Mayor Mark Mallory has thrown himself into the middle of a fight over whether lawyer Stan Chesley should stay on the University of Cincinnati Board of Trustees.
In a letter to the Enquirer sent Tuesday, Mallory calls on “Stan” to “ignore calls for your resignation.”
Seven of the nine University of Cincinnati trustees are urging the disbarred lawyer to resign. Chesley, of Indian Hill. was disbarred March 21 by the Kentucky Supreme Court for unethical actions in connection with a $200 million settlement for people sickened by the diet drug fen-phen, and likely will lose his law license in Ohio. The board gave Chesley until 5 p.m. Monday to resign; he hasn’t.
Enquirer higher education reporter Cliff Peale notes the letter puts Mallory at odds with the power brokers on the UC board, including Chairman Fran Barrett, Wym Portman, Tom Humes and Rob Richardson.
Trustees will meet Thursday morning to try to push Chesley off the board. They’re expected to try to strip him of committee assignments and keep him from representing UC in public.
“We need Stan Chesley to continue to serve on the UC Board of Trustees,” Mallory wrote. ”Chesley’s commitment to the University of Cincinnati cannot be questioned. This is his second term on the Board, and through all of those years, he has aggressively worked to make UC set and reach the highest standards. We need that type of impassioned leadership on the UC Board.”
Chesley and Mallory have long been allies; the lawyer donates and raises money to help keep city pools open virtually every summer. He’s also been a major donor and fundraiser for Democratic candidates.
http://cincinnati.com/blogs/politics/201...stan-stay/