Council president reads law-office timeline about former mayor's resignation

Council President read a statement prepared by the law director summarizing steps taken after employees raised complaints about former Mayor Judge. The timeline says outside counsel from Columbus conducted an investigation that included interviews of current and a former employee and later interviewed the mayor; counsel then advised council about whether to invoke section 3.03 of the Barberton City Charter, the removal provision.

The statement said council leaders Griffin and Gerhardt met with Mayor Judge and gave him the opportunity to resign before any public hearing; the mayor did not resign immediately, council moved to invoke section 3.03, and negotiations about a possible resignation agreement continued. According to the summary read aloud, Mayor Judge submitted his resignation on 06/15/2026. The reading identified the law director, outside counsel Marlon Primes (Brennan, Manning & Diamond), and the mayor's own attorney as counsel involved in the process.

The statement explicitly referenced potential violations of Title VII of the U.S. Civil Rights Act as the kind of conduct alleged in complaints, and it described the procedural protections in section 3.03 (notice at least 15 days in advance of a public hearing, opportunity to be heard, to present evidence and to examine witnesses). The president asked outside counsel whether the summary was accurate after reading it.

No formal vote or hearing on removal occurred at this meeting; the timeline reading was presented as a factual summary of prior steps and the mayor's resignation. The council did not introduce or adopt new charges in open session during this reading.