Columbus City Council President Andrew Ginther
ONUMBA.COM, USA – When it comes to the investigations over the allegations that Columbus City Council President Democrat Andrew Ginther was part of bribery activities involving one of the companies that installed red-light cameras in the city, a number of things are no longer in question: the god-awful cameras have been removed, the contract with the company RedFlex terminated and the investigation deepening.
But what is not so certain yet is how much, if at all, any of this is hurting Ginther’s campaign for mayor.
Since he announced his candidacy, Ginther has been seen by many as a shoo-in to win the mayoral race and replace outgoing Mayor Michael Coleman, who ironically, is also grappling with his own burgeoning mess over an unrelated allegations that he sold his pricey pad located in the Columbus Berwick neighborhood to a Chinese business woman who was also looking to do business with the city.
Coleman, a very popular mayor, is stepping down at the end of the year after a historic 16 years in office. He has endorsed Ginther for mayor, an imprimatur that carries heavy weight.
But with all of this playing out, and with the mayor’s backing more important now than ever, is this investigation going to wreck Ginther’s campaign or at least give his opponent Franklin County Sheriff Zach Scott a modicum of chance to wage a respectable battle and possibly win?
In a recent interview, Ginther responded to these questions, saying:
“Not at all.”
In that same interview, he was also asked if he was “worried” he could be “indicted,” he replied:
“There’s no indication that would be considered. It’s not a worry of mine.”
While Ginther denies being worried about any of this, something some may find hard to believe, the fact that this saga is playing out at a time he should be focusing on his campaign for mayor, is certainly not a cause for celebration, especially with his biggest supporter Coleman also bemired in allegations involving a different kind of shenanigan.
Just how and when Scott, also a Democrat, is going to start milking this juicy cow is unclear, but he probably will at some point and in some fashion even though so far, surprisingly, he has not deeply weighed in on the matter or move to aggressively exploit the issue to score votes.
And of course, all of this is alleged and Ginther has not been charged with a crime. He continues to maintain his innocence, saying recently, “I have never received campaign funding from RedFlex.”
Ginther’s trouble began after an Arizona woman Karen L. Finley, an executive of RedFlex, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to fraud of bribery to federal authorities.
Finley, 55, admitted to giving monetary contributions to the Ohio Democratic Party in exchange for allowing her company to participate in the Red-light Camera program. She pleaded guilty for bribing city officials. Allegedly, at least on one occasion, Ginther, who wields vast influence as City Council President, asked his colleagues on the council, all Democrats, to approve a contract extension for RedFlex, obviously, circumventing the lawful bidding process.
FBI is on it. Last week, federal investigators received a copy of the contract with RedFlex. It’s not clear yet what the contract would reveal, but campaign finance reports, which is public information, allegedly shows that Ginther’s campaign has solicited and received contribution from RedFlex.
Apparently, John Raphael, a lobbyist for RedFlex, was the primary conduit through which money streamed from RedFlex to the Ginther campaign via the Ohio Democratic Party, often disguised by Raphael as “success fee.”
RedFlex was hired by the city in 2005 when the company started installing Red-Light cameras.
Ginther said that he has “fully cooperated” with the investigation.
Recently, Governor John Kasich signed into law a measure passed by the Ohio legislature banning red-light cameras in the state.
Columbus has filed a lawsuit to restore the program which reportedly has brought in a total of $10.5 million in revenue for the city.
