The Columbus City Council made a pair of appointments to the municipal court during Tuesday’s meeting.
The council voted 3-2 to name Rhonda Hayes Ellis municipal judge. The council also unanimously voted to appoint Dennis Harmon as city prosecutor.
The council hired Harmon with little fanfare.
Ellis’ hire, however, was more complicated, as Ward 6 Councilman Bill Gavin raised concerns over her holding a position in two branches of government: Ellis is a county public defender.
Gavin attempted to table the hire until the city could seek an attorney general opinion to ensure Ellis’ hire wouldn’t create any conflicts of interest. Ward 3 Councilman Charlie Box seconded the motion, but it failed 2-3, with opposition from Ward 1 Councilman Gene Taylor, Ward 2 Councilman Joseph Mickens and Ward 4 Councilman Marty Turner.
“I was on the interview process,” Gavin said. “The lady did an excellent job interviewing — very sharp lady. This is not a reflection on her at all, but for me personally, I think I would feel much more comfortable with the written AG opinion that we’re not getting into something that this council could be personally liable for.”
City Attorney Jeff Turnage said there wasn’t any cause for concern for a conflict of interest in Ellis’ appointment. Turnage said Circuit Judge James Kitchens said Ellis, in her role as county public defender, would not be assigned cases that originated in the city.
Turnage also said the Ethics Commission has said there’s no conflict of interest to be a part-time public defender and a municipal or justice court judge.
“The AG has opined several times that a part-time public defender does not exercise core powers in any branch of government,” Turnage said. “In fact, that would make sense to me because the public defender is defending (against) the claims of the state, so it’s actually adverse to the interests of the state.”
The municipal judge position pays $24,152. The city prosecutor position pays $25,751, according to Mitchell.
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
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