Masks Come Off, Springfield OH Commission Meeting Explodes

OhioRegister
February 13th, 2025

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The February 11th Commissioners meeting erupted in fury after a slew of frustrated and irate public comments set off several members of the Commission, including Krystal Brown, who decreed she would not be seeking re-election due to the ‘vileness’ residents of Springfield.

Like the calm before the storm, Mayor Rob Rue and members of the commission opened their meeting by honoring a local manager of a Burger King who was voted Burger King Manager of the year. After donning their cardboard hats and declaring February 11 as Sara Crossman day, members of the commission opened the floor to a slew of public comments. 

One resident spoke candidly regarding circulating allegations that the commission regularly stacks meetings with Haitian nonprofit groups and members of their community to block out citizens from attending in-person.

“It’s refreshing tonight to be able to get inside the doors tonight to present my comments and my grievances,” one resident said. “If I had shown up last time I would have been standing out in the cold, as it was I decided to come down at 5:30 just in case, as a citizen, I would not be able to get inside the doors. You misunderstand why I stand here. I stand here as a representative of all those who cannot come here who feel they have been disenfranchised, there will be some changes here, from September you have not listened to your citizens except for the three minutes that we stand up here, you’re a public servant, you will do what we tell you, not the other way around.” 

Other residents voiced frustration over repeated inquiries to the commission and local government to provide regular annual crime statistics over the last four years, which have still not been provided. Another requested an update on the recent hit-and-run of a minor in a school zone. The Heartland Beat has covered this issue in a larger article regarding government waste in Springfield government.

Another became quite frustrated at members of the commission allegedly looking at their phones during public comments, throwing her hands up in exasperation.\

“I have a lot of catching up to do as I was blocked out [of previous meetings]” a local resident said. “Over 63.4 percent of our tax dollars are going to your salaries and pensions and not one of you can even look at us. You’re all just looking at your phones. We’re paying you all to sit up there and listen and paying for your pensions. You don’t give us the time of day, you lock us out for your agendas.” 

The resident spoke candidly about how the exorbitant taxes paid to the local government would be well spent if focused on the school system. Mayor Rob Rue responded by telling the resident to take her concerns to the school boards. 

The meeting came to a boiling point when one resident approached the podium and began discussing average IQ rates of the nation of Haiti. According to the resident, the average IQ among Haiti is 67, which brought concerns from the resident among the driving capabilities of members of the community. The comment led to Mayor Rob Rue to decry the resident as “foolish and racist” and had the man escorted out of the chambers for disruption. Clearly distraught over the conversation, Commissioner Brown voiced her true feelings regarding the residents of Springfield and on the “capitalistic” and ‘racist’ system she finds herself in. 

“I definitely have to say something as the only black American sitting on the Springfield commission,” Brown said. “My kinship through the transatlantic slave trade, my kinship of my Haitian brothers and sister who are also a product of the transatlantic slave trade and on black history month, ‘happy black history month everyone’ and as a special education administrator with Springfield city schools. I work with school psychologists constantly where IQ is the topic of discussion, IQ is not some foreign concept, I work with it every single day. To think that a human being with the development of the human mind the human brain physiologically cannot be compared to that of an animal to compare people of African descent to that of animals is super racist. I hope to say that so everybody in the back can hear me.”

Brown went on to explain why she is not seeking reelection, citing the ‘vileness’ of residents. The announcement brought some celebratory reaction among the members of the public.

“So all the things that people come down and bark I usually let them slide but as our mayor Rob Rue has said and It is one of the most despicable things I have ever seen,” Brown said. “I will not be seeking a second term and these are the things and these are the reasons. The vileness that has come from citizens as I’ve sat here, yes it’s good, fun joke for you, thank you, I just can’t continue to consume it. It’s disgusting and to be constrained by what you can say in this seat and be as Christ-like as possible and to be told and gaslit by so many.”

Brown’s tirade continued naming the entire economic system of Capitalism and ‘white men’ to be at fault for creating the concept of ‘racism,’ a concept she believes black people cannot participate in.

“By definition black people cannot be racist, Prejudiced? Yes, Biased? Yes. The concept of racism does not fit anyone that is of African descent in this country. I implore you to do your research as I have done mine for years. Racism is a construct that continues to divide us and it is a product of capitalism in my opinion. It’s another divider for us as people for those who do not have and those who are not independently wealthy white men in America. It’s a device that keeps us divided and busy. I have actually no issue with anyone of any skin color or any background of any creed and if you know me you know that.”

Brown ended her rant by stating she had held in her emotions ever since residents voiced their frustration of the bus accident, where a Haitian driver caused the wreck of a school bus, leading to the death of one child citizen.

“I am sorry for being so emotional but I have held it ever since the bus accident,” Brown said.

Commissioner Tracy Tackett, who incurred public scrutiny for denying that the commissioners had ordered police to halt aid to the homeless after a video caught a member of law enforcement admitting orders came from the commissioners, voiced her support for Brown’s rant. 

“I know you, I see you and thank you for Commissioner Brown,” Tackett said.

According to Human Varieties, an aggregate of scientific research on the matter, the average IQ within the nation of Haiti is 68. Within the United States, having an IQ range between 70-75 can be justification for a diagnosis of MR. 

After the public comments section, the commissioners responded to the public inquiries, with Springfield Police Chief Allison Elliott specifically addressing concerns over the recent hit-and-run driver. 

“Our detectives and our officers, in conjunction with our traffic division were able to locate the individual and make the arrest and the individual was arrested for that incident,” Elliot said. “Thankfully that child did not have any severe injuries but that individual involved in that crash, failure to stop after an accident, driving under suspension and additional charges.”

Based on municipal court records, the alleged suspect was apprehended by Ohio Highway Patrol for a traffic violation, not by Springfield Police Department. As of the time of this writing, there was no record of charging the suspect for fleeing the scene of an accident. 

Update 2/14/2025 – SPD has formally charged the individual in question in relation to the failure to stop after an accident incident. The charges were filed after the Commission meeting.