The former city of Cleveland Heights employee who accused the mayor’s wife of antisemitic behavior that created a hostile work environment has filed suit against the city.
The former special assistant to the mayor Patrick Costigan filed the complaint with the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas court on Friday, naming both the city and Natalie McDaniel, Mayor Kahlil Seren's wife as defendants, court records show.
The suit claims McDaniel made antisemitic and homophobic comments while acting as a de facto representative of the mayor.
McDaniel is not a city employee and is not on the payroll, according to a city of Cleveland Heights spokesperson. In the complaint, Costigan said McDaniel acted as his supervisor.
The lawsuit includes claims that McDaniel used derogatory language, mimicked stereotypical accents and claims that McDaniel referred to the City’s Planning Commission Chair, who is an Orthodox Jew, as a "brood mare."
Seren has previously denied the accusation of antisemitism. Costigan and his attorney and the city declined to comment for this story.
In May, Costigan filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Ohio Civil Rights Commission with similar accusations.
In May, Seren posted a 15-minute video to Facebook responding to the allegations, where he denounced antisemitism and defended his wife.
Cleveland Heights' city council then called a special meeting after several members expressed disappointment that the mayor did not apologize.
“There was this golden opportunity to bring this community together, and it didn’t happen. I’m heartbroken,” said Council President Tony Cuda.
Last week, some residents launched a petition to recall the mayor from office.
The petition lists additional reasons for the recall effort, including high staff turnover and the submission of an incomplete 2025 budget, which the petition says lacked required information for city council to review.
Josie Moore is one of the residents who helped create the petition.
“I just want our city to start healing and to start to put things back together,” Moore said. “It's a mess right now. We just want to recover from this.”
