A new set of allegations against Cleveland City Councilmember Joe Jones, including that he threatened to kill a council employee and failed to abide by restrictions on his actions after a 2024 investigation, are prompting Council President Blaine Griffin to introduce a censure resolution at council in September.
“You should know that, but for the fact that you are an elected official, in any other workplace setting, you would likely be let go,” Griffin and Council Clerk Patricia Britt wrote in an Aug. 14, 2025 letter to Jones informing him of the censure resolution and that outside investigators found the allegations credible. “However, there is nothing, including the fact that you are an elected official, that excuses you for your continued bad behavior. This is an attempt once again to hold you accountable.”
In addition to the letter from Griffin and Britt, council released an e-mail and an incident report submitted to “City Council Administration” from two unnamed employees describing two separate incidents in May.
In the first, an e-mail dated May 22, 2025, a council employee, whose name is redacted, described Jones telling them, “I'll [expletive] kill you. I'll [expletive] kill you. I'll [expletive] kill you on your motorcycle."
“I wanted to take this as a sick joke and forget about it, but after it was brought to my attention that he was threatening, or intimidating other members of the staff ...” the employee wrote. “I wasn't comfortable reporting this anonymously. The more I thought about this, the more it began to bother me. Unfortunately, I had to consider the possibility that he wasn't joking.”
In his response to investigators, summarized in Griffin and Britt’s letter, Jones said the death threat was “a joke made without malicious intent.”
Jones did not respond to a request for comment.
The second incident, detailed in an undated incident report, allegedly occurred on May 19, 2025, and accuses Jones of sitting next to a certain employee during a council meeting.
“He did not say anything to me, however, because he has been told to not have any contact with me, I felt intimidated and fearful,” the employee wrote in the incident report. “I tried to ignore his presence, however, I began to have a panic attack and became teary eyed.”
Jones remained in the seat for three to five minutes, according to the report. He claimed he didn't realize that he was sitting next to the second complainant for two to three minutes, and did not believe sitting next to that employee was a violation of the no contact directive.
“You thought that directive meant no communications with Witness 2, but did not prohibit incidental proximity,” the letter to Jones said. “You said you did not intend to violate that directive and there is no objective evidence contradicting the stated lack of intent.”
The second complainant said Jones’ executive assistant also called them five times during a 24-hour period, which they saw as harassment directed by Jones. Both the councilmember and his assistant told investigators they did not remember making that many calls to the complainant.
“Of course, the councilman had his version of the facts,” Griffin said during a press conference Thursday. “However, I made it clear to him that we had to take action.”
Griffin said he's troubled by the accusations.
“It's been stressful to everybody involved. There's been several conversations, several attempts to try to rectify and change the behavior,” he said.
Griffin would not weigh in on any of the potential political implications with Jones facing a primary in September and possible general election in November.
“Right now, I have no indication of supporting any of his opponents, and at this time Ward 1 is going to be up for grabs. We'll see what happens,” Griffin said.
Jones has several challengers in the September primary, including state assemblymember Juanita Brent.
The censure resolution, which is unlikely to be introduced before council’s next scheduled meeting on Sept. 15, comes just months after another investigation into Jones’ conduct.
That investigation also concluded that allegations of Jones’ unprofessional behavior toward staff and an artist seeking council support were credible. Griffin removed Jones from all committees, and required him — along with all councilmembers and staff — to take harassment and sensitivity training.
Ultimately, accountability will have to come from voters in Ward 1, Griffin said, citing decades-old court precedent that make it difficult to remove a councilmember.
“Some people take democracy very serious,” Griffin said. “And just removing a duly elected official that has not been criminally charged is not the easiest thing to do, and you would need two-thirds votes of council.”
Only two members of Cleveland City Council have ever been censured, according to Griffin, both in the 1970s.
Councilmember Rebecca Maurer also spoke during Thursday’s press conference, and was forceful in her comments against Jones, saying the accusations are credible and show Jones is unprofessional.
“I disagree that this matter has been handled swiftly,” Maurer said. “It is past time that council do its job and finally censure Councilman Jones. It is interesting that this letter was released the day after our final council meeting of the summer, meaning that we cannot take swift action for over a month.”
The delay, according to Griffin, was caused by Jones hiring a lawyer and delaying his statement to outside investigators until earlier this week. The report, which Griffin said will not be released to the public, was completed on Tuesday, he said.
