Games Seren Plays: How Our Mayor Undermines City Council and Our City
Mayor Seren withholds information, breaks rules, and mismanages finances. Learn how these “games” harm Cleveland Heights and why a recall is needed.
WATCH THE FULL COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING HERE.
The Cleveland Heights City Council meeting (August 18, 2025) drew a packed Council Chamber — standing room only, filled with residents ready to speak about legal representation for immigrants.
But first, everyone waited. For an entire hour.
Council was supposed to start at 7:30. Instead, they emerged from Committee of the Whole at 8:30. Why? Because of Games Seren Plays.
Breaking the Rules: Executive Session
At the 19:00 mark of the meeting video, Council prepared to enter Executive Session — a legally protected space where what’s said must stay private.
Councilman Craig Cobb underscored the rules — unusual, since they’re standard and well known.
Councilman Jim Posch pointed out why: at the last session, Mayor Seren broke the rules and spoke publicly about what was discussed.
Seren’s defense? Repeating (three times) that he was merely “sharing what the administration was working on” with a developer.
This is classic double-speak.
He knows the law. He chose to skirt it. Then he tried to justify it by repetition, as though saying it often enough makes it right.
Withholding Information
Fast-forward, and you’ll see another Seren tactic: giving Council important financial information at the very last minute.
Clerk of Council Addie explained she had just received the city’s financial balances from Seren’s office that very day — not in advance, when Council could actually review them thoughtfully and thoroughly.
This isn’t new. Seren pulled this same stunt during last year’s budget process — and many other times during his time as mayor.
No responsible leader would expect Council to make informed financial decisions based on numbers handed to them hours (or minutes) before a vote.
This is not transparency. It’s obstruction.
Forcing False Choices
When sloppy financial documentation created confusion over fund numbers in a road resurfacing bill, Seren shrugged it off with a casual “Okay.”
Later, he suggested maybe Council didn’t think fixing roads was “important enough” to pass the legislation. He repeated that suggestion at least three times.
Translation: Council, either you vote for this half-baked legislation with incomplete financial data, or you’ll be blamed for bad roads.
That’s not leadership. That’s manipulation.
Financial Mismanagement
The fund mix-ups didn’t stop there. Seren even offered to shuffle money between accounts on the spot — a Budgeting 101 red flag.
Council had approved a budget earlier this year, yet here was the mayor asking them to ignore it and trust his improvisation.
Councilmembers Petras, Russell, and Posch voiced their frustration and asked for more financial clarity.
Instead of working to solve the problem, Seren stalled, repeated himself, and spun a narrative to make Council look like the obstacle.
Why This Matters
Every resident in that chamber was held hostage to Games Seren Plays.
He withholds information so Council can’t make responsible decisions.
He forces false choices designed to make Council look like the “bad guys.”
He breaks the law and then backpedals with dishonest word games.
He mismanages finances and shrugs off glaring errors.
The result? Projects are delayed, Council’s authority is undermined, and our city suffers.
Cleveland Heights deserves better.
WATCH THE FULL COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING HERE.
