Whitehall City Attorney reviewing Ginther call faces residency, Buckeye Lake mayor issues

In order to meet residency requirements to be Whitehall City Attorney, Brad Nicodemus rented an apartment in the city even though he has a half-million dollar home in Licking County.

And it's not the first time that Nicodemus — appointed to resolve a conflict of interest case involving Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther — has changed homes in order to comply with the law requiring officeholders to live in the municipality they serve.

Some in Whitehall claim that Nicodemus is being secretive, especially for a law director. And elsewhere, he also has faced scrutiny.

The mayor of the village of Buckeye Lake, about 40 miles east of Columbus, sent him a termination letter this month, formalizing a long-standing disagreement over his strong ties, as village solicitor, to the village council that she believes undermines her authority. Nicodemus refuses to leave the post.

Nicodemus has faced residency issues before, resigning as mayor of Baltimore, in Fairfield County

The residency issues began in May, when Nicodemus resigned his position as mayor of the village of Baltimore in Fairfield County, telling the Lancaster Eagle Gazette that he had bought a new home outside of the village, "which unfortunately means I have to resign a few months before the end of my term."

In April, Nicodemus bought a 2,300 square-foot home south of Canal Winchester in Bloom Township, paying $549,900, according to property tax records. He then vacated his Baltimore apartment and the job he held for 7 ½ years.

But also last year, when then-Whitehall City Attorney Mike Shannon announced he wasn't going to run again, Nicodemus, a long-time assistant of Bivens, learned that he could run unopposed for the job.

And in August, he changed his voter registration to an apartment on Robinwood Avenue in Whitehall to meet the residency requirement and voted there in the November election.

Jacquelyn K. Thompson, a frequent critic of Whitehall politicians, said she was surprised that after Nicodemus told the Eagle Gazette he would remain living in Fairfield County, suddenly he wasn't there.

"If his statement (about remaining in Fairfield County) is true, he doesn't meet Whitehall's residency requirement," she told The Dispatch, sending the message that "Baltimore's laws count; ours (Whitehall's) do not."

When The Dispatch asked him where he lives, Nicodemus quickly responded "Whitehall." When pressed about his new home in Fairfield County, he said he visits there periodically.

According to the Ohio Secretary of State, residency is "the location that you consider to be a permanent, not a temporary, residence and … the place where your habitation is fixed and where, whenever you are absent, you intend to return."

The residency law has gray areas and rarely is enforced. Other officeholders have used second homes to run for office outside their jurisdictions.

Anthony Pierson, deputy chief counsel at the Franklin County Prosecutor's office, changed his voter registration in October 2022 from his Delaware County house to a condo he owns in Franklin County in order to take the job. He is now running for Franklin County prosecutor.

Nicodemus said he plans to find a new home in Whitehall later this year in order to comply with the spirit of the law.

Nicodemus: Investigating Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther's alleged call to Franklin County judge is a priority

Ginther stands accused of calling a Franklin County Municipal Court judge and trying to pressure her to "do the right thing" in a case involving shutting down a Greyhound/Baron's bus station near the Hilltop.

Franklin County Environmental Court Judge Stephanie Mingo disqualified herself from the case "out of an abundance of caution" that there might be a perception the she could be swayed in ruling the bus station a nuisance.

Nicodemus, however, faces criticism over his own perceived conflict, due to his connection to Ginther's longtime friend Whitehall Mayor Michael Bivens.

Bivens, who served as Whitehall City Attorney before voters elected him mayor in November, has been friends with Ginther for two decades and signed the contract with the Columbus City Attorney's office that allowed Nicodemus to take the job as special prosecutor in the Ginther matter.

Nicodemus and Bivens, both Democrats, work closely together, and critics attacked this as swapping one conflict of interest for another.

Nicodemus has repeatedly said he can be unbiased in investigating Ginther, even going as far as refusing to enter the same building as Ginther after Bivens' New Year's Eve swearing-in as mayor.

Joe Motil, a fierce Ginther critic who challenged the mayor in the November election, has filed motions in Franklin County Common Pleas Court to remove Nicodemus as special prosecutor and replace him with an attorney who has no connections to Franklin County politics. Motil also objects to City Attorney Zach Klein, who represents Ginther, having final say over Nicodemus's work, the results being "to the satisfaction of the Columbus City Attorney," according to the special prosecutor contract.

Nicodemus insists that he'll remain impartial. He plans to submit his results to Klein's office by the end of January.

Nicodemus is also at the center of another controversy with Buckeye Lake mayor, who faces a recall election

In addition to serving as Whitehall City Attorney, Nicodemus also contracts with the villages of Amanda and Pleasantville (in Fairfield County) and Buckeye Lake, providing them legal advice.

And he says he can continue those roles, even while meeting the fulltime demands in Whitehall.

"My job now with the city isn't all that different than what I was doing as assistant law director," Nicodemus said, noting that there is less of a learning curve for him than hiring someone new.

"At this point, it has not become an issue," he said of the different assignments and Ginther probe.

What has become an issue is a persistent feud with Buckeye Lake Mayor Jeryne Peterson who on Jan. 8 sent him a certified termination letter following a verbal firing that he ignored.

Peterson claims that Nicodemus is undermining her authority as the leader of the growing village of almost 3,000 by siding with village council's 7-0 decision in October to censure her for "conduct unbecoming."

The friction began last summer when an employee complained that Peterson was hostile. Two others at village hall made similar claims. One of them resulted in a complaint with the Ohio Civil Rights Commission, Village Council President Linda Goodman said.

Nicodemus recommended the village hire an outside human resources firm to sort things out, in part because he felt he couldn't fairly advise the mayor, who is both his client and the accused.

Peterson says Nicodemus doesn't understand the "strong mayor" form of government where the elected mayor has executive powers over almost everything, including his dismissal. She also said she entered into a contract for a law firm to replace Nicodemus at a billing rate of $225 per hour, more than twice that paid to Nicodemus.

But Paul-Michael LaFayette, a partner at Freeman Mathis and Gary, said Peterson had no authority to enter the contract for services without approval of village council. And council last year voted against it.

Peterson also has accused Nicodemus of accepting some of his $100 hourly rate for work he's not actually doing; failing to take direction and improperly influencing council members with "smooth talk." Nicodemus's salary with Whitehall is about $126,000 annually.

"If he had an ounce of scruples, he would recuse himself from having anything to do with an attack on the mayor," Peterson said. A recall petition to remove the mayor also has begun.

Goodman insists that every dollar that Nicodemus has been paid is itemized and that he has helped the village.

Peterson also has filed a complaint against Nicodemus with the Ohio Office of Disciplinary Counsel, a branch of the Ohio Supreme Court. She, in turn, is facing a petition to remove her as mayor.

Nicodemus tries to focus on controlling what he can, decompressing with his horses

"When you're doing municipal law, it's no uncommon for someone to disagree with the advice you're giving," Nicodemus said.

In September, he sent Peterson a detailed explanation about why he can't be fired due to his contract with the village and other limitations set forth in the Buckeye Lake charter.

"Do I wish it wasn't occurring? Absolutely. But I still represent the village, including her.

"I try to keep levity in the situation," he said. "I control what I can control and not spend time on the things I can't."

His 3 ½-acre property includes horses, which are naturally calming, he said.

dnarciso@dispatch.com

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Whitehall City Attorney faces residency, Buckeye Lake mayor issues