CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio — The Cleveland Heights City Council is losing confidence in the mayor's ability to run the city.
Accusations regarding Mayor Kahlil Seren and his wife
Mayor Kahlil Seren has been under a microscope for the last couple of months.
One of the more recent instances of Seren's character being questioned started on May 14.
RELATED: Cleveland Heights mayor’s wife accused of antisemitic remarks in civil rights complaint
The complaint accuses Seren's wife, Natalie McDaniel, of using anti-Semitic language when discussing city employees.
Alleged text messages from McDaniel to Seren, and former Special Assistant to the Mayor, Patrick Costigan, are included in the complaint.
Costigan is ethnically Jewish through his mother.
It reveals McDaniel describing Cleveland Heights Planning Commission Chair Jessica Cohen, who is Jewish, as a "broodmare."
Additionally, McDaniel's texts attached to the complaint allegedly claim Cohen is on the Planning Commission simply to benefit Orthodox Jewish residents.
"She (Jessica Cohen) is destined for a glue factory and the days drag on," McDaniel's texts read to Seren and Costigan.
The complaint also claims McDaniel made religiously charged comments regarding a current councilmember, a resident who spoke during public comment, calling her "that Jewish b***h," and former city employees.
RELATED: Cleveland Heights Mayor finally responds to allegations of his wife making anti-Jewish remarks
Seren said in a 15-minute video posted to social media that the accusations of antisemitism are false.
Following that, city council held a special meeting on May 23 in which the mayor's whereabouts that week were questioned.
Seren told News 5 then, "There’s a sense among the majority of this council that they’re the supervisors of the administration and of me. And it’s been that way since the onset. It is regrettable. It’s caused a great deal of problem throughout the city."
He added he plans to continue working on behalf of the city.
RELATED: Cleveland Hts. Mayor vows to continue working despite calls to resign over civil rights complaint
As calls for resignation continue, so do stories further calling Seren's actions into question, according to city council.
As first reported by Cleveland.com, the news outlet has requested body camera footage showing a December 2024 disturbance inside City Hall that reportedly included the mayor and his wife.
Cleveland.com received surveillance video that does not include audio, but has not received the body camera footage, per its latest publication.
The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office told me that since then, the City of Cleveland Heights has inquired whether it can press charges against the officer who recorded the incident on his body camera.
The Cleveland Heights Prosecutor’s Office informally consulted our office regarding a body camera video recorded by a Cleveland Heights Officer while on duty during an incident that occurred at Cleveland Heights City Hall. The question was posed to us whether our office felt felony charges were appropriate pertaining to the Cleveland Heights Officer’s conduct. The video was never provided to us. However, based on the facts articulated to us, we felt no criminal conduct occurred.
The informal consultation regarding criminal charges occurred on March 27, and specifically, it was an incident that occurred at Cleveland Heights City Hall regarding an officer’s body camera recording and the mayor’s wife.
The prosecutor's office has not had any further contact with the city regarding that matter since the informal inquiry, according to Bauer.
An Assistant Law Director for the city told council that at no point did the law department seek to file charges against the officer.
Councilmembers now want to know who made the inquiry into filing charges and plan to discuss it during the executive session on Monday.
Another instance of concern, as first reported by Cleveland.com, includes surveillance footage from inside City Hall that shows Seren accessing the law department.
Previously, during an April 2 Cleveland Heights City Council of the Whole meeting, Seren said, "My key card does not open those areas for one. That would include the detective bureau, the police department on the lower level. That would include the courts... and the law department."
Surveillance video does not appear to show whether Seren gained access to the law department via his key card or someone else's.
When Seren's previous comment on key card access was brought up during Tuesday's meeting by Councilmember Craig Cobb, the mayor said, "I can see that you're upset by this."
Seren said his comment was taken out of context.
'Loss of Confidence' Resolution
This week's meeting was very fiery as council discussed their worries with the mayor's continued leadership.
"We are just being fed a whole bunch of untruths. How can we possibly do our job if we are not being told the truth?" Councilman Jim Posch said. "I'm very, very concerned about how the city is run. I feel like many others: he should resign."
City council does not have the authority to remove the mayor from his position.
Instead, councilmember Jim Petras introduced the possibility of a 'Loss of Confidence' Resolution.
It currently contains vague language, which other council members suggested should have specific instances of the mayor's worrisome leadership.
"It was a tough meeting. I don't think any of us really wanted it to come to this, but with the number of stories recently coming out, I felt that it was important for us to stand up and express our loss of confidence in the mayor," Petras explained.
Petras told me not only did he bring this Resolution forward on behalf of other councilpeople, but also his constituents, who constantly reach out with concerns for the future.
The Resolution will likely be heard at the next Council meeting on Monday, June 2.
In addition to that, council is looking to restrict mayoral financial power, key card access, and strengthen whistleblower protections.
"Sounds like at least in the case of the key card access legislation, that may be ready for first reading at the [June] second (meeting) and then we'll have to see about the others. It sounds like some of those legislative ideas may be sent to committees for further discussion," Petras said.
At the end of Tuesday's meeting, Cleveland Heights City Council President Tony Cuda said he wants to draft a Resolution in support of the city's staff. Those council members in attendance support the move.
