Mayor calls council member’s comments ‘disgruntled’

Two men who once teamed up to get each other elected are now exchanging criticisms in the public square.

Mayor Ron Oler issued a signed statement Tuesday responding to a Facebook post by Richmond Common Council member Jerry Purcell that the statement said included “blatant factual inaccuracies.”

The city legal department wrote the statement that Oler signed and distributed to media members during a Tuesday, Nov. 19 morning meeting in his office. Along with the statement, Oler distributed copies of a portion of the Sept. 16 council meeting minutes and a letter he received from Purcell and fellow council member Justin Burkhardt.

Oler’s statement said that it’s “in the public interest” to set the record straight and that the mayor must work with everyone, “even those who are disgruntled and misguided,” but must work with the “same set of facts.”

Purcell declined to respond to Oler’s statement when the Western Wayne News spoke with him by telephone Tuesday afternoon.

Oler and Purcell, both Republicans and longtime leaders in city government, campaigned together in the 2023 municipal election that won them their current roles. They referred to each other as friends, regularly promoted each other’s qualifications for office and stressed how they would work together for the benefit of the community. Oler wrote at the time that “Jerry is the ideal image of a servant leader” and called him “a pillar of our city and a great friend.” For his part, Purcell said then that Oler would bring “caring leadership,” trust and transparency to the office of mayor. Both candidates criticized then Mayor Dave Snow for not working more closely with other officials.

Since then, they appear to have had a falling out.

On Nov. 10 , Purcell posted on his “Councilman Jerry L Purcell Connection” Facebook page, saying he’d been asked to explain “the present animosity” between himself and city officials. Purcell said he’d observed the “good-old-boy system” and a lack of transparency in day-to-day city operations.

He mentioned examples, such as the rejection of a third-party merit system for selection of Richmond Fire Department battalion chiefs, the discontinuation of RFD’s mobile integrated health program, the denial by the mayor of requested public records, the denial of access to city employees and the non-responsiveness of the mayor to Purcell’s inquiries.

Purcell has criticized Oler’s administration in other Facebook posts this year. Oler’s statement and corroborating pieces provided Tuesday attempt to address Purcell’s recent complaints about the battalion chief merit system and the mayor’s non-responsiveness to Purcell.

The Sept. 16 minutes show Purcell made the motion to approve a resolution rejecting establishment of a fire department merit system; however, that’s a different issue than the battalion chief merit system.

While Purcell was fire chief during 2022, a third-party company conducted testing of battalion chief candidates and established a promotion list. The new administration did not use that list earlier this year to replace a retiring battalion chief.

The resolution being considered rejected — at the request of the firefighters’ union — establishment of a merit system this year. A change in state statute mandates the merit system, but the RFD members requested the delay until 2025, saying they wanted more time to appropriately make the transition. Council agreed to reject the merit system this year, understanding it would be revisited next year.

When explaining council’s 9-0 vote in a Facebook recap of the Sept. 16 meeting, Purcell indicated his support for a merit system; however, the post said his discussions with fire department membership indicated “a need for more trust in this administration before this can move forward.”

The letter Oler provided indicates that he invited Purcell and Burkhardt to an Oct. 29 meeting from 1 to 3 p.m. and they declined the invitation. Both Purcell and Burkhardt signed the letter, which was hand-delivered to the Richmond Municipal Building’s mailroom across from the mayor’s office.

While the office of the mayor and common council are separate branches of city government, non-cooperation between the two can limit progress on projects aimed at improving services for residents, reducing expenses and fueling economic development.

Oler’s full statement reads:

“I was surprised to hear of Councilman Purcell’s disgruntled social media post, especially considering his grievances are baseless. While my preference would be to refrain from responding to blatant factual inaccuracies, it is in the public interest that the record be set straight.

“First, it was Councilman Purcell who made the motion in favor of the Resolution Rejecting the Establishment of a Fire Department Merit System at a recent Council meeting. And second, it was Councilman Purcell who declined an invitation from me to meet on October 29, 2024. The minutes of the September 16, 2024, Council meeting corroborate the first and a letter I received from Councilman Purcell dated October 25, 2024, proves the second.

“As mayor, my job is to work with anyone and everyone even those who are disgruntled and misguided. But we can only work together from the same set of facts.”