Accepting campaign contributions from people whom your city has business relationships with is unethical, if not outright illegal. Fundraising and campaign contributions are a part of our political system. However, most politicians do not accept contributions from people who have contracts, or are trying to get contracts with the government the politician is part of.
That's called pay-to-play, and in Ohio, if the contribution exceeds a threshold, it is illegal and the contract can be voided.
There is no excuse for accepting money from people that lead businesses whom you are voting on contracts for, or in the case of a Mayor, signing off on budgets for.
Doing this certainly makes it look like the elected official is "for sale". It also begs the question to be asked -is the campaign contribution the only money being given, is more money involved, or some other financial deal?
This does not seem to stop some of the elected officials in Gahanna. Since 2003, City Councilmen Tom Evers, Shane Ewald, Tom Kneeland, and Mayor Becky Stinchcomb have received $39,036 in campaign contributions. Of that amount, $9425, or 25% of the total contribution money, has come from people with close ties to the businesses involved in the Creekside Project.
To find out more details please go to the Gahanna City Council page and the Gahanna Mayor page on this site.
Finally-