an issue until citizens complained to us about believing that he wasn’t able to sit. There were calls over to the board of elections. These are all things that come to us. And once they come to us, the law department has the legal duty to do the research,” explained Sheffield Lake Mayor Rocky Radeff.
The law director’s letter included five felony convictions from four separate cases. Fogel pleaded guilty to two counts of marijuana trafficking in 1996, an attempted tampering with records charge in 2000, and possession of cocaine and drug trafficking charges in 2002. He served prison sentences and paid restitution for all of the convictions.
Fogel said he’s never hidden his criminal history and thinks the law is being misinterpreted. He believes the recommendation for him to vacate his seat comes in retaliation for his opposition to the Shoreway Shopping Center apartment complex, which has been supported by the current administration.
“It’s just a strange dynamic, I guess,” Fogel said. “I know that I’m eligible to hold office, so this is just a little bump in the road. But this was all unnecessary. They created this problem, this issue. There’s a lot of people that are upset in the community, people who voted for me.”
The mayor said the law director and city are compelled to follow the law and dismissed Fogel’s claims of retaliation as untrue.
“It’s never been a personal vendetta by any means,” Radeff said. “Nothing’s personal. Whatever the outcome is, whoever is sitting on that council seat, I’m going to work with them. We’re all here to make the city better and that’s what’s important.”
Fellow councilman-elect Jon Morrow told News 5 he supports Fogel and believes the administration is threatened by both incoming councilmen.
“Myself and Aden have created a huge amount of controversy before we’ve even taken office. And again, this is the old guard trying to push us out,” said Morrow.
In a second letter sent this week, the law director cited several sections of the Ohio Revised Code, saying only a full pardon would allow a convicted felon to hold public office.
The city council would need to vote to vacate Fogel’s seat, but council members don’t plan to discuss the matter until after the new year. Fogel said he would pursue legal action if he is found to be ineligible.
Catherine Ross is the Lorain County reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow her on X @CatherineRossTV, on Facebook CatherineRossTV or email her at Catherine.Ross@wews.com.
