After arrests, Mann wants audit of Cincinnati deals
Cincinnati City Councilman David Mann is putting forward a plan to create a commission that will do an independent assessment of past Cincinnati City development deals.
He’s calling it: Commission to Clean Up City Council.
It comes in the wake of three sitting Cincinnati city councilmembers being arrested this year on charges that allege they participated in pay-to-play schemes. None of the three arrests are related to each other.
Councilwoman Tamaya Dennard, a Democrat, has been convicted of honest services wire fraud and sentenced to 18 months in prison, a term that has not started. She resigned from council in March.
Councilman Jeff Pastor, a Republican, was arrested Nov. 11 on bribery and conspiracy charges. He is fighting the charges but has accepted a state suspension from City Council. A temporary replacement is expected to be chosen sometime this week.
Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld, a Democrat, was arrested Nov. 19 on bribery charges. He has said he is innocent and plans to continue to serve on council and run for mayor, though Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost is seeking to suspend him.
“The current crisis is the opportunity for needed reform,” Mann said.
The commission would consist of a balanced and diverse group of nine leaders not personally involved in development projects with the city. Mann is calling for it to be co-chaired by an academic leader and a business leader.
It would review links between campaign contributions and development contracts with the city. In addition to the review, Mann said the commission would also be tasked with making recommendations to keep corruption out of city deals and recommend any needed changes to the charter.
Mann would like see recommendations made no later than May 1. Mann, a Democrat, is running for mayor in Cincinnati’s 2021 city election.
City Council must vote on the proposal. City Hall is closed until Dec. 14 to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
There are no provisions in the city charter to remove a councilmember from office, even in the event of an arrest. Council members Betsy Sundermann and Greg Landsman have separately said they would pursue action to change the charter to address what should happen if a member of council is accused of – or convicted of – corruption.
Landsman is seeking to create a city elections commission, which would mimic the state ethics commission and call for campaign contributions to be posted online for immediate review, which would make any donations from developers more transparent than they are now.
Vice Mayor Christopher Smitherman and Mayor John Cranley have said a review of development deals will be done.
“We have a crisis unlike any I have seen in all my years of service to the city,” said Mann, a former city mayor who has served several terms on council dating back to 1974. “We must deal with it accordingly.”