Petition created to censure Ohio mayor who said ice fishing leads to prostitution

Mayor Craig Shubert

An online petition to censure Hudson Mayor Craig Shubert is gaining traction just days after he raised concerns about allowing ice fishing at a city park.

Hudson residents have signed because they thought Shubert made an alarming comment about a different activity.

"If you then allow fishing with shanties, then that leads to another problem: prostitution," Shubert said at a Hudson City Council meeting last week.

But residents and visitors to Hudson Springs Park in Summit County can now enjoy ice fishing after the mayor's comments. The city posted signs at the park on Friday that permitted the hobby.

The petition on change.org sought to censure the mayor in the past and is now back up and running after his fishing remarks. Over 950 people had signed the petition as of Sunday morning.

According to the petition's creator, the first effort to censure Mayor Shubert came in November 2021 when he made comments to the Hudson City School Board. Shubert asked that board members resign after he said “pornographic content" was being taught in district classrooms. 

Shubert referred to a book titled "642 Things to Write About" at a meeting in September. He claimed the board could face charges for distributing what he called "essentially child pornography."

The book featured 642 writing prompts. Two of them are of a sexual nature.

Board members did not resign but said the book was inappropriate. The book is no longer taught at the district.

Shubert's video recorded remarks created a social media storm, lots of talk throughout the community and were even printed on t-shirts.