Portsmouth City Council will take the first step on Monday toward allocating more taxpayer money to defend the city in an ongoing lawsuit filed by Councilman — and former mayor — Sean Dunne.
The ordinance, up for its first reading this evening, would authorize transferring $7,000 from the city’s General Fund to the Legal Fees line to cover current and future 2025 expenses related to the case. This is only the first reading — two more readings are required before council can take a final vote.
According to the ordinance, the legal fees account is already overspent by $5,203.40, after starting the year with a $4,000 appropriation. City officials say they don’t know how much more may be needed as the case continues, especially with additional bills expected from the attorney representing Dunne.
The lawsuit — Sean Dunne v. Charlotte Gordon, et al., Scioto County Common Pleas Court Case No. 24CIH00102 — stems from a January 2, 2024, Portsmouth City Council vote that replaced Dunne as mayor with current Mayor Charlotte Gordon. Portsmouth’s form of government allows the mayor to be chosen by council members themselves at the first meeting of the year.
Gordon, Vice Mayor Lyvette Mosely, and Councilmembers Joey Sandlin and Andy Cole voted for Gordon, while Dunne and Dennis Packard voted to keep Dunne in the role. Dunne called for a do-over at the time, alleging that discussions about replacing him happened before the meeting in violation of Ohio’s Sunshine Laws and the Open Meetings Act.
Dunne has claimed that Facebook posts and a series of phone calls between certain council members amounted to “round robin” discussions — serial one-on-one conversations designed to skirt public meeting requirements. He argues that such actions invalidate the January vote and has warned that friends and relatives of some council members could face subpoenas and depositions.
The councilman insists his objections are about transparency, not politics or identity. “For the public, they want to know what their representatives are thinking,” Dunne said. “It’s key to having a representative democracy.”
City officials, meanwhile, are bracing for continued legal costs — and this proposed $7,000 is unlikely to be the last time council votes to spend more on the case.
