Democratic East Cleveland Mayor Brandon King is refusing to apologize after a surveillance video caught him drinking and smoking a cigar in a city-owned garage.
King, who has held office since 2016, survived a recall attempt in 2022. He is frequently at loggerheads with the East Cleveland City Council, which he accused of not doing its job and making his drinking necessary. (RELATED: State AG Comes Clean, Says She Got Too Drunk Before College Football Game And Required Assistance Leaving Stadium)
“So, if I want to wind down a 6- or 7-day work week by having a Guinness Stout (not beer) and smoking a cigar in the garage, after hours, with staff, residents and stakeholders and discuss the dysfunction of our legislative body or the revitalization opportunities that are before us or international politics, no policy or media outlet is going to stop me,” he said in a statement to 3News.
Video shows East Cleveland Mayor Brandon King smoke and drink alcohol inside a city facility. The mayor and city council are now in another battle. @wkyc pic.twitter.com/ElrPDj5era
— Neil Fischer (@NeilFischerTV) August 11, 2023
The East Cleveland employee handbook reportedly prohibits smoking on city property in all circumstances, and drinking on city property in most circumstances. Possession of an open container in East Cleveland is also a first-degree misdemeanor, and violators can face up to six months in prison and a $1,000 fine.
King argued that his extensive work outside the scope of his mayoral duties entitled him to a cigar and a drink.
“I do plumbing work in City Hall, carpentry, flooring, painting, and just last week operated the John Deere tractor to cut seven acres of the former Huron Road hospital site,” he added.