BARBERTON, Ohio — William Judge was first elected Barberton's mayor in 2011. As Judge is now in his fourth term, residents and business owners wonder if Judge will remain in office or be forced out.
Justin Guyton owns Rubber City Bargains.
"We all want to know what's going on because if he did something to call for his removal, the public needs to know that."
Last week, Barberton City Council voted 6 to 2 to consider removing the mayor.
This week, Council President Shorter Griffin said it stems from "the mayor's role as a supervisor of employees and an alleged pattern of conduct" but offered no specifics.
"Beyond that, I simply cannot go into any more detail," Griffin said.
The lack of transparency about the investigation is the talk of the town. Lisa Devenport is a Barberton native and the president of Barberton Tree Service.
"The secrecy surrounding it, I'm sure, I think we're almost at the end, it's gonna obviously come to light, makes me frustrated to see our community in turmoil."
Council did reveal that former Assistant U.S. Attorney Marlon Primes did an independent investigation and produced a 24-page report, but that has not been released yet.
Barberton's charter says the mayor must be notified of any charges against him "at least 15 days in advance of the public hearing."
In a statement to News 5 last week, Judge said he has not received the charges required by Charter upon which the action to remove an elected official is to be based.
"I welcome the opportunity to respond to any concern of council and any asserted ground for my removal from office," Judge said.
Barberton isn't the only Northeast Ohio community to have had issues in the mayor's office. On Wednesday morning, News 5 learned that North Royalton Mayor Larry Antoskiewicz will be retiring early due to health issues. Some residents had been calling for the mayor's removal because of the recent termination of a North Royalton police officer who arrested the then-Orange Village deputy police chief.
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RELATED: North Royalton Mayor retires, citing health issues, after residents begin petitioning for recall
Bob Jones is the Summit, Stark and Tuscarawas counties reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow him on X @BobjonesTV, or email him at BJones@wews.com.
