Miesha Headen was less than a year into the job as mayor of this East Side Cleveland suburb of more than10,000 people. Last year, she defeated longtime mayor Daniel Ursu.
Over the past several years, the state auditor had documented financial misstatements and overspending in Richmond Heights. Headen had promised change.
She saw the city’s bond rating improved, fired several top city workers and became embroiled in disputes that were splashed across the homepage of Cleveland.com.
In one, Headen fired a personal assistant who later sued her for defamation in a dispute over which of them improperly used a city car, according to the lawsuit filed against her.
Headen and city council’s relationship grew so acrimonious that Congresswoman Marcia Fudge stepped in to mediate, according to the Northeast Ohio Media Group.
Opponents criticized Headen’s management style. Councilwoman Eloise Henry ran against Headen in last year’s election, and supported removing her from office. After a city council meeting last night, Henry offered a bit of praise mixed with criticism.
"Believe it or not, I think that Mayor Headen offered some good points, because she did bring change," Henry said. "And we do feel a lot of the impact of some of the changes. The problem with the way she implemented the change is the problem."
Headen left last night’s council meeting without talking with reporters about the election results. Council President David Roche will succeed her as mayor.
