Showdown at City Hall: City Manager’s Attorney Warns Councilors to Cease Alleged Misconduct

Dear Council Members:
I represent Columbus City Manager Isaiah Hugley. I am writing to each of
you to address your sustained and continuing campaign of intimidation, accusations, discrimination, and defamation against Mr. Hugley. Your conduct and your outrageous claims – including falsely accusing my client and his wife, Ms. Carolyn Hugley, of impropriety in relation to a lawfully-obtained grant despite direct and overwhelming evidence to the contrary – has and continues to cause Mr. Hugley financial, reputational, and other compensable harm, thereby subjecting each of you to potential liability for your tortious conduct.

As you know, Mr. Hugley has faithfully served the City of Columbus as City
Manager for over 20 years. Before he was appointed as City Manager in 2005, Mr.
Hugley had already served in various other city government roles for the previous
20 years, for a total of over 40 years serving the City of Columbus and its residents.
Notably, he is the first African American to serve as City Manager and is the city’s
longest-serving City Manager. In his role as City Manager, Mr. Hugley has
consistently received the highest annual reviews. As former Mayor Teresa
Tomlinson recently stated, Mr. Hugley has provided “countless hours, passionate
devotion, and tremendous competence in the midst of trying times.”

Despite Mr. Hugley’s commitment and devotion to the city he loves, for some
reason, each of you individually and collectively have decided to engage in an
unlawful campaign of harassment, discrimination, intimidation, and defamation.
This includes accusing Mr. Hugley of violating the law in relation to his wife’s
business receiving a grant as part of the American Rescue Plan (ARP). This is a
very serious allegation and could not be further from the truth. As you all well
know, neither Mr. nor Mrs. Hugley engaged in any type of wrongdoing, a
conclusion made abundantly clear by overwhelming and irrefutable evidence, all of
which has been previously provided to you.

It is undisputed that Mrs. Hugley’s business clearly qualified for the ARP
grant. Councilman Hickey acknowledged this – on the record – at a City Council
meeting. You have also been made aware from numerous sources and as evidenced
by documents provided to you, that Mr. Hugley went out of his way to disclose the
application to the City Attorney and then followed the City Attorney’s advice on
how to avoid any possible conflict of interest.

Specifically, you were previously provided an email dated May 20, 2022
from Mr. Hugley to Deputy City Manager Pam Hodge and others, including City
Attorney Clifton Fay, Assistant City Attorney Lucy Sheftall, and Mayor Skip
Henderson. I have attached that email as Exhibit 1 to this letter. That email makes
clear that after the city received Mrs. Hugley’s ARP application, because the City
Manager is typically required to sign all grant awards, Mr. Hugley disclosed the
potential conflict to City Attorney Fay and Assistant City Attorney Sheftall. Mr.
Fay and Ms. Sheftall advised Mr. Hugley that the city’s Deputy City Manager, Ms.
Hodge, should sign the document. Mr. Hugley immediately followed this legal
advice and presented the application to Mrs. Hodge for her review and signature.
You were also previously provided a copy of an email from Ms. Hodge to
Mayor Pro Tem Gary Allen, dated April 7, 2025, which is attached as Exhibit 2. In
that email, Ms. Hodge provides the following information:

These documents demonstrate, beyond any doubt whatsoever, that Mr. Hugley acted appropriately, lawfully, and ethically, and followed the City Attorney’s advice to a tee. This has been corroborated by statements – including statements made to
the Council during City Council meetings – by the Mayor, City Attorney, Deputy
City Attorney, and others.

And yet, despite all of this overwhelming evidence, you all, individually and
collectively, continue to harass and seek to intimidate a dedicated public servant,
threatening his reputation and his livelihood. This must stop.

Accordingly, on behalf of Mr. Hugley, I hereby request that each of you
immediately cease and desist your tortious conduct, retract your public statements
accusing Mr. Hugley of any unethical and/or unlawful conduct, and issue a public
apology. We further request that Mr. Hugley be allowed to serve out the remainder
of his time as City Manager free of unlawful harassment, discrimination, or
intimidation. We ask that you take these steps within seven (7) days of this letter.
Failure to fulfill these requests in the timeframes mentioned above may lead to legal action being filed against each of you, including for actual and punitive damages.

Please let me know if you have any questions or, if you have an attorney, your
attorney should feel free to contact me. Otherwise, please govern yourselves
accordingly.
Sincerely,
/s/ Scott Grubman
Attorney for Mr. Isaiah Hugley