Wife beater’s hiring by Cleveland based on qualifications, city says
Former Common CLEVELAND — Pleas Judge Lance Mason, who was imprisoned after beating his wife in 2014, was given a $45,000-a-year job by the administration of Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson because he was the most qualified applicant and not as a political favor, a city official said.
Mason, who pleaded guilty to attempted felonious assault and domestic violence in 2015, was one of 16 applicants for the job of minority business development administrator. He was selected from among six finalists, who were given interviews, and started work Aug. 28.
“Lance Mason was simply the most qualified candidate for this position,” Melissa K. Burrows, director of the city’s Office of Equal Opportunity, said in a statement. “I made the decision to hire Mr. Mason because of his expertise in reading, understanding and interpreting contracts and other legal documents.”
The Office of Equal Opportunity, among other things, monitors how well companies comply with the Fannie Lewis law., which requires 20 percent of the jobs on public improvement contracts valued at $100,000 or more go to Cleveland residents.
The office also works with target businesses to try to bolster their participation in city contracts. Those include minority-owned companies, female business enterprises, local producer enterprises and others.
Mason’s position is a mid-level job in the Equal Opportunity Office. His $45,000-a-year salary falls in the middle of the pay scale for the job, Burrows said. What’s the fuss? From September 2015 through June 2016, Mason was imprisoned for attempted felonious assault and domestic violence, crimes to which he pleaded guilty.
In August 2014, Mason was accused of punching his wife 20 times with a closed fist while in their car and smashing her head against the car’s center console five times. The couple’s children were in the back of the car when the attack occurred.
Aisha Fraser Mason needed reconstructive surgery on her face to recover from a broken orbital bone. She filed for divorce two days after the incident.
The case was high profile not only because of the circumstances, but also because Mason, who previously has served in the state legislature, was a judge in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court.
Mason is barred by law from ever being a judge again. He is fighting a recommendation from the Ohio Supreme Court’s Board of Professional Conduct agreed that he be disbarred permanently. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments in that case in October.
Mason had no previous history of domestic violence. He sought counseling after his arrest.
In her statement, Burrows said Mason’s law degree helped him get the job. “These skills are very beneficial to the specifics of this position and the challenges we will face,” she said.
Nowhere in Mason’s application is there any mention of his criminal past.
Jackson has in the past expressed the position that people deserve second chances in life. Since 2011, the city has banned a box on job applications that ask if applicants have a criminal history.
The city does do background checks on people who have been offered employment, said Jackson spokesman Dan Williams on Wednesday.