UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio— Mayor Michael Dylan Brennan entered into the political arena as a defiant reaction to the election of President Donald J. Trump, in 2017. Nine years later, Brennan is immersed in controversy after he made a strongly-worded Facebook post in response to Trump’s victory.
Brennan called Trump’s re-election a “fitting bookend” to his Trump-provoked political career and showed few signs of regret over the post.
In the now-deleted post *originally shared to the mayor’s official Facebook account) Brennan lists, by name, the few precincts in Cuyahoga County that voted for Trump. These areas are also home to high concentrations of University Heights’ Jewish and Catholic communities. The post went on to name city council members Sheri Sax and Vice Mayor Michele Weiss as “MAGA council members.” Other council members, Brennan alleges, owe their seats to “red-campaign money.” Brennan concludes by asking citizens “to pay close attention to who the Trumpies are in city government.”
The backlash to the post was swift. Weiss, who is engaged in a public feud with Brennan, said “my phone went off the hook, exploded with texts. People in those precincts felt voter intimidation, felt unsafe, felt singled out.”
At the most recent city council meeting, Brennan was censured for the second time over “inappropriate language.” He strongly believes this reaction is indicative of agenda-driven council members, not the feelings of the general population. Regarding working with Weiss, Brennan said “It’s been years and years of obstruction and personal insult … and undermining the work we’ve been doing here.” Weiss said there is “absolutely not” an agenda to undermine Brennan.
Brennan described his post as a criticism of council members, rather than voters. He said “They’ve tried to say that this is an attack on neighbors and supporters. It’s an attack on Michele and Sheri and their refusal to do what is necessary.”
When asked about his choice to include specific precincts’ voting history in the post, Brennan said “You gotta ask what was it about xenophobia … about mass deportation … about the fascist things that Donald Trump stands for that appeals to you.” He described the assertion that his comments made community members feel unsafe as a “stunning display of white privilege.”
The post is only Brennan’s most recent controversy during his tenure as mayor.
In the past, Brennan faced a failed recall effort for “inappropriate behavior” and “continued defamation established toward city employees,” among other allegations. In this interview, however, the criticism did not phase him, “In public discourse,” he said, “there are things you apparently are allowed to say and things you aren’t, and this was one of them, as far as some people are concerned.”
While Brennan had strong words about Trump’s re-election, he was more reserved when it came to his own. Asked about a potential 2025 run, Brennan said “Just wait and see.”