First on Fox 8: Cleveland safety advisor resigns

CLEVELAND (WJW) — The Fox 8 I-Team has learned that a new Cleveland safety official has resigned, stepping down after a firestorm over his past.

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Senior Safety Adviser Phillip McHugh resigned Thursday in a letter obtained by the I-Team from McHugh’s attorney.

The letter states:

“Today, I have made the decision to submit my resignation to Mayor (Justin) Bibb. While it has been an honor to serve the City of Cleveland for this brief time, the politically motivated character assassination campaign initiated against me by certain disingenuous members of the City Council and media has made it nearly impossible to focus on the work and to serve the City effectively.

Public servants should be held to a higher standard of scrutiny and for the last month, I have candidly and truthfully embraced questions about my career. I vehemently deny these false suggestions that I have lied to or deceived the Mayor, the City, or members of the media regarding an investigation I conducted nearly a decade ago.

I have dedicated my life to public service and was excited for the opportunity to make a difference in Cleveland. I uprooted my family and left behind the personal and professional life I spent nearly twenty years building in Washington DC because I believed in the Mayor’s vision for Cleveland and I am confident I could have helped achieve it. I want to thank Mayor Justin Bibb and Director Wayne Drummond for this opportunity and for their faith in my abilities and character. I wish nothing but the best for the City of Cleveland and its residents.”

The I-Team received a copy of McHugh’s resignation. Read below:

Letter of Resignation – Phillip McHughDownload

We have requested to discuss the matter with Bibb for weeks, but he has declined our requests.

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He did issue a statement to Cleveland residents after news of McHugh’s resignation Thursday:

“I understand that the hiring of Phil has evoked pain within our community. I have heard your concerns and acknowledge that situations like these are hard – as a leader, as a resident, and as a Black man. The issues of race, discrimination and privilege that have been raised are complex and nuanced, and I’ve been grappling with how to best navigate and address them.

As a Black man born and raised in Cleveland, with grandparents from the segregated South who instilled in me a deep commitment to civil rights and social justice, I ran for Mayor of Cleveland with a vision of creating equitable change. I believe in the power of effective leadership and diverse perspectives to address the most pressing, complex issues facing our community. First and foremost of these is public safety. I know that if we cannot get this right, nothing else matters.

I have said from the beginning that our city is in need of smart and talented individuals to help us modernize public safety and address the evolving challenges we face. The complexities of public safety require innovative solutions, data-driven strategies, and a collaborative approach that leverages the expertise and insights of a diverse range of professionals. Since meeting Phil, I have known him to be this type of leader. However, Phil recognizes that his past has led to a distraction as well as concern from our community and my staff. It became clear to Phil that he will not be able to be effective in this environment. Still, I remain committed to delivering these solutions for Clevelanders so they have the level of service they deserve.

Every day I wake up, I’m focused on the safety of our residents. It’s a pivotal moment in our city where we have the opportunity to make a real difference, and I’m committed to doing everything in my power to ensure that we do.

My commitment is unwavering and I need each and every one of you to continue to help us in that cause.

I am here for you and I am here with you.”

In recent weeks, McHugh has answered hard questions from the I-Team.

The city hired McHugh for a new position in public safety at $124,000 a year. His hiring created an uproar since he was Mayor Bibb’s former roommate, and had also been the target of a civil rights lawsuit stemming from his work as a detective in D.C. The I-Team also revealed he helped write the job description for his position in Cleveland.

McHugh said he was one of 16 people who had applied for the safety adviser post. The $124,000-per-year position was created shortly after McHugh was turned down for another city job.

“I interviewed for that job that I didn’t get, and it kinda sparked in the team here that there was a need for someone to assist the former safety director with being more strategic, more data-driven,” McHugh said. “Whether it was me or someone else with that skill set, or more — they realized there was a need for that position.”

He said he had two interviews for the safety adviser job, and the person who hired him was former director of public safety Karrie Howard, not the mayor.

Some city council members have called for McHugh’s resignation since they learned about the civil lawsuit that was filed against him by an elderly African American woman back in 2016.

The lawsuit was later dismissed and settled.

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City councilmen Richard Starr and Kevin Conwell publicly said McHugh should have never been hired. They both have urged the mayor to fire him.

“They did a soft background check. They didn’t do a social media check, or Google search, or anything, because if they did, they would have seen this type of case come up,” Starr has said.

McHugh said he didn’t bring up the lawsuit during the interview with Howard because he wasn’t asked about it, and it was settled years ago. He also faced no internal discipline and was promoted in Washington, D.C., following the incident.

City Hall officials also have said previously they were aware of the lawsuit, and they talked to McHugh’s former bosses, who praised his work.

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