TRUMBULL COUNTY Cortland mayor names 7 in suit

The mayor accused council of playing politics.
By PEGGY SINKOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN --The mayor of Cortland wants a Trumbull County Common Pleas judge to stop council from rejecting her appointments on an "arbitrary and capricious basis."
Mayor Melissa Long filed a lawsuit Thursday, naming as defendants council members Gerald Bayus Jr., Diana Sweeney, Frank Stocz, Charles Brady, Diedre Petrosky, John Caparanis and James Chubb.
"It has been my contention all along that we as a council have not seen the most qualified candidates that sent their applications to us," Petrosky said. "A private business would hire the most qualified and I think we should, too."
Bayus said council works for the people of Cortland, not the mayor.
Sweeney, Stocz, Brady, Caparanis and Chubb could not be reached.
Reason for suit: Long and her attorney, Marc Dann of Liberty, said they filed the suit because Long's attempts to appoint a law director have been thwarted by council for months.
Cortland's charter states that the law director is to be appointed by the mayor with confirmation by a majority of council. The charter states that the applicant must be an attorney in good standing and have practiced law in Ohio for five years.
The mayor has made several attempts to replace Rob Platt, who resigned July 3. Council has rejected all of them and hired Johnson and Angelo of Cleveland as temporary legal counsel.
Council members noted that two attorneys from the Cleveland law firm have sent their applications to the mayor seeking the law director's post but that the mayor has not appointed them.
Comments: "I believe that we have many, many qualified lawyers in Trumbull County and it is an outrage that city council will not agree to hire any of them," Long said Thursday.
"I have brought to council numerous candidates for the job and instead of hiring a local lawyer, council has been playing politics. The members of council have us paying our local tax dollars to a big Cleveland law firm."
Dann was one of the mayor's five appointments. The others were James Franks of Cortland, Dan Letson of Warren, Dan Keating of Warren and Ron Marks of Warren.
Council members have said Franks, Letson and Keating don't have enough municipal law experience and Dann and Marks did not meet their qualifications.