Residents of financially troubled East Cleveland will go to the polls tomorrow to vote on whether or not to recall the city’s mayor and city council president.
This will be the second time this year Mayor Gary Norton faces a recall attempt. An effort to unseat him failed last spring because not enough signatures were collected to put the issue on the ballot.
Council President Thomas Wheeler has survived two recall efforts. Tuesday’s special election will cost the cash-scrapped city $30,000.
If Norton survives the recall and decides to seek another term, residents will have a chance to unseat him in next September’s primary.
Norton has been under fire in recent years for the city’s budget problems, which led to major police and fire department cuts as well as other service reductions. East Cleveland is currently in merger negotiations with the city of Cleveland.
The Ohio Elections Commission has fined Norton more than $100,000 for allegedly mishandling campaign finance information.
