Mayor’s audio statement is below
Lakeview Mayor Elaine Fagan-Moore announced that petitioners seeking her removal from office had voluntarily dismissed their case with prejudice during the village’s Monday, Dec. 2 council meeting.
Mayor Fagan-Moore provided a statement at the outset of the meeting concerning the case’s dismissal, which the petitioners filed Nov. 27 with the Logan County Common Pleas Court.
A bench trial for the matter had been set for Dec 2-6.
“This was a politically motivated stunt,” Mayor Fagan-Moore said and she claimed it was orchestrated by Traci Gentis, Ella Shofstall and the signing petitioners of the lawsuit.
“(The petition) was a coordinated public campaign to undermine my credibility based on distortion, exaggeration and gossip,” the mayor said, adding, the social media posts on Facebook were an effort to “ruin my reputation and create doubt in the public eye.”
“This frivolous lawsuit cost the village thousands of dollars, wasted valuable time of officials and administrators.”
She called on the Lakeview community to come together and heal.
The mayor concluded her statement by thanking council members, administrative staff, her legal counsel and others.
Click Here to review all court documents related to the dismissed court case, CV 24 09 0278
A petition for removal was signed by 143 residents, well over the 15 percent needed – 48 in the case of Lakeview – to bring the action.
The petition to remove Fagan Moore as Mayor of Lakeview claims that her actions since taking the position in January clearly violate an obscure element of Ohio law, namely Section 3.07 of the Ohio Revised Code, stating that Fagen-Moore “willfully and flagrantly exercises authority or power not authorized by law, refuses or willfully neglects to enforce the law or to perform any official duty imposed upon him by law, or is guilty of gross neglect of duty, gross immorality, drunkenness, misfeasance, malfeasance, or nonfeasance is guilty of misconduct in office.”
A message seeking comment on the case’s dismissal was left Monday evening with local attorney Tim Steinhelfer’s office, which represented the petitioners.