Cleveland City Council to hold censure vote next month | Reporters Roundtable

Cleveland City Councilmember Joe Jones, stripped of his committee assignments in January for bad behavior, is now set to be censured by council after an investigation found credible allegations that he threatened the life of a staffer. Jones will face censure next month. Cleveland City Council has not censured one of its members since the 1970s. A working group looking at possible changes to property tax laws will deliver recommendations next month to the governor. Property owners have made clear to lawmakers that they are maxed out. But the grassroots group seeking to put a measure before voters to abolish property taxes says the group's work will not stop their drive for an amendment. Karl Racine, the monitor overseeing Cleveland's implementation of a federal consent decree over unconstitutional policing, has resigned. Cleveland entered into the consent decree with the Justice Department in 2015. Lakewood residents frustrated with repeated power outages gave an earful to First Energy officials in a town hall organized by the utility this week. Power goes out frequently, they said, even when there's no storm in sight. First Energy blamed an aging system and bad equipment for the problems in Lakewood and the west side of Cleveland and committed to spending 12.5 million dollars on upgrades. After a five week trial, Antoine Tolbert and two other members of the New Era Cleveland group were found not guilty on all charges after prosecutors alleged they were running a protection racket and shaking down gas station owners. The highest profile Democrat in Ohio, former U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown, will run for re-election to the senate against appointed Republican U.S. Senator Jon Husted, the former lieutenant governor. An official announcement, sources say, will come next week. All eyes were on Brown as a possible gubernatorial candidate. His decision to make another run for the senate may clarify other races. Democrats hold no statewide elected state or federal positions, save a state supreme court seat. We discuss these topics and more on the Friday “Sound of Ideas Reporters Roundtable.”