CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio — Cleveland Heights Mayor Kahlil Seren is on the chopping block, and his attempt at stopping his potential removal from office was thwarted this week.
It's no secret that at least 4,425 people want Seren to step down as mayor.
RELATED: Petition to remove Cleveland Heights' first-ever mayor turned in for validation
The Cuyahoga County Board of Elections validated the recall petition on June 25.
It was returned to the City of Cleveland Heights, and passed by council members in July.
The recall comes as Seren has been under the microscope of scrutiny for months, stemming from a civil rights complaint regarding his wife, a discrimination lawsuit, a delayed budget 2025 budget process and high staff turnover.
There was also concern on Tuesday from a Cleveland Heights city employee about Seren not showing up to the Board of Control meeting.
That employee told me there were at least two cases to be discussed during Tuesday's meeting, but because there wasn't quorum, the meeting didn't happen.
Seren attempted to veto the recall this past Friday, which, in a newly released legal opinion, is null and void.
"I felt angry," recall organizer, Josie Moore, told me on Tuesday. "I thought it was really disrespectful to all of the Cleveland Heights residents who wanted to have a say in what happens with our highest office."
The city's Law Director, William Hanna, said the first issue with the veto is that it was not timely because it was submitted after the deadline.
In a statement from Cleveland Heights City Council President Tony Cuda, he said, "There are more than 4,400 residents/signatories who followed the process laid out very plainly in our city charter. I assume the residents in favor of recalling the mayor... will make their case for recalling the mayor. I assume the mayor will make his case against the recall. But the mayor should not be attempting to do anything that subverts the city charter or the democratic process."
According to the legal opinion, the veto deadline was July 17, but Seren submitted it just after midnight on July 18.
"For that reason alone, it is invalid," Hanna wrote. "But it would fail under Ohio law and the City Charter even if it had been timely."
Hanna said the mayor's veto power does not extend to ministerial or administrative acts of City Council, which the recall is an administrative act.
The distinction between legislative or administrative acts is essential to determining whether a mayor has veto authority. A mayor does not have the authority to veto a ministerial or administrative act of a city council unless explicitly granted such power to veto administrative acts specifically by the city charter or applicable law.
Legislative acts involve enacting new laws, ordinances, or regulations, while administrative acts involve executing or administering existing laws or regulations.
The legal opinion also notes that a recall on the motion of the electors, who are the "ultimate source of power in a republic," stems... from basic constitutional principles, which blocking it would go against that very notion.
"It seems common sense that an elected official cannot veto their own recall, so I was happy to see that confirmed," Moore said. "I trust elected officials who follow the laws and respect the governing documents of the governments that they're responsible for. I also trust leaders who know when to ask for advice from their staff, particularly legal advice. The fact that he did this without asking the law director first about whether it was possible, I found that to be really concerning. It was a disregard for the role of the law department in our city to help the mayor make decisions judiciously and responsibly."
On Monday, I asked Seren's Director of Communications, Frances Collazo, for an interview with him to discuss his veto effort.
"I'll get back to you shortly," Collazo texted me.
But when I followed up with her, she read my text message and didn't respond.
Come Tuesday afternoon, and a statement from the mayor popped up in my inbox.
"Invoking false narratives to stir tension and push an unnecessary recall is a far greater subversion of democracy than any lawful administrative action I’ve taken to preserve continuity in government,” Seren said. “My veto was not an attempt to override the Charter—it was a responsible use of executive authority aimed at protecting the integrity of our city’s transition process and ensuring that Cleveland Heights residents are not left without stable leadership during a critical period."
Which "false narratives" are being pushed was not specified in his statement.
"Here's the thing about cultivating false narratives—it's easiest to do when you depend on the imagination of the people you're talking to and so avoiding specificity is a great way to cultivate false narratives," Moore said. "I don't know what false narratives he's talking about. He hasn't provided that level of specificity, but I know the facts that were on the petition and the facts that we continue to repeat over and over again."
Seren also said the recall causes concern over the future operational and fiscal health of the city.
“A recall at this moment—during the budget cycle, with major infrastructure projects underway and departmental restructuring in progress—would threaten the stability we’ve been working hard to build,” he said. “It’s my duty to protect both the process and the people of this city from politically motivated disruptions that could jeopardize long-term planning, financial stewardship, and public trust.”
When we asked Moore for her thoughts on his claim that a recall would negatively impact the budgetary process, she said she's not buying it.
"If past behavior is an indicator of future behavior, we can look at last year's budget, and I think that this year's budget would be better without him," Moore said. "I also think that his claims about continuity are very interesting. When we're talking about continuity, we're talking about continuity of services, continuity of the leadership team and continuity of operations that is the direct result of having stability and when it comes to the people who are at City Hall and that's the kind of continuity that is really important to just our everyday lived experience here in Cleveland Heights."
The recall took effect on July 17.
It will be on the Sept. 9 ballot.
