COLUMBUS – It was Columbus City Council President Andrew Ginther’s turn to address ethics in city government as part of his campaign to become the next mayor.
Amid City Hall scandals involving red light cameras, football tickets and the sale of the outgoing mayor’s house, ethics has become the leading political issue in the race between Ginther and his fellow Democrat, Franklin County Sheriff Zach Scott, who rolled out his own ethics proposals a few weeks ago.
In his package of proposed measures, Ginther addresses lobbying and calls for tougher financial disclosure requirements and more transparent record-keeping.
Ginther’s plan would expand the definition of who must register with the city clerk’s office as a lobbyist, align city statutes with state laws, require a new disclosure report for lobbyists and increase penalties for those who violate the rules.
Elected officials would be required to file financial disclosure reports twice a year, instead of once and describe all gifts and their sources.
Officials must adopt a model ethics policy for their office, conduct annual training, and designate an “ethics officer.” They would also face increased penalties for failure to follow the new law.
Ginther’s plan would create an online database of all city campaign finance reports and require additional campaign finance filings each year: Nine during election years, five required by the state and four by the city, and four in non-election years, two each required by the state and city.
Ginther has already backed tougher ethics laws while on City Council, including limits on the use of public funds and expanded access to city records.