Monzel: Cranley should step down as chairman

Will Finance Committee Chairman John Cranley favor West Side projects in the 2006 budget because he's running for Congress as a Democrat in the 1st district?

That's the suggestion from Republican Councilman Chris Monzel (left), who asked Cranley to step down in his role as council's point man on the budget until after next year's election. In a letter to Cranley Monday, Monzel said it was "particularly troubling" that Cranley filed paperwork with the Federal Elections Commission the day after being sworn in as a councilman for the fourth time:

While it has been clear to most observers that you are interested in a political career that will go beyond City Council, the speed of your announcement caught many by surprise. John, I think people really believe you had every intention of serving out another term on council. You ran a great campaign and offered a lot of popular policy solutions that you are now expected to fulfill. I believe that the voters deserve nothing less.

I realize that some may suggest that you resign from your current position on council. I do not believe this should be the case. However, my more immediate concern is the potential conflicts of interest that could develop in your capacity as chairman of the Finance Committee. Already, local community leaders have privately expressed concerns that their support or opposition to your candidacy could impact public funding for important projects. This is not good government and this is not something I am comfortable staying quiet about.

Monzel declined to name specific projects or community leaders who are worried about favoritism, saying they're not comfortable coming forward precisely because of the politics. The letter follows a Dec. 5 attack by county GOP director Brad Greenberg that Cranley's congressional announcement "set a record for the shortest amount of time between being sworn into one office and announcing plans for the next office."

Monzel handed his letter to Cranley after Monday's Finance Committee meeting. Cranley insisted that it be mailed to his home.

"He refused to take it," Monzel said. "I promised in that meeting I would not go to the press. I tried to handle this one-on-one. All I'm doing is addressing constituent concerns to him, man-to-man, one-on-one, and he rebuffed me. ... I'm very disappointed about how this is all playing out," he said.

Cranley, reached by cell phone from Akron where he was working with the Ohio Innocence Project, declined to answer Monzel's concerns.

"I'm working on my legal practice today, getting an innocent man out of prison and making sure the person who's guilty is held accountable. And when I'm not doing that, I'm working to get the budget passed next week. So I'm not going to get into that. I don't really care at this moment," Cranley said.

• Download Monzel's letter to Cranley (in .pdf format).