COLUMBUS – Newly sworn-in Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther has presented his ethics proposal to the City Council, as details of a second investigation of City Hall by the Ohio Ethics Commission became public on Thursday.
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Ginther and Council President Zach Klein discussed the proposal in a meeting on Thursday with The Dispatch editorial board and said the council should vote on it by late February.
Klein said he intends to hold a public hearing on the proposal in the coming weeks.
Ginther’s proposals are included in three separate pieces of legislation that council would consider. They call for increased oversight of lobbyists, more campaign-finance disclosure and the hiring of a city inspector general.
“These are important measures to maintain the public’s trust,” Ginther said. “We are ready to move forward with this policy … more transparency, additional reporting of gifts and information about lobbyists and searchable databases.”
Ginther, the former council president, is one of three current and former council members who were subpoenaed for records in the last few weeks in connection with a complaint about city money that went to nonprofit groups that have employed council members.
Democrats criticized the probe as politically motivated and without merit.
The Dispatch confirmed through five sources within the Franklin County Democratic Party and Columbus City Hall that Ginther, the former council president, Councilwoman Priscilla R. Tyson and former Councilwoman Michelle M. Mills had been asked to provide records to the commission.
The investigation centers on the nonprofit groups that council members have worked for while serving on the council. Those groups received relatively small grants from the city over the last five years.
Greg Davies, Ginther’s chief of staff, said the city has opinions from the ethics commission in 2010 about elected officials working at nonprofit groups. He said council members followed the recommendations to abstain from voting and remove themselves from conflicts of interest.
“We’re following their opinion, so we’re confused as to why now there is an investigation,” Davies said. “We’ve got nothing to hide and we’re complying with the request and will provide all the records.”