LFC Comments written by T. Paine:

What is tyranny?
Thanks to Merriam – Webster: It is an act or the pattern of harsh, cruel, and unfair control over other people. : a government in which all power is in the hands of a single ruler.

We have written several articles about the shenanigans occurring in the Lake County City of Willoughby Hills. Something is seriously wrong in the City’s administration. As the old saying goes: “a fish stinks from the head down” – meaning major problems in business or government usually are the result of poor leadership.

Here is picture of Mayor Andy Gardner – Bully Extraordinaire

Let’s see what Mr. Ted Dellas, a Willoughby Hills resident, thinks of Mayor Gardner’s leadership.

Mr. Dellas sent the following letter to all fellow Willoughby Hills residents dealing with the tyrannical actions of Mayor Gardner.

Dear Neighbor,

There is something going on in Willoughby Hills that is not right. In fact, it is unacceptable, and I think that once you’re understanding of what my concerns are, you will agree.

You may know me, my name is Ted Dellas, and I’ve lived in Willoughby Hills for 27 years on the corner of Hanna and Parsons. I have enjoyed my home, loved the area, raised my kids, and tried to be a good neighbor and resident.

What is “stuck in my craw”, and which you many have heard about is that Mayor Andy Gardner and his political allies are trying to bully Councilwoman Nancy Fellows by suing her. i have confirmed this is true, and I believe we need to call on the Mayor to either stop it or step down as I find this circumstance so distasteful, and so wrong that I had to write to you, at my own expense, to bring this to your attention.

Last year, Mayor Gardner and Council President, Chris Hallum, promised over and over again that if we elected them and their friends they would finally stop the fighting and work together. I wanted to believe them, and I’m sure many of you did too. But they did NOT keep their promise to stop fighting. The fighting only got worse.

As soon as Mayor Gardner and his friends won their election, they suddenly stopped talking about working together and proceeded to bully the remaining Council Members and City employees to leave. Councilman Dave Fiebig expressed fear for his life. Councilwoman Janet Majka told the News-Herald “the venom and nastiness in City Hall literally makes me cry”. And just like that, a third of our Council quit and the Council Clerk resigned to work for another municipality.

The City of Willoughby Hills was embarrassed yet again in the newspapers, but Mayor Gardner got what he wanted – a super majority of Council. Every Council Member belonged to his political team. Except for one. Except for Councilwoman Nancy Fellows.

When Mayor Gardner and Councilman Hallum raised our garbage fees, Nancy voted NO. When Mayor Gardner and Councilman Hallum gave another three-year union contract with giant raises and bonuses for the six figure secretaries in City Hall, Nancy was the ONLY ONE to vote NO.

Don’t get me wrong, Mayor Gardner still had the votes to do whatever he wanted. But it must have galled him that Nancy dissented. It must have galled him that Nancy ran against him for Mayor because now his supporters are suing Nancy to remove her from office. They are literally claiming that Nancy’s voting is somehow malfeasance or misfeasance in office…this is wrong and it should stop immediately.

The lawsuit against Nancy is bullying pure and simple. The hundreds of pages appear to relate to how angry the Mayor’s secretary is at Nancy. It’s crystal clear that Mayor Andy Gardner is behind this lawsuit because (1) his supporters filed it, (2) his secretary Gloria Majeski notarized it and (3) the Mayor has the authority to dismiss it at any time if he wants to do so.

Believe it or not, the Mayor and I have more in common than just living in Willoughby Hills. Nancy Fellows ran against both of us in City elections. The difference is, I don’t hate Nancy because we ran against each other or we don’t always agree. If all of our elected officials agreed on everything, there would be no need to elect more than one person. Respectful debate and dissent are part of the political process. Suing to remove someone from office just because they voted opposite from you is just plain wrong, unnecessary, and unacceptable.

Please call Mayor Andy Gardner, see below, to tell him to stop the lawsuit against Nancy now.

And to make sure he gets the message, please contact the Mayor using the information below. Let’s remind the Mayor he works for us, and we want him to keep his campaign promise to stop the fighting and lawsuits.

Sincerely,

Ted Dellas
2503 Parsons Drive
Willoughby Hills, OH 44094

The Mayor’s contact information is as follows:

Cell Number: 440.487.3322
Work Phone Number: 216.781.1212
Email address: mayor@willoughbyhills-oh.gov
Home address: 38123 Dodds Hill Dr., Willoughby Hills, Ohio 44094

*****

Additional LFC Comments:

Here is a link to the News-Herald article dealing with the lawsuit:
https://www.news-herald.com/news/lake-county/willoughby-hills-residents-file-suit-to-remove-city-councilwoman-nancy-fellows-from-office/article_e3991320-ada1-11ea-bb40-5f2531bfc0f4.html

Please remember if you do not speak up on behalf of fellow citizens that are being mistreated, you are accepting the tyranny. What is to prevent the tyranny from “knocking on your door”? History is replete with what happens when good people turn their head and ignore tyranny.

We support Nancy Fellows – now is the time for all Willoughby Hills residents to come to the aid of Nancy. Bullying and tyranny from government officials is NEVER acceptable. Residents may want to look at the possibility of a recall of Mayor Andy Gardner.

Categories: Lake County Cities & Townships, Uncategorized, Willoughby Hills

Tags: FT