Ohio: Split decision in East Cleveland Recall -- Mayor survives by 28 votes (update -- 19), Council VP loses

After a ton of confusion, East Cleveland Mayor Brandon King survived a recall vote by 28 votes (update -- 19 votes), 1226-1254 on Election Day, though Council Vice President Ernie Smith lost, 534-389.  

The confusion on what will happen started with the decision by the Ohio Supreme Court, which threw out part of a suit filed to stop the recall, but an open question may result in the recall being tossed out regardless. 

The Ohio Supreme Court rejected part of a lawsuit filed by the East Cleveland Law Director Willa Hemmons to stop the upcoming Election Day The decision ruled against a complaint that the petition exceeded the 200 word limit.

However, the court seems to have held that the Clerk of the Council is responsible for certifying a recall petition instead of the board of elections. The clerk seems to have stated that she is deferring to the Hemmons on the matter. 

Notably, previous articles seemed to suggest that Hemmons was acting in a private capacity and being paid by King himself. Haven't seen that point in recent articles. 

Petitioners claim that King used the police to target his Democratic primary opponents in 2021 for towing a van he was using to promote another candidate using loudspeakers. They also claim that he does not actually reside in East Cleveland and that he used city contractors for personal work. Smith was supposedly illegally appointed and missing city property and not reporting income to the IRS.

There were additional complaints against the recall, including that petitioners handed in 322 valid signatures and needed 311. The law requires that signers voted in the last election. Hemmons claims that 43 signers did not, so their signatures should be tossed out. 

King has been mayor since 2016 when the last mayor, Gary Norton, was kicked out in a recall with the council president, Thomas Wheeler.