Lawsuit Alleges Brown Doesn’t ‘Validly Hold’ Mayorship

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – A lawsuit filed by Youngstown City School District Board of Education member Dario Hunter claims that Mayor Jamael Tito Brown failure to obtain of faithful performance bond by Jan. 1 means he “does not validly hold the office of mayor.”

The suit against the Mahoning County Democratic Party and party chairman David Betras, filed Tuesday morning with the Ohio State Supreme Court, claims that because Brown obtained the bond on Feb. 21 – retroactive to Feb. 1 – he “is considered by law to have refused office and a vacany has resulted in the office of mayor.”

In a statement, Hunter said city law director Jeff Limbian “expressed his intention” to have the bond backdated to Jan. 1.

Betras, Brown and Limbian did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

“The questionable plan for retroactive coverage aside, the facts remain that the required bond was not obtained on time,” Hunter said in his statement. “Jamael Tito Brown is not the Mayor of Youngstown and I ask that the parties who have the power to fill the vacancy in that office do so with due haste so as to minimize the liabilities created by this situation.”

A copy of the lawsuit filed with the state Supreme Court is available here.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.