AKRON, Ohio -- Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic references Akron Beacon Journal coverage -- specifically a March column -- in his reasons for resigning.
"The good people of Akron deserve better -- they deserve the truth," writes Plusquellic, who was first elected in 1987 and is the city's longest serving mayor. "I do not now believe that my hometown newspaper is interested in the truth. And, after 41 years of honest service to the City I love, to be called a 'B word' in an editorial is more than I'm willing to endure."
Plusquellic, 65, will resign May 31, and City Council President Garry Moneypenny will take over.
Plusquellic's announcement alludes to a dispute with City Councilman Bob Hoch around the mayor's State of the City speech in March. Plusquellic said he uninvited Hoch because he believed Hoch threatened to shoot him. Hoch denies the claim.
Beacon Journal editorial page editor Michael Douglas addressed the claim in a column, chastising Plusquellic for mentioning naysayers in his speech. Douglas wrote:
The direction has been sound, the city moving ahead, the mayor ready to borrow best practices. He has developed a rare combination, a liberal instinct for social justice and an understanding of what works for the business community.
All of this has been driven by his obvious passion, or impatience or sense of urgency for a city still navigating a difficult economic transition. At times, that drive can rub many the wrong way. It recalls a 2008 skit performed on Saturday Night Live about Hillary Clinton, the theme, in short, about how bitches get things done. Well, it might be said, bastards do, too.
Plusquellic, for years endorsed by the Beacon Journal, served in 2004 as president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. He's had big ideas, such as increasing the city's income tax to build new schools, and won the praise of local businesses.
But he has also feuded for years with critics, including former councilman Warner Mendenhall, who led a recall effort against him in 2009, and been accused of being rude.
Douglas told Northeast Ohio Media Group he was praising Plusquellic for taking action in times that "require tough decisions and require strong people."
"It was a backhanded compliment," Douglas said.
In an April 29 story, Beacon reporter Stephanie Warsmith said Plusquellic's spokeswoman Stephanie York changed her explanation of why Plusquellic uninvited Hoch.
"Nor, by the way, have I ever asked anyone to lie or make-up a story after the fact as, unfortunately, the Beacon has accused Stephanie York of doing," Plusquellic wrote.