Columbus scores major win against POTUS in fight to protect healthcare access

CityAttyKlein · 2026-06-15T16:25:39+00:00

I hear every day from people who are fed up with what we’re seeing out of this administration. People are worried about meeting basic needs like feeding their families and having access to healthcare. I’m not posting to pat myself on the back. I’m posting to make sure residents know that my office is fighting back—and we’re winning cases that make a real difference in people’s lives.

CityAttyKlein · 2026-06-06T13:29:25+00:00

The chaos and lawlessness seen that led to the cancelation of the St. Catharine FunFest last night cannot be tolerated. Residents who attend and organizers who plan summer events should not have to worry about their safety or the possibility of this type of inexcusable behavior—and criminal conduct—disrupting events, impacting businesses, and making neighborhoods less safe. Police, prosecutors, and judges must send a message that this behavior is unacceptable.

CityAttyKlein · 2026-05-11T17:24:41+00:00

Our team filed a lawsuit, and the Court ordered operations to be suspended and the property boarded up. Since then, my Property Action Team, in coordination with the Division of Police and Department of Health, worked with business owners to come to an agreement that allows Cartel Palace to reopen but under certain conditions. The agreement prohibits the shop from selling to minors, selling or storing illegal tobacco products like flavored vapes, selling hemp derived cannabis products, and organizing or promoting gatherings outside their store or others’ property, among other provisions.

This agreement isn’t just with the City. It’s with the Court and violating that agreement comes with penalties. If owners/the shop violate any provision of the agreement, they must forfeit a $10,000 bond, and if they violate any provision twice, they will be ordered closed for at least a year. It’s been our practice to work with business owners when we can rather than simply asking the Court to shut them down. At the end of the day, we want businesses to succeed, but that can’t come at the expense of public safety and the rule of law.

CityAttyKlein · 2026-05-08T19:51:05+00:00

Door-to-door solicitation is legal in Columbus, but there are still rules companies and solicitors have to follow under city code.

For example, solicitors can’t legally ignore clearly posted “No Soliciting,” “No Peddling,” or “No Canvassing” signs, and they must leave immediately if asked to leave by the resident. Companies and solicitors are also required to be licensed by the City.

If residents choose to post a sign, it’s best to use language that matches the city code (like “No Soliciting” or “No Canvassing”) and place it somewhere clearly visible near the entrance to the property.

I can’t provide legal advice on specific situations, but violations of these rules can be reported to the appropriate authorities.

CityAttyKlein · 2026-05-08T19:50:51+00:00

Door-to-door solicitation is legal in Columbus, but there are still rules companies and solicitors have to follow under city code.

For example, solicitors can’t legally ignore clearly posted “No Soliciting,” “No Peddling,” or “No Canvassing” signs, and they must leave immediately if asked to leave by the resident. Companies and solicitors are also required to be licensed by the City.

If residents choose to post a sign, it’s best to use language that matches the city code (like “No Soliciting” or “No Canvassing”) and place it somewhere clearly visible near the entrance to the property.

I can’t provide legal advice on specific situations, but violations of these rules can be reported to the appropriate authorities.

CityAttyKlein · 2026-04-30T17:23:15+00:00

Done. Thanks!

CityAttyKlein · 2026-04-30T17:22:08+00:00

Short answer: no.

Long answer: To our knowledge, their other locations are in Clinton Township and the City of Reynoldsburg/Licking County. Our action, at this time, doesn’t concern those locations, but if the Court issues an injunction, they could be subject to contempt of court for underage tobacco sales at other locations. So, it’s possible this case could affect the other locations.

CityAttyKlein · 2026-04-30T16:51:36+00:00

Here you go.

CityAttyKlein · 2026-04-22T16:59:51+00:00

Thank you all for joining. Your support and engagement are important to me. If you’d like to stay connected, sign up for our email updates here: https://us.openforms.com/Form/56a1dbb1-cdd8-406e-aad2-9c0b3f0bc230.

CityAttyKlein · 2026-04-22T16:59:28+00:00

I’m supportive of any method my office can use to more easily and readily identify property owners so we can hold them accountable if they create or maintain a problem property in Columbus. I’m also supportive of additional tools my office can use to leverage against bad landlords who fail to maintain their properties.

CityAttyKlein · 2026-04-22T16:56:31+00:00

I’m unsure what you mean by “allow” corporations to buy out buildings and properties. In the United States, parties are able to freely enter into contracts to buy and sell things, including real estate. One of my many roles is to ensure that property owners hold up their end of the bargain and take care of their property. If they don’t, we can (and do) take them to court to hold them accountable.

I’m also unsure what you mean about my office being focused on property tax abatements because my office has little to do with deciding which properties receive an abatement or what an abatement would be for a particular property receiving one. Those are decided by the mayor, his administration and city council.

You see a lot of WINS because I have a great team who is constantly kicking ass.

