EAST CLEVELAND, Ohio -
For the first time since controversial photos of East Cleveland Mayor Eric Brewer were made public, he admits on national television that pictures of a man dressed as a woman were indeed of him.
Tuesday night, Brewer told the television show Inside Edition, "These photos are personal, they were taken by a female friend of mine."
During the campaign, Brewer accused his opponent, Gary Norton, Norton's supporters and East Cleveland Police of stealing the images from his personal computer.
Norton tells Fox 8 News Brewer's comments remind him of "The Shakespeare saying, The lady doth protest too much, Brewer protested a little too much and in the end it turned out to be him, of his own doing."
During his appearance on Inside Edition, Mayor Brewer indicated that he was wearing women's clothing, wigs and make-up at the suggestion of his female friend.
Gary Norton responded, "And now all of the sudden he decides to come clean and tells the truth and acts as if he never accused anybody, it's been him all along, it's his style, it's a circus."
Brewer maintains the release of the photos led to his defeat by a nearly two to one margin, but the mayor-elect says there's evidence Brewer was done in by his job performance over the past four years.
Norton says, "A majority of the absentee vote were cast before those pictures came out and of those absentee votes, we won the absentee vote to 64 to 36 percent, just like we won the election day vote."
Brewer continues to maintain the photos were stolen from him, and is pushing for a criminal investigation.
But Gary Norton says, "He's not a victim and we didn't have anything to do with it and I think he owes the residents of East Cleveland an apology, if it's him, just say it's him, I mean there's nothing wrong with that if that's how he chooses to live his life."
Norton says he's not surprised that Eric Brewer decided to appear on Inside Edition or that Brewer is threatening to sue anyone who may have been involved in the release or the public airing of the photos.
The mayor-elect says, "Who's fault is it? I mean is it his own fault that those things came out, he should be a little bit more careful. He's losing his job, he needs to make some money and this might be his one chance to make some money."
Fox 8 News tried to schedule an interview with Brewer on Tuesday, but he would not commit.
Tuesday night, Brewer told the television show Inside Edition, "These photos are personal, they were taken by a female friend of mine."
During the campaign, Brewer accused his opponent, Gary Norton, Norton's supporters and East Cleveland Police of stealing the images from his personal computer.
Norton tells Fox 8 News Brewer's comments remind him of "The Shakespeare saying, The lady doth protest too much, Brewer protested a little too much and in the end it turned out to be him, of his own doing."
During his appearance on Inside Edition, Mayor Brewer indicated that he was wearing women's clothing, wigs and make-up at the suggestion of his female friend.
Gary Norton responded, "And now all of the sudden he decides to come clean and tells the truth and acts as if he never accused anybody, it's been him all along, it's his style, it's a circus."
Brewer maintains the release of the photos led to his defeat by a nearly two to one margin, but the mayor-elect says there's evidence Brewer was done in by his job performance over the past four years.
Norton says, "A majority of the absentee vote were cast before those pictures came out and of those absentee votes, we won the absentee vote to 64 to 36 percent, just like we won the election day vote."
Brewer continues to maintain the photos were stolen from him, and is pushing for a criminal investigation.
But Gary Norton says, "He's not a victim and we didn't have anything to do with it and I think he owes the residents of East Cleveland an apology, if it's him, just say it's him, I mean there's nothing wrong with that if that's how he chooses to live his life."
Norton says he's not surprised that Eric Brewer decided to appear on Inside Edition or that Brewer is threatening to sue anyone who may have been involved in the release or the public airing of the photos.
The mayor-elect says, "Who's fault is it? I mean is it his own fault that those things came out, he should be a little bit more careful. He's losing his job, he needs to make some money and this might be his one chance to make some money."
Fox 8 News tried to schedule an interview with Brewer on Tuesday, but he would not commit.
