Probably Shouldn't Go There, Dimitrious

In one of our local non-scandal scandals, last December some our City Council members -- Andrew Ginther, Eileen Paley, Shannon Hardin -- accompanied others on a charter bus trip to watch Ohio State play in the Big Ten Football Championship game in Indianapolis.  The trip was arranged by a lobbyist and paid for by a food vendor with a contract at the Columbus Convention Center.  The group watched the game in the food vendors luxury suite.  The three reimbursed the vendor for the $250 per person cost.  When news of this came out a couple months ago, some thought it raised ethical questions, so the Ohio Ethics Commission is looking into it.  (It'll be OK.)

In the upcoming November election, Ginther is running for mayor, Paley for municipal judge, and Hardin for council member.

Dimitrious Stanley is a former Buckeye football player and former football "analyst" for a local TV station.  Not sure what he does for a living these days, but he too is running for a city council seat.  Stanley accuses the three of unethical behavior because they didn't immediately reimburse the vendor, and the amount they paid wasn't enough -- he wants them to "pay the real value of what they were given."

Whoa, Dimitrious!  Better not go there.

First, you have a history yourself of not paying the "real value" of things like your car payments and your homeowners association dues.

And second, here in Buckeye-mad Columbus, attacking community leaders for supporting our local heroes by attending an OSU football game is not a winning strategy.

Here are just a few people who believe attending an OSU game is ethical as hell!