By Joe Baur
Oh, politics in Cleveland. It’s like beating yourself in the shin with a hammer, except not quite as pleasant.
There’s a petition circulating the interwebs asking Cleveland City Council President Martin Sweeney to step down. The petition, authored by RustWire.com’s Angie Schmitt, comes following a James McCarty Plain Dealer article noting that Councilman Sweeney’s name came up in a recent FBI wiretap. The wiretap was revealed in the ongoing sentencing of shady contractor Michael Forlani, who has pleaded guilty to corruption-related charges for bribing public officials.
Guess who he bribed. Go on, take a guess. Chances are you know the guy if you’ve paid even remote attention to Cleveland political/criminal (one in the same these days) news over the past five years.
Ding! Ding! Ding! Jimmy Dimora, the former Cuyahoga County Commissioner with a 28-year prison sentence for racketeering, and 32 other bribery and corruption-related crimes. In layman’s words, he’s a terrible person.
The wiretap from 2008 catches Forlani discussing a $20,000 donation to Councilman Sweeney’s leadership campaign fund with developer John Ferchill. In the conversation, Forlani bluntly states, “Money cures a lot of evils.” Asked today about the comment, and corrupt contractor says he was simply “blowing smoke.” The explanation should draw a city-wide eye roll.
As McCarty notes, this is at least the third time Sweeney’s name has come up in court proceedings or filings. Because of these suspicious entanglements, Schmitt asks Sweeney to step down until the public can be reassured he has not and is not using his “position of public trust in commission of a crime.”
“If information arose from a respectable source that raised suspicion a local police officer was accepting bribes, this community would rightly insist that that officer be pulled off the street until an investigation took place and his name was cleared,” Schmitt points out in the petition, asking, “Why do Clevelanders not insist on the same standard for that man’s boss’ boss’ boss, a City Councilman?”
She’s right. Although we rightly practice the beautiful methodology of “innocent until proven guilty” in this country, public positions come with additional scrutiny that should be recognized by those who hold office. Because of the negative connotations that continue to plague Cleveland city government, Sweeney should take it upon himself to step down, and ensure the public that the days of Dimora corruption are over. His continued silence on the corruption suspicion and stranglehold over City Council (unit rule, anyone?) sends a depressing signal to Cleveland voters.
Besides, Sweeney can step down rest assured that Council is completely capable of making terrible decisions without his help.
Joe Baur is a freelance writer, filmmaker and satirist with a diverse array of interests including travel, adventure, craft beer, health, urban issues, culture and politics. He ranks his allegiances in the order of Cleveland, the state of Ohio and the Rust Belt, and enjoys a fried egg on a variety of meats. Joe has a B.A. in Mass Communication with a focus on production from Miami University. Follow him at MildlyRelevant.com and on Twitter @MildlyRelevant.
One Response to “City Council President Martin Sweeney Should Step Down”
bob
City runs out of people,$,sympathy,other…Columbus takeover? EVENTUALLY when ENOUGH gone,leveled,or controllable enough..hey…whoever has the best paperwork,bullets wins…BE thankful…INTERESTS got wha wanted..or think got or CAN get n END of whutever…SAVED wha THEY have,HAD DOWNTOWN… BIGGER question..HOW viable is rest of it..short of Univ.Circle..I SEE THIS wiggedout whack em down efforts,spruce up rest and life goes on…LETS see WHA kind of peace deal can cut w/parking lot interests…check my floggerblogger comments w/new fellow w/rushbeltchic boomerang article w/pic of BarneyFife…expat out Odyessy vs.Stuck in Mud…