Gift card controversy sparks audit and ethics questions ahead of primary

Axios

a day ago

A gift card giveaway in Cleveland's Ward 1 has reignited scrutiny over City Council's discretionary spending — prompting pushback from Mayor Justin Bibb's administration, a state audit and public consternation.
State of play: Councilman Joe Jones' office helped hand out $50,000 worth of grocery store gift cards to low-income residents, even though a nonprofit was supposed to handle distribution.
Internal emails obtained by cleveland.com revealed that a council staff member warned this could pose ethical or legal risks, especially with Jones up for reelection this fall.
The latest: The Ohio state auditor initially said no wrongdoing occurred, but reversed course during cleveland.com's reporting and now says the issue is "under further review."
The big picture: Council members control hundreds of thousands of dollars from casino tax revenue every year and fiercely defend their allocations.
The money is often used for neighborhood infrastructure, economic development, public art, youth programming and food aid.
Friction point: Bibb's office, which requested the state audit, called the gift card program "problematic" and susceptible to abuse.
The other side: "At the end of the day, we followed everything that we were told to do," Jones told cleveland.com.
Council President Blaine Griffin said there are no explicit rules regarding distribution of aid, but acknowledged the need for more formal guidelines.
What he's saying: In a Facebook post, Griffin shared the article and lashed out at critics, arguing that people only get mad when the government creates programs to help poor people.
"I'm all about accountability," he wrote. "But I don't hear a whisper when developers and pet projects line up to get millions of dollars."
Between the lines: Commenters pointed out there has been widespread opposition to developer handouts.
Some replied that the current controversy is not about helping poor people, but about the potential for corruption: a councilperson doling out gift cards as an implied exchange for votes or loyalty.