Columbus councilors vs. city manager. Lawyer back-and-forth escalates again
An attorney representing Columbus city councilors in their ongoing dispute with City Manager Isaiah Hugley has accused Hugley’s lawyer of not operating in “good faith” after accusations that Columbus Councilor Byron Hickey wrongly pushed for his wife to get a pay raise at the Columbus Police Department.
The city councilors’ lawyer demands a public retraction of the statement.
Hugley’s attorney, Scott Grubman, accused Hickey of verbally accosting Hugley and the city’s human resources director, Reather Hollowell, while city officials were determining whether Hickey’s wife, a corporal with the Columbus Police Department, would receive a pay raise. Grubman accused Hickey of influencing the decision.
Grubman argued that Hickey then engaged in “harassment and retaliation” afterward.
Leslie Hartnett, a lawyer representing Hickey and other councilors, said in a May 13 letter to Grubman that criticism of Hickey wasn’t motivated by “improper or unlawful considerations,” and is instead based on Hugley’s actions in his role as city manager.
Hartnett also lambasted Grubman for raising “false and inflammatory allegations” against Hickey that are irrelevant to issues concerning Hugley.
“Even more troubling is your decision to include Councilman Hickey’s wife, a private citizen with no role in this matter, in a publicly disclosed communication,” Harnett wrote in the letter. “That choice was entirely inappropriate and reflects a clear attempt to sensationalize and distract.”
Hartnett said the allegations rely on facts that can’t be disclosed because of executive session confidentiality or attorney-client privilege.
“It is difficult to ignore the convenience of making public accusations while simultaneously withholding the purported evidence under the guise of confidentiality,” she wrote. “This tactic further reinforces the conclusion that your letter is not a good-faith attempt to address substantive concerns, but rather a calculated effort to shift attention away from Mr. Hugley by attacking others without basis.”
Grubman should issue a “prompt and public retraction” of the allegations and send a written apology to Hickey and his wife, Hartnett said.
Both sides want retractions
These allegations about Hickey were raised after Hartnett responded to a cease-and-desist letter regarding allegations made against Hugley.
Hugley’s attorney had asked councilors to stop what he called a “campaign of intimidation, accusations, discrimination, and defamation against Mr. Hugley,” which arose after Hickey accused Hugley of violating the city’s code of ethics. Grubman also wanted the councilors to retract their public statements about Hugley.
In a response to the cease-and-desist letter, Hartnett said councilors would not retract statements or apologize.
This story was originally published May 14, 2025 at 9:48 AM.
