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Akron councilman's campaign site no longer accessible from council Web page
By Phil Trexler
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Friday, Jun 12, 2009
Akron City Councilman Jim Shealey has taken down an Internet link from his council Web page to his personal campaign site where he sought political donations.
The link was removed Thursday after questions were posed by the Beacon Journal to Shealey, city attorneys and the public relations firm that runs the council site.
Shealey, an at-large councilman, is up for election this fall in his first citywide campaign. He previously worked as a Ward 5 councilman, first elected in 2000.
City law director Max Rothal said he is reviewing the law and Shealey's use of his council page site that linked people to his personal site.
Last fall, two Summit County council members were investigated by prosecutors for possible ethic violations for linking their taxpayer-funded government sites to their campaign sites.
''It troubles me just on the face of it, but I want to make sure I'm touching all the bases,'' Rothal said.
Shealey said the personal link was first placed on the council site, http://www.akroncitycouncil.org, in February after he made the request to Highland Public Relations, which contracts with council and maintains the Web site.
He said the link to his personal site, http://www.jimshealey.com, was initially not intended to be a campaign site. In an interview Thursday, he said the site was there to provide information about him for constituents.
Only last month, when he filed for election, was a campaign donation tab activated on the personal site, he said. Shealey said no money was donated to his campaign through the site.
''Yeah, yeah, that could be a problem,'' he said of the donation tab on his personal site. ''If [computer users] go to it and say they want to donate, yeah, that could be a problem. That could be a conflict.''
Ohio law prohibits office holders from using their position to knowingly obtain anything of value.
Last fall, county council members Nick Kostandaras, a Democrat from Richfield, and Louise Heydorn, a Republican from Silver Lake, voluntarily removed links from government sites to their campaign sites.
County prosecutors did not pursue charges against the two after it was learned that a new county computer worker created the link without the office holders' knowledge.
Shealey's campaign link was disconnected Thursday afternoon and replaced on his council page with a six-paragraph biography.
No other council member has a similar biographical listing on the city-run council site.
Phil Trexler can be reached at 330-996-3717 or ptrexler@thebeaconjournal.com.
Akron City Councilman Jim Shealey has taken down an Internet link from his council Web page to his personal campaign site where he sought political donations.
Get the full article here.
Comments
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Canton, OH
Posted 10:53 AM, 06/12/2009
Props to Shealey for coming correct. .
Posted 08:02 PM, 06/12/2009
Samrt move by Shealey.
Richfield, OH
Posted 12:14 AM, 06/13/2009
At least Shealey is more honest than Kostandaras who was quoted as saying that "Quite frankly, I don't even know how to use a computer" when his campaign web site was linked to the taxpayer funded County Council web site.
Posted 12:14 AM, 06/13/2009
Jim is a good man. I don't think he would do anything wrong on purpose....
