Residents can voice their opinions on how council members want taxpayers to fund the voluntary unofficial travel of elected officials by contacting their city council members.

Columbus city councilwoman Evelyn “Mimi” Woodson (District 7) formally asked the city to use taxpayers’ money to fund the unofficial travel of elected officials, claiming the officials can “market” the city wherever they go.

The Muckraker reached out to Woodson for comment in an email on October 13,  but the councilwoman did not reply.

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Columbus city ordinance already provides officials with reimbursement for legitimate official travel conducted in the course of their official business. According to Columbus Code of Ordinances, Chapter 2, Article 1, Sec. 2-18.10:

“Councilors are hereby authorized the same reimbursement for expenses incurred for travel as well as other expenditures while in the performance of their duties as councilors and as appointees for boards, commissions and committees as the same are reimbursable by other officers and employees when on city business … Councilors are hereby authorized to notify the Clerk of Council of any anticipated travel covered hereunder so that the Clerk of Council may make a record thereof in advance of such authorized travel.”

Despite the laws already on-the-books for legitimate official travel expenses, Woodson now wants unofficial travel paid for by taxpayers as well. 

During a point of personal privilege granted to Woodson by Mayor Henderson after the questionable presentation by Columbus 2025, Woodson argued that city officials can provide “marketing” for the city if the expenses of their voluntary unofficial trips were paid for by taxpayers:

“When we talk about marketing Columbus, this is exactly what happens when council members or employees or staff travel to other communities for training or conferences,” Woodson stated. 

Woodson then attempted to justify the use of taxpayer money to fund the unofficial travel, saying officials could provide a sort-of “book report” to the council on what they learned during their private, unofficial, and voluntary travel.

“If the person is traveling … then this council should need to advise them (of) what they would like to see. That individual should come back … the following week with a presentation of what they learned and what they did so this council can see the value of them participating.”

If the “training and conferences” Woodson referred to were part of their official duties as elected officials, the trips would already be reimbursable. They are not. 

Woodson’s suggestion also creates an obvious loophole that might easily be exploited by elected officials. The suggestion would enable elected officials to travel anywhere they wished on the taxpayers’ dime by simply saying “I’m representing Columbus on my personal trip.”

It is important to remember that Columbus city ordinance already provides legitimate reimbursement for the official travel while performing official duties. The elective travel Woodson now wants taxpayers to fund is, by definition, not official travel; it is voluntary travel that is not required for the performance of official duties.

After Woodson delivered her remarks, councilwoman Toyia Tucker (District 4) responded. Tucker agreed with Woodson, claiming that her own unofficial voluntary travel has affected her household’s ability to send her child to St. Anne-Pacelli Catholic School — one of the most expensive private schools in the region. 

Tucker’s statements raise questions of a possible conflict of interest in her role as a public official, as she appeared to equate her personal choice to send her child to an elite private school with how taxpayer money is allocated. Tucker appeared to plead personal poverty to fund her personal decisions through the subsidy of her personal travel costs at the taxpayers’ expense — all while ironically representing a city with a horrific 22% poverty rate. 

Residents can voice their opinions on how council members want taxpayers to fund the voluntary unofficial travel of elected officials by contacting their city council members. 

Facts are stubborn things — and we’ll keep publishing them, whether city officials like them or not.

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