The 14-day window to advance an ethics complaint against an Ohio senator came and went absent any action by the state’s Joint Legislative Ethics Committee (JLEC), according to an Ohio Senate Majority caucus spokesperson.
In January, Ohio environmental advocates said they filed a complaint against Sen. Brian Chavez (R-Marietta), alleging he failed to disclose financial ties to at least five oil and gas companies in 2023 and 2024. Washington County for Safe Drinking Water submitted the complaint, which also claimed Chavez’s legislative committee assignments create direct conflicts of interest financially.
“The lack of action from JLEC shows the hollow and meritless nature of the claims, exposing the efforts to smear me and my family as nothing more than a publicity stunt,” Chavez wrote in a statement Wednesday, sent via a spokesperson.
Six GOP lawmakers and six Democratic lawmakers serve on JLEC, including Sen. Nickie Antonio (D-Lakewood). State law bars members and staff from confirming or denying allegations lodged with JLEC.
“I was aware there was a complaint,” Antonio said Thursday, “and I’m not aware of anything else.”
Chavez is currently the chair of the Ohio Senate Energy Committee. He also owns a business that bids on government contracts to seal abandoned, or orphan, oil and gas wells. Washington County for Safe Drinking Water, ideally, wanted Chavez to be removed as Senate Energy chair and for him to recuse himself from injection well legislation.
“We are moving forward with sharing of the truth and our demand for clean water and a government that isn’t for sale,” a Washington County for Safe Drinking Water spokesperson wrote in a statement Wednesday.
Tony Bledsoe, executive director of JLEC, also declined any direct comment.
