EAST CLEVELAND, Ohio — There is more tension among leaders in the city of East Cleveland.
East Cleveland Mayor Brandon King is lashing out at critics, including members of city council, after video surfaced appearing to show him drinking alcohol and smoking a cigar in the city's garage.
3News obtained the video on Thursday. You can see a portion of it in the player above.
Critics of King say his actions are a violation of the city's code of conduct in its employee handbook, which was last updated in 2005. The policy says the city of East Cleveland "strictly prohibits" unauthorized use of alcohol on city premises, while conducting city business, in city vehicles, and/or during work hours." The city adds that "smoking and the use of smokeless tobacco products are prohibited in all facilities, vehicles, and all off-site city meetings and programs."
Among the critics of King is East Cleveland City Council President Juanita Gowdy, who spoke to 3News' Neil Fischer on Thursday evening. She believes drinking and smoking on the city property is "unacceptable." Gowdy adds that King needs to be held accountable for his actions with a citation.
In a statement given to 3News, King says because of the workload of his job, he is entitled to enjoy a few moments with a drink and cigar. He notes that his job requires him to be at East Cleveland City Hall six or seven days a week. King also adds that he does tasks that "most mayors in Ohio don't do," including plumbing work at city hall, carpentry, painting, and more.
“So, if I want to wind down a 6- or 7-day work week by having a Guinness Stout (not beer) and smoking a cigar in the garage, after hours, with staff, residents and stake holders and discuss the disfunction of our legislative body or the revitalization opportunities that are before us or international politics, no policy or media outlet is going to stop me," he wrote.
You can read King's entire statement below.
Most notably in the statement, King takes aim at the East Cleveland City Council, calling the body the "most disrespectful, uneducated, unorganized, illogical city council in the history of the city."
Gowdy's response? "This is not normal behavior and it's out of control."
The news about the video of King is just the latest chapter in an ongoing dispute between the mayor and members of East Cleveland City Council. In April, Council unanimously approved (with Ward 4 Councilor Korean Stevenson not voting) dereliction of duty charges against both King and Director of Finance Charles Iyahen. The latest dispute relates to the city's budget, with lawmakers claiming both men "exceeded the authority of their public offices by recklessly creating deficiencies and expending more than Council appropriated for the year 2023."
King and his administration would respond.
In an email to WKYC, East Cleveland Law Director Willa Hemmons not only questioned the legitimacy of at-large Councilor Twon Billings, but also asserted Council Clerk Eric J. Brewer was "not an employee of the City of East Cleveland" and neither was Deputy Clerk Justyn Anderson. She accused Gowdy of "unlawfully providing all three of them ... unfettered access to City files, fobs, computers, equipment and sensitive information."
Hemmons says both Billings and Anderson "have violent criminal histories" making them ineligible to hold office (neither had records in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court), while Brewer is a former Mayor of East Cleveland whom Hemmons says has been making "frivolous complaints" since being told he lacks the authority of being clerk.
King survived a recall attempt last November by a mere 28 votes, with the issue making it on the ballot despite Hemmons claiming it was invalid in the first place.
3News' Tyler Carey contributed to this story.