Cleveland Heights could have a new mayor as early as September.
City Council put forward a recall vote for the embattled mayor at Monday's council meeting.
Mayor Kahlil Seren was targeted for recall after a former assistant filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Ohio Civil Rights Commission, claiming both Seren and his wife, Natalie McDaniel, created a hostile work environment at city hall. The complaint accuses McDaniel of making antisemitic and homophobic comments while acting as a de facto representative of the mayor.
“I worry that the people on our council and the people in the community are so interested in what really has become almost a rabid personal witch hunt,” Seren said a few hours before Monday’s council meeting. “That they are not paying attention to the fact that this kind of disruption can have serious impact on a fledgling organization.”
Council was required by the city charter to put forward the recall ballot measure after verification of nearly 4,000 petition signatures.
“Every day there’s some new story coming out disparaging our city,” Councilmember Jim Posch said. “Our employees are scared. Morale is at an all-time low. This is because we lack leadership.”
In addition to the recall, which will be on the city’s September primary election ballot, council passed ordinances that will limit mayoral powers.
- A policy that prohibits access to any city emails without consent, unless done by the law department in response to public records requests.
- A policy that prohibits the use of city social media accounts and email for personal or political messages and not city business.
- A policy that limits the mayor’s authority over city property, such as security cameras.
Seren said he has accessed city staff and council emails without going through public records requests.
“It is all public record and it is all something that can be used in order to efficiently and effectively learn the truth of a thing and learn the process (of how) something went,” Seren said. “Frankly, I was subject to the same things as a public employee and I never thought twice about it.
Councilmember Craig Cobb introduced the ordinances, which all passed unanimously.
“I’m outraged that one elected official feels that they can look at another elected official’s emails," Cobb said. "Do you think that you have the right to go look at the judge’s emails? Just because you can do it doesn’t make it right. There needs to be a guardrail.”
Seren discussed the social media and email newsletter policy ahead of the council meeting.
“They've been, I think, pretty good at communicating their personal positions," Seren said. "They do it all the time using city resources. And so, I don't know why they believe that they are morally correct in attempting to restrict the ability of any mayor from communicating to the people that elected them."
At the meeting, Seren questioned the limitations of the policy, questioning if he could speak about the federal government or if the accounts could express holiday greetings.
“This guy wants four years to go by, no questions asked, he’s the boss and that’s the way it is,” Council President Tony Cuda said. “We would rather spend time doing other stuff, but you’re keeping us very, very busy with these shenanigans.”
During a public comment section lasting more than an hour at Monday's meeting, some residents defended Seren's accomplishments and felt council was wasting time with the recall, while some enthusiastically supported the effort. Some comments also revealed division among residents regarding antisemitism, of which Seren and his wife are accused, and the continuing war between Israel and Hamas.
Ahead of the meeting, Seren said he will not step down and recognizes that some residents believe he may try to sabotage the office for the next mayor.
“This goes to sort of an ongoing theme of villainizing, demonizing, and assuming the worst motivations of somebody who has been in service for 10 years for the city of Cleveland Heights,” Seren said. “My hope and my goal is to make sure that in 2026, Cleveland Heights is extremely well positioned.”
In addition to facing a recall, Seren failed to get enough signatures to run for re-election. His term will end at the end of this year, unless the recall is successful.
If Seren is recalled, Cuda, as council president, would take over.
Candidates that made the Sept. 9 primary ballot are Deanna Bremer Fisher, Marty Gelfand, Laura Kingsley Hong and council members Jim Petras and Davida Russell. The top two will face each other in the November election.
