Yesterday, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost filed a request to suspend Cincinnati City Councilman Jeff Pastor, who was arrested and charged on 10 federal counts of bribery, extortion, wire fraud, money laundering and other crimes.
“When an elected official puts personal gain ahead of public service, he or she cannot be trusted to act for the good of the public and must be removed from office, at the very least during the pendency of the charges,” Yost said. “Ohioans deserve government that is free of public corruption at every level.”
The request to “commence suspension proceedings” was filed with the Ohio Supreme Court and asserts “that the indicted felonies relate to Pastor’s administration of, or conduct in the performance of his City Council duties, and that his criminal conduct adversely affects the functioning of his office and the rights and interests of the public.”
“In a shocking lack of integrity, Pastor violated the public trust by offering his council vote and his potential influence over matters appearing before the City Council in exchange for his own personal gain,” Yost said.
Pastor, who has been on city council since 2018, has so far declined to step down.
After the news of his arrest broke, several called for Pastor’s resignation, including Republican Party Chair Alex Triantafilou.
Triantafilou tweeted his statement: “It is with great sadness that I read media reports of Councilman Pastor’s arrest this morning on what is being reported as a bribery scandal. The @HamCoGOP has zero tolerance for this kind of behavior. >While Mr. Pastor should be afforded the presumption of innocence and due process, he is not entitled to continue working for the citizens of Cincinnati as he sorts through whatever charges may be coming. Jeff should resign his position on City Council and make his family and his defense a top priority.”
Fellow Republican and council member Betsy Sunderman also tweeted:
I was deeply shocked and saddened to hear the news about Councilmember Jeff Pastor’s arrest this morning. While he is owed the presumption of innocence and due process, I firmly believe he needs to step aside from his role on council and resign immediately. It is clear that, 1/X
— Betsy Sundermann (@voteSundermann) November 10, 2020
And Mayor John Cranley made his own a formal statement saying: “Public trust is not a commodity to be bought and sold by politicians. If the charges against Pastor are true, then it is undoubtedly one of the most egregious and disgusting acts of corruption and betrayal ever perpetrated on our City. Given the serious nature of the charges, for the sake of public trust in the important work we do every day, he must resign immediately.”
This article appears in The Gift Guide.