Mayor Andrew Ginther Charged $446.53 for Football Trip

Remember when Andrew Ginther and two other Columbus Council Members went to a really suspicious Big Ten Championship game in 2014 with lobbyist John Raphael?

Well, Ginther has officially been cleared of any wrongdoing in that highly controversial football trip. The Ohio ethics commission has been looking into the whole fiasco since Ginther’s Mayoral campaign started back in 2014 and concluded that he got some cheaper than usual tickets and didn’t report it. One of the Council Members resigned last year.

So, what was the damage? $446.53 is what Ginther will pay, which is the difference in additional costs that wasn’t reported.

Ginther’s office released this statement:

The Ohio Ethics Commission has ruled that no laws were violated and there was no wrongdoing on the part of Mayor Andrew J. Ginther regarding his attendance at the Big 10 Conference Championship football game in December 2014. While Mayor Ginther directed his campaign staff to pay the full value of the trip and his staff found that amount to be $250, the Commission later determined the fair market value of the trip was $696.53. In consultation with the Commission, Mayor Ginther has written a check for the difference which will be used to benefit the new, more stringent ethics requirements signed into order by the Mayor.

“Once again, allegations directed toward me were proven to be baseless,” said Mayor Ginther. “The matter is now closed.”

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