Frank LaRose’s “Latest Political Controversy” Escalates, Ohioans Agree LaRose Misusing Taxpayer Funds
October 4, 2023
Ohioans deserve answers after bankrolling LaRose’s $600,000 move
Columbus, OH – Frank LaRose’s “latest political controversy” is escalating as LaRose continues to refuse to answer questions and provide transparency on his decision to move the Secretary of State’s office to the same building as his campaign HQ – costing Ohioans a steep $600,000 which will take 54 years to recover. Now, a new viewer poll by WSYX is showing that an overwhelming majority of Ohioans agree LaRose is misusing taxpayer money.
Ohioans, media outlets, and state lawmakers have been calling on LaRose for weeks for transparency, but LaRose continues to put his political ambitions ahead of Ohioans.
“Frank LaRose’s latest scandal is growing and Ohio taxpayers are footing the bill for his scheme to move the Secretary of State office to the same building as his campaign,” said ODP Spokesperson Reeves Oyster. “Ohioans aren’t buying LaRose’s excuses or his phony math as it becomes clearer every day that LaRose will do whatever it takes to advance his political career, regardless of how much it hurts – or costs – Ohioans.”
Read / watch more from WSYX:
WSYX: LaRose asked to justify spending $600,000 on relocating his office
Darrel Rowland
September 28, 2023
- The latest political controversy in Columbus revolves around office space.
- Secretary of State Frank LaRose wants to move his office from North Fourth Street to 200 Civic Center Drive a few blocks away. Democrats point out that that space houses the attorneys for his U.S. Senate campaign.
- Ohio Sen. Bill DeMora, D-Columbus, is pounding on LaRose for changing the location of the secretary of state’s leased office for the first time in decades.
- DeMora led 13 Democrats who sent a letter to LaRose this week, seeking justification for the move, which will cost $600,000. While the office gets a slight decrease in the lease rate, that initial outlay won’t be recovered until 2077, DeMora said.
- “We want some answers,” DeMora said. “I mean this is state money he’s spending to move. It’s a purview of Democratic legislators to ask him why you’re spending this money.”
- DeMora, a top operative of the Ohio Democratic party for years before taking office last year, said he thinks it’s hardly a coincidence that LaRose picked the building that houses his senate campaign’s legal adviser, Baker-Hostetler.
- “It doesn’t pass the smell test for any rational person,” DeMora said. “The secretary of state’s office, through Democrat and Republican secretary of states, has been in the same building for 20 years. And now all of a sudden Secretary LaRose decides, well, it has to be moved.”
- Neither LaRose nor anyone from his campaign would go on camera to respond to the Democrats’ concerns.
See also: Frank LaRose Continues Dodging Questions From Ohioans, Media, and Lawmakers on Latest Scandal; Ohio Lawmakers Call On Frank LaRose To Answer for Latest Scandal Costing Ohioans; Frank LaRose’s “Latest Unethical Move Is a Bit More Literal”; ICYMI: “Ethics Red Flags” Go Up as Frank LaRose’s “Ability to Do that Job Impartially Has Been Called into Question” [Ohio Capital Journal]; LaRose’s Math Not Adding Up as Taxpayers Cover Steep Cost to Move Secretary of State Office to His Campaign HQ; As Scandal Grows, LaRose’s “Answers” Just Raise More Questions About Steep Cost to Move Secretary of State Office to His Campaign HQ; Frank LaRose Still Owes Ohioans Answers After Latest Scandal Surfaces; A New Scandal For Frank LaRose: Taxpayers Foot Steep Bill to Move Secretary of State Office to Campaign HQ
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