NEWTON FALLS, Ohio - In Newton Falls this weekend there was a swell of support for Mayor Kenneth Kline.

Many folks who live in town say Kline needs to stay after some members of city council push to remove him.

Controversy in Newton Falls is not new to politics there.

Business owners and many people want the political infighting to end and ask who wants to build or bring a business to a city known for a history of political infighting.

People held signs of support for Kline on North Center Street.

Signatures are being collected in person and online at change.org to take to city council. So far a few hundred signatures have been collected.

"We don't believe that's fair. We believe he was being 100 percent ethical and acting within our city charter," said Julie Lemon from Newton Township.

Supporters are collecting signatures from people in Newton Falls, Newton Township, and Trumbull County.

Two council persons, Tarry Alberini, and Sandra Breymaier have called for a hearing to remove Mayor Kline from office claiming gross misconduct for ejecting the law director and Acting Clerk Joseph Fritz from a meeting. The meeting was to vote on a potential recall election for councilperson Breymaier.

Mayor Kline tells WFMJ news the law director and acting clerk Fritz was going to call Breymaier's name to let her vote on the issue.
I said she will not be voting, we are going to have an ethical meeting, and if you are going to get in the way you are going to leave."

He and others believe there is a conflict of interest and it's against Ohio Ethics Laws. Mayor Kline said, "I was not pushing for the councilperson to be recalled, or not be recalled, just for setting a date for the recall election so the people can vote. The city manager was going to let her vote on her own recall. If that happened Newton Falls would look like a joke."

However last week councilman Tarry Alberini told 21 News that Kline decided to institute his own quorum rules, even with the law director correcting him. He added it was a sad and shameful day for Newton Falls." He doesn't believe the recall election will be certified by the Trumbull Board of Elections because of the quorum issue. Alberini took exception to Kline's denial of Breymaier's right to speak about the resolution and emphasized he did not see a conflict of interest in that.

Some people have cited Robert's Rules of Order, however, legally Ohio Ethics Laws and the Newton Falls City Charter will determine what is legal or what is not.

Robert's Rules of Order are simply procedures meant to ensure meetings are fair, efficient, and orderly, they are not law. 

Elected persons who do not follow Ohio Ethics Laws can face misdemeanor or felony charges for violations, and there is no statute of limitations on the charges.

The Newton Falls Chamber of Commerce usually stays out of politics believes this effort is bad for business.

"Our chamber of commerce president and vice president has penned a letter to the city council asking that they reconsider their methods of removing the mayor.
The mayor supports the people and the people support the mayor. Mayor Kline did nothing wrong. He instructed the law director when calling roll call not to call council person Sandra Bremyeier's name because that would be a conflict of interest. We will not stop supporting our mayor," said Rick Kerlin.

The Mayor's daughter says her dad who was born and raised in Newton falls loves people in the community and is thankful for their support.

Gabriella Kline said, "There is an attempt to remove my father as mayor, and we feel there is an unjust reason. He makes Newton Falls a much better place to live because he works hard and he listens to the will of the people."

Supporters of Mayor Kline are accepting donations, and tell WFMJ News they will be starting a GoFundMe account to help raise money for legal expenses for a May 12th hearing. They also plan on selling T-shirts that state, "I support Mayor Kline," and are planning a rally.