Lakewood planning commissioner quits in protest as trustee seeks to censure village president who blames 5 trustees for staff exits

A Lakewood planning commissioner quit Wednesday in protest of how village employees are treated, the second resignation in a week, as a trustee seeks to censure the village president who blamed five trustees for driving out staff. Former Lakewood Village Trustee Brian Augustine resigned from the village’s Planning and Zoning Commission on Wednesday, Village President David Stavropoulos said in a letter to residents Friday. Augustine said in a comment on the village’s social media Friday morning that he resigned “in protest of what I believe has become an increasingly hostile and contentious environment, particularly in the treatment of dedicated Village employees by certain members of the Board of Trustees.” “Our Village employees deserve to be treated with professionalism, dignity, and respect. I believe civility and mutual respect should be fundamental to public service,” Augustine said.

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