Hudson Mayor Craig Shubert, who received a scolding from the Summit County prosecutor after making unsubstantiated charges that school board members were trading child pornography, is now gaining attention for saying that ice fishing in the city may lead to prostitution.
Shubert made the remarks during a Hudson City Council meeting on Tuesday, and they have since gone viral. According to a tape of the meeting posted on the city’s website, Council President Chris Foster stated that “a number of citizens” had asked permission to ice fish on Hudson Springs Lake. On the lake, ice fishing is now forbidden.
Several authorities expressed reservations. They were concerned that if someone fell through the ice, the city would be held accountable. Hudson’s firemen, paramedics, and police officers may face additional challenges as a result.
Shubert, on the other hand, expressed a very different fear.
“If you open this up to ice fishing, while it appears to be a wonderful idea on the surface, what happens next year?” Shubert inquired. “Does someone come back and say, ‘I want an ice shanty for X amount of time on Hudson Springs Park?'” Allowing ice fishing with shanties, on the other hand, leads to a new problem: prostitution. And now you’ve enlisted the help of the police chief and the whole department.”
Shubert’s remark concerning prostitution was not explicitly addressed by council members. “I’m not in favor of ice shanties,” Council member Chris Banweg answered.
Shubert’s office has been contacted by Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer for comment.
Shubert’s allegation isn’t the first time he’s made a provocative remark. Last November, the mayor asked that the whole school board resign because he falsely claimed that a book used in a high school creative writing class contained child pornography.
Prior to the dispute, the book “642 Things to Write About” had been utilized in the district for five years. Some of the questions, such as “create a sex scenario you wouldn’t show your mom” and “explain a moment when you wanted to orgasm but couldn’t,” were deemed improper.
According to Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh’s office, school board members and Hudson High School instructors received violent threats as a result of the mayor’s accusations. The writing suggestions, according to Bevan Walsh, did not amount to child pornography.
Shubert might face criminal charges for interrupting a public meeting and stirring alarm about threats to public authorities, according to Bevan Walsh’s research. She came to the conclusion that Shubert would not be prosecuted.
