Who Needs The Law Anyway?

[Mark Kindt]

Is There Some Reason Our City Can't Conduct Its Activities Consistent With Ohio And Federal Law

Just how many paragraphs and pleadings do local lawyers have to write to move the city administration in the direction of complying with the law. Here's the latest in a long line of LO articles and posts on this seemingly endless topic.

Don't Lakewood Government Officials Have A Duty To Follow The Law?
by Edward Graham

On April 22, 2018 Lakewood City Council members Anderson, Bullock, Litton, O’Leary, and O’Malley voted to pass Lakewood Ordinance Number 27-18. That ordinance, among other things, authorized Mayor Summers to execute a development agreement with Carnegie Management And Development Corporation. That agreement provides for the City to sell to Carnegie Management And Development Corporation TWENTY EIGHT (28) parcels of land owned by the City for ONE DOLLAR!! That’s right. You didn’t misread. FOR ONE DOLLAR!!!!!!! Such a deal.

Council members Anderson, Bullock, Litton, O’Leary, O’Malley and Mayor Summers chose to ignore the law in Ohio that when a city is going to sell real estate, the city is required to advertise the sale for FIVE (5) WEEKS. Lakewood government officials DID NOT advertise the sale of those valuable 28 parcels for even one week.

That same state law requires that any sale of real estate by a city be only with the HIGHEST BIDDER. There has been no advertisement. Therefore, there was no bidding. Once again, those City officials have demonstrated their preference for rigged deals, like their giveaway of our valuable hospital, rather than following state law.

Another company of George Papandreas, the agent for Carnegie Management And Development Corporation, had to be sued by the City of Beachwood to recover over $80,000.00 income tax money owed to that city. Is he a close buddy with Mayor Summers? Apparently Lakewood City Officials have no concern that Carnegie Management And Development Corporation might fail to pay income tax to Lakewood? What could Lakewood expect illegally giving away City property to that company?

The mayor and council members got away with the rigged hospital deal that cost citizens many millions of dollars by using clandestine meetings away from the public view and continuous lying to the public. Apparently feeling invincible after getting away with their rigged hospital deal, City officials now seem to feel safe enough to simply disregard the bidding laws of our state.

Steering deals to insiders without following bidding laws has got to stop if Lakewood is going to survive as a desirable place to live.

Edward Graham is a former Member Lakewood City Council.

Edward Graham Attorney - March 6 2019 - Lakewood Observer Page 2.jpg (398.05 KiB) Viewed 3673 times

[Nadhal Eadeh]

Mark,

Thank you for sharing. The democrats who voted for this deal as spelled out by Mr. Graham were duped. I was unaware that the property, a former public asset, had to be advertised for 5 weeks prior to a sale.

One would think that perhaps you would ask for an ethics opinion since the former mayor became a consultant for the Carnegie group?

I’m still not sure why no member of council has called for an investigation by either the Cuyahoga County Prosecuter, Ohio Attorney General or the Department of Justice.

Nadhal

[Bill Call]

Brent Larkin written yet another editorial explaining that all of our problems are caused by independent city government. The real problem is not independent government but corrupt government.

There was a lot written about the corruption at the Sochi Olympics in Russia. Tens of billions of dollars of investment was just thrown away. In some article I can no longer find an economist explained that the construction projects at Sochi were intended to be corrupt. The purpose of the corruption was to transfer money from the public to Putin's cronies. The purpose of the destruction of Lakewood Hospital was to transfer money to Mayor Summers cronies.

Maybe one reason Cuyahoga County is in such a serious state of decline is because no one in government is willing to speak out against that corruption.

The Plain Dealer has published yet another article about the failure of local government to respond to a public records request:

https://www.cleveland.com/metro/2018/03 ... nsure.html

They did not publish even one article about Mayor Summers failure to obey those laws.

[Mark Kindt]

Brent Larkin written yet another editorial explaining that all of our problems are caused by independent city government. The real problem is not independent government but corrupt government.

There was a lot written about the corruption at the Sochi Olympics in Russia. Tens of billions of dollars of investment was just thrown away. In some article I can no longer find an economist explained that the construction projects at Sochi were intended to be corrupt. The purpose of the corruption was to transfer money from the public to Putin's cronies. The purpose of the destruction of Lakewood Hospital was to transfer money to Mayor Summers cronies.

Maybe one reason Cuyahoga County is in such a serious state of decline is because no one in government is willing to speak out against that corruption.

The Plain Dealer has published yet another article about the failure of local government to respond to a public records request:

https://www.cleveland.com/metro/2018/03 ... nsure.html

They did not publish even one article about Mayor Summers failure to obey those laws.

Again, Mr. Call hits the nail right on the head. I've been an Ohio lawyer for 40 years and I have a national practice in environmental law. I have never ever seen anything like what went down in Lakewood over recent years. It's a travesty wrapped in a debacle.

Nor can I fathom why the Plain Dealer is opposing the investigation of corruption in Cuyahoga County.

One reason that Democrats can''t win state office in Ohio is attributable to the fact that Cuyahoga County is a such mess.

While I disagree with Mr. Call's comparison to Russia, I would agree that the one party nature of Cuyahoga County has exacerbated its problems.

[Stan Austin]

The facts are out there. A potential crime has been committed. What are the mechanics from here and from whom is an action required?

[Bill Call]

Nor can I fathom why the Plain Dealer is opposing the investigation of corruption in Cuyahoga County.

The Plain Dealer announced its opposition to the investigation in a page one editorial on its forum page that continued to the second page. The whole argument amounted to implying that the investigation should be stopped because they might find something.

Can anyone remember anytime that the PD asked that an investigation should be stopped.

Poor Jimmy Dimora. I suspect that his real crime was that he was in the way of our new form of County government.

[Bridget Conant]

The Pee Dee has been complicit in the culture of corruption in Cuyahoga County.

They choose what they report on and what gets hushed up. I’d hardly consider them “journalists,” though I think they pretty much admitted that over the last few years of cutting any reporter that wasn’t a free-lancer willing to accept peanuts for a story.

Sadly, we cannot rely on anyone to put a check on this out of control corruption and back door dealing that permeate the county and our own city.

Get out and vote. Though it seems futile at times, it’s so important to vote these scoundrels out.