In an Ohio election cycle defined by negative political ads backed by deep-pocketed donors, a single tech executive is spending hundreds of thousands to influence Columbus' fight over how City Council is elected.
King Memory CEO Darryl Tanner is financing advertisements urging Columbus to vote yes on Issue 8 and vote no on Issue 9. Tanner has put $330,000 into a new political action committee called Voters Have Choices, according to a campaign finance report filed Oct. 23 with the Franklin County Board of Elections. The PAC has spent over $100,000 on mailers and digital ads around the two charter amendments before city voters.
"This is a tech millionaire trying to put their thumb on the scale running ads against Issue 9," said Columbus City Council
President Pro Tempore Rob Dorans. "I think it's disingenuous and really misleading. Issue 9 was a good faith attempt at compromise."
Tanner did not respond to The Dispatch's requests for comments on Oct. 26 in time for publication.
Issue 8, introduced by the grassroots coalition Our City, Our Say, would overhaul Columbus' current council system by turning the city's nine residency districts into voting districts, meaning residents would elect their own district representatives. Issue 9, a competing proposal from City Council, would similarly create nine district seats while adding four at-large members elected citywide and implementing additional reforms.
The advertisements financed by Voters Have Choices say Issue 9 was put on the ballot "by politicians trying to hold onto power." Council members are pushing back on that narrative and calling this a "dark money" group. Meanwhile, Our City, Our Say spokesperson Will Petrik says the coalition is not affiliated with Voters Have Choices and the negative ads. However, the coalition did accept an in-kind contribution from Voters Have Choices for polling worth $34,000.
Tanner has ties to the former campaign manager for 2025 council candidate Jesse Vogel, Eden McKissick-Hawley, and previously donated to candidates and causes McKissick-Hawley worked on. Tanner was the second largest donor to Vogel's campaign for council.
McKissick-Hawley declined to comment on Voters Have Choices but said she would encourage Tanner to respond.
Vogel declined to answer questions about McKissick-Hawley's involvement but told The Dispatch in a detailed emailed statement on Oct. 26 that he is not involved in opposing Issue 9 and he plans to vote for both issues 8 and 9. Vogel organized with Our City, Our Say for district elections after he won the majority of votes in the district he was running for but lost the citywide vote.
![King Memory founder and CEO Darryl Tanner. [Tim Johnson/CEO]](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/authoring/2017/06/23/NCOD/ghows-OH-5295f427-18d7-3919-e053-0100007f3665-167020fe.jpeg)
"I disagree with the characterization that Issue 9 is nothing more than an attempt by politicians to hold onto their power," Vogel said. "Issue 9 is the tentative compromise that a group authorized by Our City Our Say’s steering committee tried to work out with Council over two months this summer."
Dorans introduced Issue 9 after attempting to broker a compromise on a single ballot question with Vogel and other delegates representing the Our City, Our Say coalition. Vogel said Issue 9 is a reasonable response by council members to Our City Our Say's organizing.
"It is not perfect, but neither is Issue 8. Issue 9 addresses real concerns, including from Black community and faith leaders about racial representation under the current maps, and labor leaders who worry about how to address city-wide public infrastructure needs under a district only system," Vogel said. "Personally, I will vote yes on both Issues 8 and 9."
Our City, Our Say is a loose coalition made up of multiple activist groups, including Columbus Stand Up and the local chapter of Democratic Socialists of America. The coalition has mostly followed the promises some of its leaders made to council to promote Issue 8 without attacking council's Issue 9, said Dorans. Some members of the coalition have not stuck to that though and have criticized Issue 9.
"Our City, Our Say and Voters Have Choices are separate organization conducting their own campaigns and ultimately Our City, Our Say is running a positive yes on Issue 8 campaign," Petrik said.
What we know about Darryl Tanner and Voters Have Choices
The term dark money typically refers to political spending where the source of the funding is concealed from voters. In this case, Tanner, who is registered to vote at a Columbus address, is the one donor disclosed on finance records for the new Voters Have Choices PAC. He's also the PAC's treasurer.
Tanner has also donated to a wide variety of PACs nationally, according to Federal Election Commission records. Tanner's donations this year include contributions to the Liberty Action PAC, Independents Win PAC and Working Families Party PAC.
Councilmember Nick Bankston questioned Tanner's motivations locally and said spending like this in politics gives an outsized voice to one person. He also said it's a red flag that Voters Have Choices has not registered or filed campaign finance records with the city, only the county.
Jordan Lau, one of the organizers with Voters Have Choices, told The Dispatch in a texted statement that the operation is staffed by local organizers like her who want to see reform.
"I'm campaigning against Issue 9 because it's a direct response to Issue 8," Lau said. "I support Issue 8 because I want us to have a true district system. I'm not supporting a ballot measure designed by City Council to undermine the ballot measure people in the community put forth."
Lau said she could not answer questions about campaign finance record compliance or fundraising and would have to check with someone else at Voters Have Choices.
Government and politics reporter Jordan Laird can be reached at jlaird@dispatch.com. Follow her on X, Instagram and Bluesky at @LairdWrites.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Single donor funds six-figure ad blitz against Columbus City Council district issue
