Ohio Taxpayers Demand Answers from Frank LaRose after Spending $600,000 to Move Official Office to Campaign HQ
October 18, 2023
Ohio Taxpayers Submit Public Records Request to LaRose’s Office for All Public Documents Pertaining to Latest Scandal Costing Ohioans
Columbus, OH – Today, Ohioans demanded answers from Frank LaRose after he spent $600,000 in taxpayer funds to move the official Secretary of State’s Office to the same building as his campaign HQ.
At the event, Ohioans Armando Telles, Katie Seewer, and Alfred Navarro announced they’ve filed three separate public records requests to LaRose’s office, the Office of Budget and Management, and the Department of Administrative Services for all public documents pertaining to LaRose’s decision to use taxpayer funds to move his official office closer to his campaign.
“Frank LaRose: if you want to be our Senator, then give us the answers we deserve,” said Al Navarro, a retired Vietnam veteran and Ohio taxpayer. “Explain your wasteful use of our taxpayer funds.”
“Just as I do as a Marine, it’s time for LaRose to serve his constituents faithfully and fully by providing all public records pertaining to this move so Ohioans can see for themselves how he’s wasting our taxpayer dollars,” said Armando Telles, independent contractor, Marine Corps veteran, and Ohio taxpayer.
“Frank LaRose’s pattern of putting his political ambitions ahead of Ohioans and wasting taxpayer funds is seriously troubling,” said Katie Seewer, Ohio State University student and Ohio taxpayer. “I can tell you firsthand that our state’s young people are paying attention. They don’t want elected officials who think they’re above the rules and won’t be responsible for their actions.”
Since initial reports showed LaRose was moving the Secretary of State’s office for the first time in nearly two decades to his campaign HQ – raising serious ethical red flags – LaRose has failed to provide additional details despite calls from reporters, Ohioans, and lawmakers.
Earlier this month, a new report from the Ohio Capital Journal showed that Frank LaRose “recorded a campaign interview that appeared to take place in the building where he is moving his taxpayer-funded state offices” potentially violating Ohio Ethics code by soliciting a campaign contribution from a taxpayer-funded building.
Photos of the event are available for media use below:
Pictured: Al Navarro, Ohio taxpayer and retired Vietnam veteran, demands answers from Frank LaRose on his costly office move while surrounded by Ohioans.
Download the photo here.
Pictured: Katie Seewer, Ohio State University student and taxpayer, calls on LaRose to stop wasting Ohioans’ money.
Download the photo here.
Pictured: Armando Telles, independent contractor, Marine Corps veteran, and Ohio taxpayer discusses the public records request he filed for information pertaining to LaRose’s costly move.
Download the photo here.
Pictured: Ohio State University students held signs demanding answers from LaRose about his expensive office move.
Download the photo here.
A copy of the public records request submitted today by Telles, Seewer, and Navarro are available for media use here, here, and here.
See also: NEW: Frank LaRose Caught Campaigning At Taxpayer Funded Office Amid Growing Scandal; Frank LaRose’s “Latest Political Controversy” Escalates, Ohioans Agree LaRose Misusing Taxpayer Funds; 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; 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; A New Scandal For Frank LaRose: Taxpayers Foot Steep Bill to Move Secretary of State Office to Campaign HQ
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