CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio – Cleveland Heights Mayor Kahlil Seren, who voters recalled earlier this month, awarded multiple lucrative graphic design contracts to a longtime friend before hiring her to a full-time city position last year, according to invoices, financial records and social media posts.

Frances Eugenia Collazo, who at the time lived in central Ohio, received more than $65,000 in city contracts from January to October 2024. One of the projects she worked on was never put out to bid. Another saw Collazo win the contract, even though her bid was twice as high as any other.

And the city paid her $12,000 to redesign the Planning Department’s website -- a project that the city did not ultimately implement.

After nearly two years as a contractor for the city, Collazo was hired in

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