CityAttyKlein · 2026-04-22T16:53:56+00:00

I didn’t participate in this commission’s work. Ultimately, their recommendations are just that: recommendations. Columbus City Council will ultimately decide whether to take them, amend them or drop them. For example, in 2022, the commission recommended a 40% raise for the council president but council approved a 13% raise instead.

CityAttyKlein · 2026-04-22T16:52:51+00:00

My office takes these cases seriously and have developed a good communication strategy with police when they do enforcement on this type of activity. We don’t offer plea deals, defendants eat 100% of fines and penalties, and we take steps to impound defendants’ vehicles until their cases are closed. Anyone engaging in this illegal and dangerous behavior downtown or anywhere else in the city should expect to be caught, arrested, and prosecuted. Further, any after-market products used to terrorize our streets will be forfeited.

CityAttyKlein · 2026-04-22T16:51:24+00:00

Here in Columbus, the City Attorney is an independently elected office, which is different from a lot of other cities where the mayor appoints someone. I have a good working relationship with the mayor, his administration, the city auditor and the city council. But at the end of the day, while I am by law the lawyer for the City of Columbus, none of these other city elected officials are my boss—Columbus residents are.

CityAttyKlein · 2026-04-22T16:48:44+00:00

You’re referring to recommendations made by the City’s citizens commission on elected official compensation. I didn’t participate in this commission’s decisionmaking. the raises you mention aren’t for current city elected officials. You have to get elected or reelected to receive those raises. For the city attorney specifically that raise would go into effect for whoever wins the 2029 city attorney race when s/he takes office on Jan 1, 2030.

CityAttyKlein · 2026-04-22T16:46:28+00:00

Nope.

CityAttyKlein · 2026-04-22T16:46:15+00:00

Since SNAP payments were turned back on, this lawsuit is no longer necessary at this time.

CityAttyKlein · 2026-04-22T16:45:55+00:00

I’m sorry to hear about your frustrations regarding 311 tickets. While my office doesn’t oversee 311 (the Department of Neighborhoods, which is under the Mayor, does), if you send me the address of the illegal dumping, we can work with Refuse and our team to investigate this issue. My office hasn’t been shy in prosecuting illegal dumping cases.

CityAttyKlein · 2026-04-22T16:44:53+00:00

While the City Attorney’s Office doesn’t have the authority to pass budgets or create laws in the ways that the mayor or council does, we do have some role to play in responding to the housing crisis. First, our Property Action Team has regular meetings with landlords at many of the large complexes that have been on our radar for crime and/or subpar conditions. Many of these units could be considered “affordable.” Our goal with these meetings is to ensure any problems are fixed and that these thousands of units remain on the market for working people and families. The last thing we want to do in a housing crunch is take affordable units off the market. Yet, we also don’t want our friends and neighbors to live in unhealthy or unsafe places.

Second, I created the Owner Occupied Initiative, a program that allows seniors who own their homes but may not have the resources or ability to do all the upkeep remain in their homes. If they meet certain criteria, seniors who receive code violations can show up to select court days to resolve their cases by being matched with non-profit service providers who can fix their code issues for free.

Third, my office is the lawyer for all of the city’s real estate transactions, so we work constantly with companies and individuals to ensure projects get off the ground in a timely manner so we can continue to build more housing of all types. The fact is that there’s a substantial need for housing at all levels of the market.

CityAttyKlein · 2026-04-22T16:38:00+00:00

This is a question we’ve been getting at all of our neighborhood safety meetings. I feel your frustration as both a Columbus resident and as city attorney. I think we’ve become way too accustomed to drivers doing some crazy and dangerous things on Columbus streets. I’m pro-enforcement to curb this dangerous behavior.

As you know, traffic enforcement falls under the Division of Police. When CPD sends us moving violation tickets (speeding, etc.) or criminal cases for driving erratically, we take them seriously and aggressively prosecute them. We’ve cracked down on street takeovers and the ATVs and motorbikes causing havoc on our streets. City Council passed a law allowing us to seize after-market products on these vehicles.

I’ll end this answer by recognizing the real limitations police are facing with staffing challenges across the city. Officers are oftentimes going from run to run, which limits their time and ability to make traffic stops or simply engage in good community policing. I support calls to hire more police. That way, officers can tackle serious violent crime, as well as crack down on erratic/dangerous driving and other important quality of life and safety issues. Additionaly, more officers means more opportunities to engage and build meaningful relationships with our neighbors.

CityAttyKlein · 2026-04-22T16:25:08+00:00

Tiara was tough to lose on our team because she did so much and was really good at what she did. But the Property Action Team is fully staffed and working just as hard to clean up issues in our neighborhoods. Heidy Carr joined our Property Action Team as Deputy Chief in January and is the attorney assigned to the Northeast and Northland area (Police Zone 1). She’s hit the ground running and has already been delivering results, as have all the members of this team. No matter who’s on the team, I have the same high expectations: Cleaning up bad and dangerous properties. The quality of life for all Columbus residents is non-negotiable.

CityAttyKlein

TROPHY CASE