Newton Falls Council members show up, recall set for June 1
NEWTON FALLS, Ohio - For the first time in three weeks, council finally had enough members show up for a quorum Monday evening and voted to set a recall election for Sandra Breymaier for June 1. Breymaier who represents the 4th Ward and 1st Ward Councilman Adam Zimmermann had not attended several council meetings since a dispute with Mayor Ken Kline over council rules that disrupted the April 19 meeting.
In a relatively calm session Monday, Breymaier abstained from voting on her recall while Zimmermann voted against it. Council members Tesa Spletzer and John Baryak voted in favor—enough for a majority.
The fifth council seat has been vacant since the resignation last week of Tarry Alberini, who was serving as council-at-Large. Council unanimously voted to accept Alberini's resignation and has set May 19 as the deadline for applications to fill the position.
In interviews with 21 News, both Breymaier and Zimmermann adamantly denied they had boycotted the meetings. Breymaier, 72, said her previous absences were due to medical reasons. "I was in the hospital twice in the last five weeks for three or four days each," she told 21 News. "I even told the mayor that due to my illness I would not be able to attend." Breymaier said she and Kline have had ongoing differences. "He just doesn't like me," she said.
The councilwoman said Zoning Administrator Mark Stimpert drove her to and from Monday's meeting. "Without him, I wouldn't have been able to come," she said.
The recall effort against Breymaier in which nearly 200 residents of her ward signed petitions appears to have been precipitated by negative comments she is reported to have made about the mayor.
Zimmermann explained he had been "caught out of town" and could not get back in time for the May 3 meeting. He said his absence from the next session was due to a legal opinion from A. Joseph Fritz, the village law director, that the meeting did not quality as an emergency as designated by the mayor. "I was just following (the law director's) advice,' he said. Zimmermann said he had a prior commitment that kept him away from last Friday's meeting,
The Trumbull County Board of Elections must certify the petitions—something it refused to do after the April 19 meeting because a quorum did not exist with the walkouts of Breymaier, Zimmermann and Alberini. It was Kline's attempt to have police remove Zimmermann from that meeting after the councilman challenged the mayor over procedures that led to their exit.
No issues are expected when the elections board meets again to certify.
