One Week After Ohioans Publicly Demand Answers, Frank LaRose Still Refusing to Answer For Costly Office Move
October 25, 2023
Last Week, Three Ohio Taxpayers Submitted Public Records Request to LaRose’s Office for All Public Documents Pertaining to His Latest Scandal
Columbus, OH – It has been one week since Ohioans demanded answers from Frank LaRose about his decision to cost taxpayers $600,000 to move the official Secretary of State’s office to the same building as his campaign HQ. Despite calls from Ohioans and lawmakers, LaRose still refuses to answer for his costly office move.
Last week, Ohio taxpayers Armando Telles, Katie Seewer, and Alfred Navarro announced they had 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.
LaRose has failed to provide additional details despite calls from reporters, Ohioans, and lawmakers 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.
While Ohioans continue waiting for answers from LaRose, here is a reminder of what Ohioans are saying about his latest scandal:
- Al Navarro, a retired Vietnam veteran and Ohio taxpayer: “Frank LaRose: if you want to be our Senator, then give us the answers we deserve. Explain your wasteful use of our taxpayer funds.”
- Armando Telles, independent contractor, Marine Corps veteran, and Ohio taxpayer: “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.”
- Katie Seewer, Ohio State University student and Ohio taxpayer: “Frank LaRose’s pattern of putting his political ambitions ahead of Ohioans and wasting taxpayer funds is seriously troubling. 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.”
- Ohio Lawmakers: “Out of concern for our constituents, we are requesting additional information about the process you followed to identify a new location for the Secretary of State’s office. As elected officials, we owe Ohioans complete transparency into how their tax dollars are spent, especially when related to political campaigns.”
- Thomas Yeager, Air Force Veteran: “I was held to the highest ethical standards as a senior noncommissioned officer in the USAF. We should receive no less from our elected officials. LaRose needs to be held accountable for this string of unethical moves.”
- Delaney Marsco, senior legal counsel for ethics at the Campaign Legal Center: “That’s where my ethics red flags would go up… There’s a real concern about co-mingling the official business that he’s supposed to be doing on behalf of all people of Ohio and then the work that he’s doing as a candidate for Senate.”
- Eric Haidet, Ohio Taxpayer: “I am disappointed in Mr. LaRose’s blatant disregard for Ohio voters. We need to hold him accountable.”
A copy of the public records request submitted last week by Telles, Seewer, and Navarro are available for media use here, here, and here.
See also: What Ohioans Are Reading: Frank LaRose “Stops At Nothing To Put Party Over People”; ICYMI: Ohio Taxpayers File Public Records Requests, Call on Frank LaRose for Answers About Costly Office Move; 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; A New Scandal For Frank LaRose: Taxpayers Foot Steep Bill to Move Secretary of State Office to Campaign HQ
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