Scene’s cover story last week documented Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson’s frequent absences from City Hall and noted observations gleaned from a close study of his 2017 and 2018 daily calendars.
Today, Cleveland.com’s Mark Naymik published, in his CLE Chatter column, the background information which led to our story: Jackson is frequently absent from City Hall because he is now a caregiver for his wife Edwina, who is seriously ill.
(For the record, we asked explicitly about the health of the Mayor’s wife for our story and received no response. This is now standard practice under Jackson.)
Jackson’s notorious preference for privacy, which in public life, as we wrote last week, “means a preference for concealment,” has safely insulated him from criticism on this issue. But the situation has become untenable.
We can and should feel sympathy for the man, but we’re also talking about the mayor here. Jackson’s inactivity in 2018 speaks for itself. Cleveland is ostensibly a major American city, and residents must not accept three more years of a part-time Mayor, whatever the cause. One could make a serious argument for him to step down, and this news should fuel the nascent recall effort.
There is no shame in resigning for personal reasons. In fact, it would be refreshing for “personal reasons” to connote what it’s intended to, instead of merely serving as a euphemism for behind-the-scenes conflict.
It’s worth recalling that the Jackson situation is a familiar one. Councilwoman Mamie Mitchell, whose health was in decline for some time before she abruptly vacated her Ward 6 council seat before the 2017 summer recess, was protected from negative press coverage during 2016 and 2017. Council leadership plead with reporters not to write about Mitchell’s worsening dementia, surely because they didn’t want to embarrass her.
But the result was the facilitation (if not orchestration) of Blaine Griffin’s controversial appointment, keeping Mitchell in her seat during a pivotal legislative moment (the Q Deal hearings), and long after she was able to perform the required duties of her office.
The Jackson situation is troublesome for the above reasons but also because of the late-arriving coverage by the city’s major news operation, Cleveland.com, whose editor and president still meets with Frank Jackson monthly and may even qualify as a member of his “inner circle.”
Cleveland.com now has an explanation for the mayor’s persistent absences. The explanation is a personal one, which makes it unpleasant to report, but Frank Jackson is the mayor of Cleveland and the explanation is undoubtedly major news. Why, then, have these extensive absences not been news until now? Why is the explanation appearing as a tidbit in a gossip column and not as the substantive news story that it is? Why haven’t his absences been touched by Cleveland.com for the last 10 months? What of the effect on his job performance? What of who’s been charged to step up in his absence?
Moreover, Chris Quinn surely knew of the situation. And if neither Cleveland.com’s City Hall reporter nor its ace metro columnist were instructed to report on what is, once again, a significant news story affecting the most powerful elected leader in Cleveland, and by extension, his entire administration and the residents he governs, why not? If the information was shared in those off-the-record meetings, what good are those meetings if but to pass along news in a situation and environment that almost guarantees a sympathetic ear with no ensuing headlines?
Cleveland.com keeps proclaiming, via the public relations services of Robert Falls Communications, that “We are the stories we share.” Let this be yet another reminder they are also the stories they don’t share.
This article appears in Feb 6-12, 2019.
This reminds me of when Then-Mayor Mike White disappeared from public view for a few weeks, soon after it had been reported that he’d knocked around. Many efforts were made to keep he story quiet, and when that didn’t work, a couple of White’s chief enablers (including Sam Miller) were dispatched to tell the public he’d merely taken an extended vacation out of town…This is far from the first time those Crack Investigative Reporters at the (former) PD colluded with City Hall to obscure the facts…
That’s “knocked his wife around”…
Well, perhaps its time that the mayor resign immediately because of this matter. Our city cannot be left unguided and left to fester with constant crime, ever-increasing taxes, poor roads, and a major county corruption scandal that grows daily!!!
Sounds like City Hall has no love for SCENE…not even a liking. So they stonewall their writers and refuse to talk to them and turn their backs on them when they request answers. What I see in the future is SCENE being banned at City Hall, the same way the Lakewood Observer is (still) being banned at THEIR City Hall.
The powers-that-be do not like muckrakers, especially when they dig up choice tidbits of muck that involve wrongdoing, corruption, graft, kickbacks, goofing off, and general mopery. I used to think that if the muckrakers sifted through enough horseshit at City Hall they’d eventually find diamonds…or at least a pony. Nope. Just more poop. It’s a bottomless barrel.
Excellent journalism Sam. Mayor Jackson obviously is not the hardest working Mayor in the last 50 years. But, one thing he does studiously strive to keep at bay is media coverage. No news is good news and the staff knows how to avoid, confuse, and ignore the few reporters that are left in Cleveland, and, in turn, the public. Anyone who has filed a public records request knows this. In the meantime, other midwestern cities work to attract new business, improve city services, and educate their children while Cleveland lags farther and farther behind.
Thank you for this story – http://www.city.cleveland.oh.us/CityofClev… Sharon Dumas is effectively running the City of Cleveland. She has been interim Chief of Staff since Dec 2017. She should be appointed to the position and then there should be a special election. Wall Street Journal recently quoted Sharon Dumas in an article on cities that are building their “rainy day” fund. She seems like an able administrator, but she is also saddled with a lot of dead weight in Building, Health and Community Development departments, to name a few. Jackson needs to step down immediately.
If Jackson was as good at running a city, as he is at stonewalling reporters, Amazon would be moving here without incentives.
Keep hope for Cleveland journalism alive Sam & Vince.
The PD approach to Jackson smells of protection rather than the required strong coverage of city hall.
The paper needs at least two reporters on that beat.
And an honest approach, possibly impossible under Chris Quinn’s editorship.
First, prayers to his wife and the entire family. I served as the primary caregiver to my Mom and based upon the commitment, dedication and time required, I had to resign my employment position. I didn’t have a security detail, nor was I able to maintain my schedule of internal and client meetings, etc.
Maybe some clarity needs to be given. Is Frank providing direct daily hands on care? If he is then he should be taking FMLA or the appropriate leave time until those options are exhausted. Then if he continues in this care giving role, he should either make other arrangements for his spouse at home or he should resign.
The Amazon need insensitive , The IKEA pulled out from Brooklyn ( I guess the Swedish very strong contraption policies) doesn’t allowed to pay some “premiums”, the German Lidl project almost stopped , The airport is a mess. All international flights is going away , Iceland air with insensitive for marketing still pulled out . Detroit airport with all internal problems doing so much better and becoming the real great hub and money source for the city. The Cle Major who can’t spend to much time at work and who can’t hire the good caregiver have to step out!