Local Politics: Accountability can’t exist without transparency

Today’s national political environment is pretty much devoid of all accountability. In fact, many people are being pardoned and openly rewarded for their crimes. I still think our local government should be better than that.

Unfortunately, we learned this week via The Rooster that Columbus City Council kept quiet about accusations against Councilmember Emmanuel Remy for months while he successfully ran for early November reelection.

Remy’s former legislative aide, Averi Townsend, notified council in a letter from her attorney on June 16 that she had significant potential legal claims against the city. The initial cause of the claims stemmed from the aggressive and hostile behavior she said that Remy inflicted on her during her employment in his office. Townsend’s attorney wrote that Remy “curses and shouts at Ms. Townsend, publicly humiliates her, falsely accuses her, and compares her unfavorably with predecessors.” 

When Townsend reportedly brought her concerns about Remy to Council President Shannon Hardin in April 2025, she said that Hardin told her that they were “stuck with him” for the time being. 

The city’s failure to fix the issues led Townsend to have to take a medical leave of absence under the Family and Medical Leave Act, her attorney said. The additional legal claims arose out of that leave and the city’s apparent attempts to terminate Townsend’s employment. 

Also lurking in the letter is the charge that Townsend is not the first employee to raise these types of concerns about Remy. This makes the choice to keep the allegations quiet even more galling.

While there certainly are legal reasons to not discuss details of negotiations with a soon to be former employee, the fact that allegations had been made is not something council was forced to keep quiet. Rather than lamenting that they were “stuck with” Remy, Hardin could have implemented internal changes and then made a public statement regarding why he had to take these steps. And he could have done so without naming the staffers who had previously voiced their concerns. 

If the information had been made public, Remy still would have been reelected, owing to the fact that he ran unopposed. But the information had the potential to affect the extremely competitive District 7 council race, in which Remy supported insider candidate Tiara Ross. Remy’s campaign made more than $175,000 of in-kind contributions to Ross’ campaign. 

The failure to discuss the allegations against Remy until after the election reads as a deliberate decision to protect those in power while keeping residents in the dark. 

Many people are rightfully upset that close to $85,000 of taxpayer money is being spent to pay for Remy’s admittedly awful people skills. But that financial loss is not nearly as troubling as the apparent lack of concern that council has for its workers and the disrespect it has shown to residents in refusing to be transparent about its failures. 

Perhaps if Hardin and City Council’s human resources department had done something about Remy’s behavior when staffers previously raised concerns, Townsend wouldn’t have been put into such a terrible position to begin with. 

At Monday’s council meeting, Hardin said that it’s time for accountability for Remy. He then explained that Remy’s direct employees had been taken from him and that he can’t have staff again until he completes management training. This move actually punishes residents who need his office. If Remy fails to do his job effectively, he still gets paid the same.

Hardin has not called for Remy’s resignation, and during Monday’s meeting he said that he believes Remy is a good person. Maybe Remy is a good person, but that doesn’t change the fact that he apparently can’t treat his subordinates with the respect they deserve. 

There will never be accountability within a system that investigates itself and doesn’t answer to the public. Voters could recall Remy, but his vacant seat would be filled through the same process that resulted in the appointment of Joyce Beatty’s stepson. A token white man from the northern part of town who deserves a council seat just as little as Remy did would be put in his place. This new councilmember might be able to treat their staff more respectfully, but they would still make the same official decisions Remy would have. 

We have to create an accountable system before we see actual accountability in Columbus’ government.