© 2024 Ideastream Public Media

1375 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44115
(216) 916-6100 | (877) 399-3307

WKSU is a public media service licensed to Kent State University and operated by Ideastream Public Media.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
News
To contact us with news tips, story ideas or other related information, e-mail newsstaff@ideastream.org.

County Exec Will Maintain Power to Fire Sheriff Without Consulting Council

Former sheriff Bob Reid, right, ran unsuccessfully for county executive this year after being asked to resign in 2013.
Former sheriff Bob Reid, right, ran unsuccessfully for county executive this year after being asked to resign in 2013.

The measure would have placed a charter amendment before voters in November, asking whether the executive should have to get the council’s approval to fire the sheriff.

Republican councilman Dave Greenspan said the measure would have strengthened the independence of the sheriff’s investigations.

"That position needs to be totally separate and protected from removal in the event that an investigation touches too closely to an executive," he said.

But Democratic Councilman Dale Miller said during the meeting the move would make the relationship between the two offices unclear.

Greenspan said the impetus for his proposal was County Executive Ed FitzGerald’s 2013 firing of sheriff Bob Reid. He said the council received no advance notice and still doesn’t know the reason for the firing.