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Resident accuses mayor of endorsing dishonesty; urges council oversight ahead of elections
Summary
At Monday’s meeting a resident said he heard the mayor say lying is acceptable and urged council members to stop ‘rubber-stamping’ motions; the resident requested honesty, transparency and accountability from elected officials.
During the public comment period at Monday’s North Ridgeville City Council meeting, resident Robert Baumgartner accused the mayor of saying dishonesty was permissible and urged councilmembers to exercise independent oversight rather than automatically supporting the mayor.
Baumgartner (6327 Stoney Ridge Road) played an audio recording and said the mayor had described a statement the resident characterized as "it was okay for him to be dishonest because he's the mayor." Baumgartner called that remark “arrogant” and said it undermines public trust. He specifically criticized Councilmembers Georgia Awig and Jason Jacobs for repeatedly supporting the mayor "without question," and said voters are watching ahead of re-election campaigns.
Baumgartner asked the council for "honesty, transparency and courage" from elected officials and warned that repeated tolerance of misleading statements would erode citizen trust and civic engagement. The clerk and council granted Baumgartner an additional three minutes during the public-comment period.
Why it matters: public trust in local officials is a recurring theme in municipal meetings and can affect voter behavior and civic participation; Baumgartner’s remarks put elected conduct and transparency on the public record and named two councilmembers as examples of what he described as uncritical support for the mayor.
Council did not respond substantively during the meeting; Baumgartner’s remarks were recorded in the public-comment portion of the minutes and may be taken up in later discussions or responses by council or the mayor.
Ending: The public-comment period closed and council proceeded to administrative reports. No formal complaint or censure was filed during the meeting.
