Maumee recall: ‘They are not listening’

MAUMEE — Rain puddled between lines of parked cars at the Lucas County Fairgrounds as residents walked past RECALL yard signs stuck into the soggy ground and shook off water from their umbrellas as they filed into the Green Barn.

Despite the dreary weather, the crowd came out in force on May 21 for one reason – to sign the petitions of candidates who aim to replace the current Maumee mayor and six of the seven city council members. 

What residents say began as backlash over a controversial sewer ordinance has grown into a full-fledged movement to recall Mayor Jim MacDonald and council members Gabriel Barrow, Scott Noonan, Margo Puffenberger, Josh Harris, Jon Fiscus and Ted Kurt. Their critics say the council has consistently ignored public input, pushed through emergency legislation and deferred too much authority to city administrator Patrick Burtch. 

The only council member not being recalled is Philip Leinbach. Maumee residents, like Sherrie Schunck, say that Leinbach was the only city council member who took the initiative to have meetings with the citizens when the sewer issue first hit. 

“[They] are not listening,” Schunck, supporter of the recall, said of the city’s officials. “They have their own agenda that is not acceptable…to spend money on fencing when we have issues like sewers, water that keeps going sky high.”

Schunck worries that residents like her will not be able to keep up with skyrocketing costs. What she refers to is a now-repealed sewer ordinance that many residents say imposed unexpected financial burdens on Maumee homeowners and was passed with limited discussion. 

She is not alone.

Dana Johnson, one of the organizers of the recall effort, said the final straw was the June 2024 sewer ordinance, which he described as “one of the worst laws ever made. 

“I started seeing some disturbing patterns in government, what I would consider government abuse, abuse of power, going back as far as three years,” Johnson said. “If it was just one or two isolated incidents, you know, I’d get it. But we see a repetitive pattern where the decisions they make and how they make them are just hurting way too many people. And when people speak up about it, they are dismissed.”

The citizen-led recall effort, spearheaded by Maumee Patriots and the Maumee Citizens for Common Sense group, began over a year ago. The first of two recall candidate meet and greet events occurred on May 21, six weeks after city council member Ted Kurt yelled at a disgruntled resident, as reported by WTOL. 

Half a dozen candidates met with residents at the Lucas County Fairgrounds to collect signatures for their petitions to run in the recall election in September, should the Ohio Supreme Court move forward with it. The city of Maumee asked the court to block the recall effort of six council members and the mayor in April after the Lucas County Board of Elections voted in March to certify recall petitions. 

Seven individuals are preparing petitions to be on the ballot in September:

Dave Poeppelmeier, who lost his first run at city council two years ago, is running again for a seat in Maumee’s general election, as well, citing transparency issues and city administrator Burtch as motivators to return.

Not everyone in Maumee supports the recall. Jim Stengle, who serves on the UNITE Maumee leadership committee, believes the effort is an overreaction.

“My point is…this public leadership? They stub their toes. Sometimes they break some China along the way. All right, they make some people mad,” Stengle complained about those in office. “What you don’t see happening anywhere in the country is somebody coming in and saying, okay, the way we fix this is by pushing the nuclear button and completely blowing up government.”

Josh Harris, who is one of the six current council members being recalled, says he has tried to be transparent and available to the public by handing out his cell phone number. 

“When I see people posting things,” Harris stated, regarding social media posts. “I’m saying, ‘Hey, you know, you seem to have some questions. I’d be more than happy to speak with you. Here’s my number.’ But honestly, no one calls.”

Harris claims he had only five people call him in his three years on council. His phone number is not listed on the City of Maumee website but he shared it with the Toledo Free Press, urging people to “call me.” He can be contacted at 419-351-5091 or at jharris@maumee.org. 

None of the current city council members have phone numbers listed on the Maumee City website. Also, the Maumee city’s contact page gives 911 as the only contact with an email form below.

As a city council member, Harris claims he does not have a working relationship with Burtch — the city administrator with whom the supporters of the recall cite their frustrations —saying, “he’s just basically there to advise any questions that we [Maumee City Council] may have.”

Ziss, a mayoral candidate in the recall election, said she was compelled to run because she believes Maumee residents deserve more transparency and accountability, which, for her, “is telling people why you’re doing what you’re doing” and “explaining how it turned out.

Chelsea Ziss believes that while everybody wants to feel heard by their elected officials, that is not what is happening in Maumee. “What has been happening, or what people feel have [sic] been happening, anyway, is that they’re just kind of following the leader or being totally apathetic, and I don’t even know which one of those is worse.”

Poeppelmeier, a candidate for city council in the general election, is aligned in thought with Ziss. “I think I can listen to people and give better guidance,” Poeppelmeier said. “The thing that made me finally run again was our city administrator, Patrick Burtch.” 

Ziss claims the current council wanted to pass an ordinance that would temporarily remove all spending restrictions for the city administrator. She continued to say that Burtch can already spend $75,000 without council approval, which is another concern for her regarding lack of transparency from the current city council. 

While Unite Maumee members can admit faults on behalf of the current city council, they say that lack of accountability and transparency is not one of them. 

“The city has made a lot of efforts to become more transparent,” Alex Schrinel, Unite Maumee leadership member. “There were legal issues with televising city council meetings. They figured all that out, and now they’re live streamed.” 

Schrinel and other Unite Maumee leaders say that the best way for residents to get their voices heard would be to attend public committee meetings, read the City of Maumee newsletter each month and go to the proper place to get information instead of relying on social media.

Jamie Tscherne, Unite Maumee leadership member, says that all meetings are public, excluding executive sessions, and that residents are not taking advantage of the opportunity.

This echoes council member Harris’ sentiments urging constituents to “become educated” and “make sure you reach out and ask questions.”

Regarding spending, Unite Maumee says there is a plan to improve the community, such as continuing to upgrade the whole city, sidewalks, neighborhoods, safety and schools. 

Tscherne noted that the current city council was already successful in updating uptown. 

“Right now, there’s been $350 million of public and private investments in this community in the last few years,” Stengle said. “There’s another $500 million that’s already been announced. Right now, one of the fastest ways to blow that up is to blow up the city government.”

If the Ohio Supreme Court approves the recall, candidates will need 431 signatures to appear on the Sept. 9 special election ballot. Under Ohio law, recall petitions must be signed by a number of people equal to 15 percent of the votes cast in the most recent municipal election. That number in Maumee is 431.

Although it is not yet certain whether the recall election will proceed, both supporters and opponents are preparing for a pivotal moment in Maumee’s political future.