Letters: Kudos to Licking County prosecutor for integrity and ignoring politics

Kudos to Licking County Prosecutor Jenny Wells and her staff, who reviewed the video of the November 2018 meeting of the Newark City Council Public Services Committee meeting and accompanying documentation about multiple false and misleading statements about a new scoreboard at Don Edwards Park that were made by Newark Public Services Director and Buckeye Valley YMCA sports director Adam Jenkins.

The video is so incriminating that it is not surprising that the county prosecutor decided to forward the matter along with what we understood to be a rather lengthy letter to Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s office to pursue after determining there was a conflict of interest for her office. Although the Attorney General's office declined to take on the matter, Wells' office reported back by email that they have forwarded the information to the Ohio Auditor's Office and the State Ethics Commission.

We have little doubt that the decision was based on the merits … however, it took integrity, a commitment to enforcing the law and perhaps even courage to buck the Republican-dominated political establishment in Newark and Licking County.

What impressed me was that the prosecutor's office took the time to call and email me and explain how they were going to proceed — which was more than Newark Mayor Jeff Hall and City Council did in nearly three years.

Thanks to our new prosecutor’s office for doing the right thing.

Dave Froelich, Newark

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This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Letter: Kudos to county prosecutor for integrity, ignoring politics