Akron mayor resigning; blames newspaper, councilman feud

CLEVELAND (AP) — The longtime mayor of Akron, one of the state's biggest cities, announced that he'll retire May 31, citing disputes with a city council member and a local newspaper in a resignation letter released Friday.

Democrat Don Plusquellic, 65, has been mayor since 1987. He said in an email statement that Council President Garry Moneypenny would succeed him.

Plusquellic's resignation letter said the Akron Beacon Journal had declined interview offers so that its publisher and reporters could hear and "know the truth" about his dispute with Councilman Bob Hoch.

"The good people of Akron deserve better — they deserve the truth," the letter said. "I do not now believe that my hometown newspaper is interested in the truth."

Plusquellic had the Akron police chief tell Hoch in March that he was not welcome at the State of the City address. The newspaper reported that Plusquellic's spokeswoman said Plusquellic feared Hoch might shoot him in front of his 88-year-old mother at the event.

Hoch, reached by telephone today, called the State of the City flap "bizarre."