By Kathy Wray Coleman, Publisher, Editor-n-Chief,Cleveland Urban News. Com and The Cleveland Urban News.Com Blog, Ohio's Most Read Online Black Newspaper and Newspaper Blog
Kathy Wray Coleman is a community activist and 20 year investigative journalist who trained for 17 years at the Call and Post Newspaper, Ohio's Black press with print newspapers in Cleveland, Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio. (www.clevelandurbannews.com) / (www.kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com
EAST CLEVELAND, Ohio- The East Cleveland Library Board of Trustees has rehired Executive Director Sheba Marcus Bey (pictured), whom they fired last year amid a fallout between the four male trustees, and the three women members. And the controversial library board, whose members are appointed by the East Cleveland Board of Education, is back down from nine to the seven members as required by state law and following a non-binding opinion by Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine on the removal of two of its members.
That opinion says that the school board had no authority to remove then president William Fambrough and trustee Devin Branch earlier this year, both of whom had refused to leave their positions, saying the school board had no authority to remove them.
Otis O'Mays, a former East Cleveland councilman and Arlene Anderson, secretary for the Cleveland Chapter NAACP, had been appointed by the school board, which is led by Una H.R. Kennon, a former East Cleveland Municipal Court Judge and president of the Black Women's Political Action Committee of greater Cleveland, to replace Fambrough and Branch, bringing the number of library board members to nine.
All nine of them are Black, as is Keenon.
Keenon did not return phone calls seeking comment, though she had pushed for the ouster of Fambrough and Branch saying their behavior relative to Marcus-Bey was allegedly arbitrary and capricious, and otherwise unwarranted.
Exactly what entity, if any, can remove the library board members for cause is not clear.
O'Mays and Anderson both received letters stating that they are now off of the library board, which is now led by President Charles E. Bibb Sr, with Fambrough as vice president.
The library trustees voted 4-3 late last year to terminate Marcus-Bey from her $105,000- a-year job just seven months into her tenure there and in the absence of either written charges or a formal complaint, or even a performance review since her hiring in June.
Fambrough, Branch, Bibb and Edward Parker, who has since quit and was replaced by Gerald Silvera, voted to terminate Marcus Bey while the three women library board members, Dr. Mary Rice, Leontine Synor and Terra Turner, voted against the termination saying the actions by their four male colleagues were irresponsible, unjust, and likely illegal.
"They terminated her without any information, charges or a complaint," said Rice at the time of the firing.
CLEVELAND, Ohio- Ohio Sen. Nina Turner (D-25) (pictured), a Cleveland Democrat and former Cleveland Ward 1 councilwoman regularly featured on national news outlets such as CNN and MSNBC's 'The Ed Show,' is in the fight of her political life, hoping to unseat Republican Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted in what has become a neck and neck race, some polls show, as was the election for governor that pits incumbent Republican Gov. John Kasich against Democratic nominee Ed FitzGerald, the Cuyahoga County executive. Neither Turner nor Husted had opposition in Tuesday's primary election.(Editor's note: A recent Public Policy Polling Poll (PPP Poll), one taken last month in fact, has Turner leading Husted by one point in the race for secretary of state, 45 percent to 44 percent. Also, though FizGerald andf Kasich were nearly tied, a recent Quionnipiac Poll gives Kasich a 15 point lead over FitzGerald).
By Kathy Wray Coleman, editor-n-chief, 
Cleveland Urban News. Com and The Cleveland Urban News.Com Blog, 
