Columbus City Council candidate and Assistant City Attorney Tiara Ross had almost $3,800 in unpaid parking tickets until recently and is being accused of driving on a suspended license.
Ross already overcame accusations she didn't live in Columbus for at least a year before the May 6 primary. At the Monday hearing for the Franklin County Board of Elections that exonerated her and cleared a path for her candidacy to appear on the May 6 ballot, political blogger D.J. Byrnes with The Rooster leveled the new accusations against Ross.
The blog found out her license was suspended and ran her plates through the city's parking citation system. Ross owed $3,795 in unpaid parking tickets dating back to at least November, according to the blog.
Ross's license was suspended and she allegedly drove to that hearing despite the suspension.
The attacks against Ross are being raised on the campaign trail, potentially hurting her campaign ahead of May's primary. Ross is running in a three-person race for the District 7 seat against former Near East Side Commission Chair Kate Curry-Da-Souza and immigration attorney Jesse Vogel.
Ross was asked about her parking woes at a candidate forum for the Clintonville Progressives group Tuesday evening. Ross said she takes full responsibility for these issues.
"Parking tickets just build up. They get really expensive really quickly," Ross said. "I was born into a working family class. And I worked as a public servant for the city of Columbus. And so, being able to pay for those tickets took me some time."
Ross is on the city attorney's Property Action Team and makes over $130,000 a year.
Ross said in a statement to WOSU she's now paid off her tickets and her license has been reinstated.
Ross explained at the forum how she accrued so many tickets.
"I work at the courthouse, which means I am parking at a meter probably 70% of the time. I'm jumping from meeting to meeting. I pay my parking. I don't just pull up and not pay for parking," Ross said. "But oftentimes I'm caught in a hearing, the hearing goes over, the meeting goes over. If I get to the courthouse at a certain time, the garages are full and I'm only left with that option."
Byrnes said in his blog post Tuesday his goal was to force a 2-2 vote at the Franklin County Board of Elections on Monday and make Secretary of State Frank LaRose make a decision on Ross' candidacy. The board voted 3-0 to let Ross run for the seat with Franklin County Republican Party Chair Meredith Freedhoff abstaining from the vote.
"The stacked deck doesn’t make me feel any better about losing. I abhor losing. But I’ll always wage these fights—no matter the odds—because you never know what other misdeeds the investigation will expose," Byrnes wrote.
Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein said in a statement that Ross made a mistake and defended her work effort in the office.
“Tiara is one of the hardest working people I’ve encountered during my time with the city, and my office, as well as the residents and families of Columbus, have benefitted immeasurably from her service to our community," Klein said. "I’ve seen firsthand Tiara’s tenacity and determination to make a difference as one of the lead attorneys on our Property Action Team."
Klein cited Ross' work responding to the heat failing at the now-closed Latitude Five25 apartments on Christmas morning in 2022 and addressing violence at the Wedgewood Apartments. Klein said Ross also helped Haitian immigrant families at Colonial Village Apartments get safe and secure housing.
"I cannot speak more highly of her work ethic and the countless hours she’s put in to improve lives and public safety. The city is better off for her service. Tiara has my full support," Klein said.
Vogel was critical of Ross in a statement to WOSU.
"Tiara Ross racking up nearly $4,000 in parking tickets speaks to one of the main reasons I’m in this race for City Council - which is to implement fast, reliable transit that works for working people," Vogel said. "We all get parking tickets from time to time - in fact I did not too long ago. But it’s important that public servants lead by example and take responsibility for their actions, not just after those failures are brought to the public’s attention."
Curry-Da-Souza declined to comment.
