Cleveland Heights Mayor Khalil Seren held a news conference Thursday to detail what he said were "false claims" against his wife.
Seren refuted accusations that his wife, Natalie McDaniel, broke into a home on Coventry Road. A statement released by the city Wednesday evening stated that McDaniel approached the home to try and get a business card from a contractor and remained outside at all times. According to a spokesman for the mayor, the interaction, which was brief, was captured on security footage.
At Thursday's news conference, Seren questioned police for planning to turn over the investigation to another law enforcement agency.
"I don't think that anybody with an actual read on this situation is really concerned about some sort of pressure from the mayor's office to influence police to ignore a crime, if its been committed, no matter who the person is that we're referring to," Seren said.
The mayor added there was an easy solution to the investigation.
"The amplification and frankly blowing out of proportion of a situation that could be very easily resolved by reviewing the homeowner's, uh, I don't know if it's a Ring camera, footage."
Seren, who previously announced he would not seek reelection after not obtaining enough valid signatures, is facing a recall election in September. In May, a former city employee filed a civil rights complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Ohio Civil Rights Commission and then sued, alleging he enabled a hostile work environment.
“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 told Ideastream before a council meeting in early July. "That they are not paying attention to the fact that this kind of disruption can have serious impact on a fledgling organization.”
A report released in June found there was evidence that McDaniel, who is not a city employee, had "cursed, screamed, and was otherwise inappropriate and unprofessional" at City Hall but her behavior did not create an "unlawful hostile work environment" because she did not target anyone.
Since then, Seren and some on city council have argued frequently about mayoral powers and the perception that the investigations into Seren's wife has been a distraction.
During committee meetings earlier this summer, members of council said they suspected the mayor was reviewing staff and council emails without consent.
“I know it’s public records and I have nothing to hide," said Councilmember Jim Posch . "I don’t mind someone doing a public records request, but for someone looking over my shoulder every single time because they’re paranoid, that’s just plain, darn creepy."
Several weeks ago, council also put some limits on mayoral powers, including policies prohibiting access to any city emails without consent, unless done by the law department in response to public records requests, prohibiting the use of city social media accounts and email for personal or political messages and a policy that limits the mayor’s authority over city property, such as security cameras.
