What began as a press conference to announce a group's petition to recall Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb ended in a verbal brawl between a petitioner and a group of Cleveland pastors outside City Hall.
"I don't believe that the mayor needs to be recalled and I just wanted to see what this effort was about," said Aaron Phillips, the pastor of Sure House Baptist Church on the city's Southeast Side. "And I see what it's about. It's about nothing. About people having their own egos and want(ing) to ... get some media attention that they don't deserve."
Phillips and two other local pastors, as well as a smattering of press and passersby, gathered on the steps of City Hall Monday night as community activist Juan Collado Diaz laid out his case against Bibb, who was re-elected by nearly three-quarters of voters in November.
"Residents have raised serious questions about priorities, about travel, staffing decisions and growing disconnect between City Hall and the people it serves," said Diaz, who launched the group Accountable Cleveland Era to recall Bibb.
Diaz took aim at Bibb's more $120,000 travel budget for 2025, which also perturbed some council members during budget hearings in February. He also criticized Bibb's "loss" of the Cleveland Browns to Brook Park, his effort to close Burke Lakefront Airport and his short-lived hire of his former college roommate who fell under controversy for allegations of former civil rights violations.
"This is about restoring confidence in our city," Diaz said. "This is saying that our government is here for us. ... Cleveland shouldn't wait: not for safer streets, not for better schools, not for honest leadership, not for a future where we can begin and believe again. We need to do that now."
As he spoke, Phillips and others in his group began shouting over Diaz.
"You're wasting your time and effort!" someone yelled.
The recall campaign's co-organizer Darrell Houston, a Cleveland business owner and Bedford Heights resident, arrived at the press conference as a reporter was asking Diaz to respond to the claim that seeking a recall is a waste of time.
Houston answered: "I'm not understanding that part. ... What we have is a failed administration."
Houston began shouting back at the protesters, eventually approaching them after they pushed back on his claim that "half" the people who voted for Bibb in the fall election received money from City Hall.
Campaign finance records between January and June 2025 show Bibb's campaign paid $7,500 to Phillips' company, Engagement Consulting Services Inc. ahead of his November re-election.
"We want to hold the officials accountable, but having a recall is irresponsible," Phillips told 精东影业 after peeling away from his altercation with Houston. "And we need to do responsible things. We need to work together as a community to make our community better. Doing this on the steps and talking, just doing a lot of talking, that means nothing."
Bibb's office declined to comment on the recall effort.
"[Bibb] is dealing economic circumstances that he cannot control, and he's doing the best he can," said Reverend Jeff Jemison of Mt. Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church. "We just got finished with an expensive re-election. People had a chance and opportunity to voice their concerns. ... It was a blowout election. And now to open up a can of worms and then go down another road of a costly election just doesn't make any sense."
The petitioners must gather valid signatures equivalent to 20% of participants in the last municipal election: roughly 8,500 people within 30 days of filing. After the signatures are verified, the elected official has five days to resign from office, . If he does not, a special election will be held.
The last time a mayor faced a recall vote was Dennis Kucinich in 1978. He as the effort fell 236 votes short.
Even if the recall effort fails, Diaz said he's not giving up.
"This is not a one-time thing," he told reporters. "As I said earlier, this is not about us. It's about setting a precedent to all elected officials inside of City Hall and outside of City Hall that if you mess with the people, we will hold you accountable."
