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So Listen: Let’s talk about corrupt politicians

Corruption in politics happens so often that when it shows up in the news, no one is incredibly surprised by it. Whether it is national, state or local, our politicians engage in corrupt scandals such as bribery, extortion, nepotism or cronyism. 

Recently, the state of Ohio has seen examples of political corruption at the state and local levels. In a huge political bribery scandal this summer, Ohio Statehouse Speaker Larry Householder and his political allies were charged with 162 counts of campaign finance violations that total up to nearly $61 million. This bribery scheme was tied to FirstEnergy Corp. and is a great example of how cronyism and racketeering can so easily penetrate our legislators. The scandal is tied to House Bill 6, a bill that would essentially bail out certain energy companies, including FirstEnergy. Several house representatives received campaign money from this situation in exchange for voting yes on House Bill 6. This is a clear-cut example of corrupted politicians selling out in exchange for a better chance at staying in power. 

Another recent example of political corruption in Ohio happened in Toledo. Several Toledo City Council members took personal bribes for votes in a years-long scandal that included four City Council members who were federally charged. These Council members were supposed to vote and represent the citizens of Toledo, and instead, they only cared about their personal interests. These political sellouts not only harmed their constituents, but harmed the relationship of trust and reliability that Toledo citizens had put in their Council members for so long. 

In Athens, we are lucky that our Council members are not corrupt in this way, but they are not all free of conflict of interest. Several Athens City Council members are either business owners, landlords or both. When Athens residents bring forth issues landlord-tenant issues or employment issues, there is no way we can be certain that those Council members will put the interests of the common people over the interests of the property owners — themselves. 

This issue of political corruption shows up in our national politics, too. In the past few years, President Trump’s lawyers, Michael Cohen and Roger Stone, have both been called to testify for campaign finance violations and witness tampering, respectively, among other things. Not only are these abhorrent examples of political corruption from people that have direct ties to President Trump, but Trump used his presidential pardoning powers to grant clemency to Roger Stone. It is worth noting the witness tampering was surrounding Trump’s impeachment. 

Corruption in politics is present at the local, state and federal level, in every branch of government and at every size. This isn’t breaking news to anyone. These are all situations that most people are aware of in one way or another, but it’s time we stop accepting this. We need to better vet our politicians that we elect and keep a closer eye on them while they are in office. Voting shady politicians out of office as a way of holding them accountable will help ensure that they won’t engage in corruption — especially since usually their corruption is tied to getting re-elected. If we as citizens show our discontent with these actions when we enter the voting booth instead of letting them blow under our radar, maybe we will start to see a change with the levels of integrity from our politicians. 

Mikayla Rochelle is a senior studying strategic communication at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. What are your thoughts? Tell Mikayla by tweeting her at @mikayla_roch.

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