Who’s the Grinch?

WARREN — Warren residents call him the mayor, but at the annual tree lighting on Dec. 3, some called him “the Grinch.”

A picture of Mayor James Fouts was superimposed as the Grinch and posted on City Hall.

“I think it is unacceptable, unimaginable and unprofessional,” the mayor said. “This certainly is not in keeping with celebrating the birth of Jesus, family and friends.”

According to Warren City Council Secretary Mindy Moore, “It was a fun little prank, nothing offensive or malicious.  Apparently, the mayor doesn’t have a sense of humor.”

Moore said she did not design the Grinch image of the mayor but saw it on Facebook and came up with the challenge to post the picture on the bulletin board in City Hall. In return, she offered to make a sizable donation to the Salvation Army.

“It started off as a friendly, I dare you to do it,” Moore said. “We raised a lot of money for the Salvation Army, nearly $4,000.”

Security footage from Warren City Hall shows a man taping the “Grinchgate” image on the wall of the building at the tree lighting event, where the image was found.

“There is a law you can’t deface city property,” Fouts said.  “This certainly violates the basic tenets of professionalism for an attorney.”

The mayor identified the person in the video as Jeff Schroder.

“The person that did it, Mr. Schroder, an attorney hired by the City Council to sue me, sue the clerk and the city of Warren eight times for what I would consider frivolous lawsuits,” Fouts said.

The mayor and the City Council have had a contentious relationship.

“We are at odds,” Moore said.  “He (the mayor) won’t follow the charter and the law. He wants to do whatever he wants without question, and we ask questions.”

Schroder could not be reached for comment on this story.