Councilman Brian Kazy Sends Federal Judge Overseeing Cleveland Monitor Letter about Concerns

Apr 03, 2025

Councilman Brian Kazy (Ward 16) has sent a letter to U.S. District Judge Solomon Oliver, who oversees the Department of Justice Consent Decree, about his concerns with Karl Racine staying on as Cleveland Monitor.

The letter reads:

"Judge Oliver,
I am taking the unusual step of contacting you directly about this case because of my urgent concerns about the fitness of the court’s monitor based on recent conduct as reported in the media. In addition, I have reached out to Mr. Racine and have not heard from him or his law firm, Hogan Lovells. I strongly ask you to consider removing or asking for the resignation of Monitor Karl Racine."

Councilman Kazy stated outside the letter, “This entire situation stems from Karl Racine, and I’m baffled that he hasn’t responded to my letter urging him to resign—even if only to explain why he won’t. That’s why I've sent a letter to Judge Oliver asking him to intervene. We can’t have a monitor who lacks transparency and honesty.”

Later in the letter: 
"The fact that we are even at this point, there is an open investigation, and this incident is a news story is an embarrassment to the Department of Justice, the court, himself, Hogan Lovells, the Cleveland Police Department and all of the monitoring team.

"This is a mess that can’t be cleaned up – except by resignation or removal."

Read the full letter here.