CLEVELAND — As a result of an investigation into his misconduct, Cleveland City Council member Joe Jones has stepped down as chair of the mayor's appointments committee and all other committee assignments and is expected to undergo sensitivity training.

Council president Blaine Griffin said the external law firm that council hired to investigate Jones put forth those recommendations.


What You Need To Know

  • As a result of an investigation into his misconduct, Cleveland City Council member Joe Jones has stepped down as chair of the mayor's appointments committee and all other committee assignments and is expected to undergo sensitivity training

  • Council president Blaine Griffin said the external law firm that council hired to investigate Jones put forth those recommendations and that Jones will still be allowed to attend and vote in regular council meetings, but he will no longer take part in committee deliberation

  • Although the city is declining to publicly release the investigation into Jones' conduct, city records show complaints against the council member date back to at least 2022

  • In complaints released by the city, staffers allege Jones creates an uncomfortable work environment by raising his voice, disrespecting employees, and in one case, inappropriately touching a female coworker

“Now, he will still be able to vote and represent the people of his community in Ward 1,” Griffin said. “However, he won't be a voting member where the deliberations of the committee will take place. We will reevaluate his status after he has sensitivity training and some of the other trainings that we have put in place and recommended to him.”

Although the city is declining to publicly release the investigation into Jones' conduct, city records show complaints against the council member date back to at least 2022. 

An incident with a local artist in a meeting in May of last year sparked the external investigation. According to records released by the city, the artist claims Jones made inappropriate comments about her physical appearance.

In other complaints, city staffers allege Jones creates an uncomfortable work environment by raising his voice, disrespecting employees, and in one case, inappropriately touching a female coworker. 

Griffin said he’s hopeful the steps they are taking to address Jones’ conduct will result in an improved council culture. 

“We do not have anything very prescriptive on what to do with elected officials with this kind of a situation where these kind of allegations are made,” Griffin said. “So, in order to try to get the best practices in the industry and also deal with the immediacy of the matter, but not only the immediacy of the matter with Councilman Jones, but also how we could change the culture of City Council, so that we can avoid these kind of, incidents in the future. We thought it was necessary to get a third party to advise us on this.”

Specturm News reached out to Jones for comment, but has yet to receive a response.