Multiple controversies confuse voters in Hilliard City Council’s first Democratic primary

Hilliard’s first Democratic primary in recent memory is not without its share of controversy.

The candidates had a civil discussion and found ample common ground at one of the only public events featuring all of them hosted by the Hilliard Chamber of Commerce in early April. But behind the scenes, there’s some confusion amok in the Columbus suburb that elected its first Democrat to city council in 2019.

Here’s what you need to know about three interesting stories of the race so far: mailers attacking incumbent Andy Teater, endorsements from different Democrat-affiliated organizations and mismatched fundraising.

Andy Teater mailers attack his previous political affiliation

Teater was a Republican for much of his life. He followed in his parents’ footsteps of running as Republicans for local offices, serving on the City Council for multiple terms and on the School Board before that.

But Teater has never supported President Donald Trump and left the party a few years ago because of Trump’s policies, he wrote in an April 29 Facebook post: “I have been working closely with Hilliard Democrats since then.”

After he left the party, he accepted an award from the Franklin County GOP in 2024 on behalf of his mother and late father for their public service. A photo of that is featured on mailers the Hilliard Conservative Club PAC recently sent to voters, alleging Teater was accepting the award and is working to “infiltrate and take over the Hilliard Democratic Party from the inside” with Tony Moog, a planning and zoning commissioner on the same slate as Teater.

“We strongly encourage everyone to support this true MAGA patriot with your vote in the Democratic Primary,” the mailer says, which includes multiple photos of Trump that appear to be pointing to Teater.

The organization that sent out the mailers was created March 31, according to campaign finance records. Council member Les Carrier, who is running in the uncontested GOP primary to keep his seat, is the primary contributor to the organization — Carrier’s campaign wrote a $2,000 check, and he personally made a $1,780 loan.

The mailer, which Carrier referred to as satire in an interview with The Dispatch, was intended to get more people talking about the primary and highlight the “hypocrisy” of local Democrats.

Trish Barker, the founder of the Hilliard Democrats PAC, said the mailers are sparking confusion among voters — Teater has been working with Hilliard Democrats for a few years, she said.

Carrier said people were already confused by Teater’s party switch after his longtime affiliation with the GOP.

Several candidates defended Teater, including Moog, whom the mailer identifies as his campaign manager. Moog was Teater’s campaign treasurer after the death of the previous treasurer two years ago until the end of last year.

“These mailers appear to be an attempt to misrepresent Andy’s history and values, but anyone familiar with his track record knows his commitment to putting the community first, above any partisan divides,” Moog said.

“As public officials, our only job is to do what is best for our community. It is disappointing that some choose to divide and confuse our community during election campaigns,” Teater told The Dispatch.

Carrier said the underlying message was not about Teater but rather the Democratic Party and its process.

“Andy’s a good guy. It’s really not necessarily so much about Andy as it is about the party and what they’re doing and how they act like they’re the party of inclusion — they didn’t even really give those other candidates a chance,” Carrier said about the mailers.

Why Hilliard Democrats supported a slate early on

Hilliard Democrats has been working to organize candidates for the recent city elections since last fall, and the group was not expecting a contested primary, the group’s founder Trish Barker said. They had already met with Teater, fellow incumbent Tina Cottone, Tony Moog and Kathy Parker-Jones before some of the other candidates filed petitions to run.

A few other candidates also initially expressed interest — one did not make it through the vetting process, and another opted not to run to avoid a primary.

“We already had an endorsed slate and a commitment to these folks … it was very late in the game,” Barker said about when the group first heard in mid- to late-January about Dorothy Hassan, Nadia Rasul and Samer Bazerbashi deciding to run.

Rasul said she first heard Jan. 21 that the Franklin County Democratic Party was holding interviews for endorsements but previously hadn’t heard anything about it, even though her contact information is in the paperwork she submitted to the board of elections. She questions why the local organizations hold interviews and decide on whom to endorse before the filing deadline, which isn’t until Feb. 4.

“I believe in a true democracy in letting the people decide and whatever the voters decide on May 6 is how we will proceed. No matter the outcome, I will continue to be active in the betterment of Hilliard and be a liaison,” Rasul said.

Bazerbashi said: “When big party platforms come down and make their picks, it creates an uneven playing field for candidates that come with a fresh perspective. I come with unique experiences in that I’m the only candidate that has to survive off of community engagement and feedback.”

Barker started Hilliard Democrats in late 2018 as a coalition of volunteers working to get Democrats elected at all levels of government amid shifting electoral trends favoring Democrats and an embezzlement scandal of missing swimming pool money.

Cynthia Vermillion was the first Democrat to succeed, in the fall of 2019 — she won re-election in 2023. Now, there’s a 5-2 majority of Democrats on one of the only partisan city councils in suburban Columbus.

When people are interested in running, Barker said they have previously always contacted local party infrastructure early on for questions and support.

“We’re not a gatekeeper,” Barker said.

Hassan and Barker told The Dispatch they have discussed changing the process moving forward.

“We’re going to fix that and make sure that it is a more democratic process,” Hassan said.

The Franklin County Democratic Party just endorsed the incumbents, Cottone and Teater, Executive Committee Chairman Mike Sexton confirmed with The Dispatch.

A new PAC has endorsed the newer candidates

Hassan, Rasul and Bazerbashi got an endorsement from the Hilliard Democrats PAC, which is not affiliated with the Hilliard Democrats or the Franklin County Democratic Party. The PAC was formed April 16 by Ammar Khawam, who said in a text to The Dispatch that he founded the group amid the lack of support from Hilliard Democrats.

Khawam said he knows Rasul the best and has encouraged her to run for public office for years.

He said Hilliard Democrats “deviated from one of the core values of the Democratic Party, which is inclusivity.”

The non-PAC candidates said they had not heard from that PAC about supporting them.

“These endorsements were made without engaging or consulting the other four candidates, which raises questions about transparency and fairness in the process,” Moog said.

Khawam said the main issue is that Hilliard Democrats didn’t include all of the candidates running as Democrats.

Most of the funding for the Hilliard Democrats PAC comes from the Building Better Communities PAC, founded by Fadi Suleiman in January. Suleiman is on the board for Noor Islamic Cultural Center, but he said in an interview with The Dispatch that the PAC he founded has nothing to do with the mosque.

An entity affiliated with Noor recently sued the city in local and federal courts for rejecting its request to rezone a vacant office building.

Suleiman’s PAC is nonpartisan, nonreligious and will support other candidates in other local elections around central Ohio this year, he said. The PAC has received nearly $34,000 in donations, including $2,500 from Suleiman. The PAC has donated $3,000 each to Hassan, Rasul and Bazerbashi, as well as $5,000 to the Hilliard Democrats PAC.

Suleiman said he is not affiliated with the Hilliard Democrats PAC; The BBC PAC will support other organizations and candidates that have “similar objectives,” he said.

Bazerbashi and Rasul said they are not affiliated with either PAC, and Hassan did not respond to a follow-up question ahead of The Dispatch’s deadline.

Lopsided fundraising

Hassan, Bazerbashi and Rasul have each raised more funding than the Hilliard Democrats-supported candidates combined, which is just over $7,000 among the four candidates.

Some of the Hilliard Democrat slate candidates said volunteers drive their campaigns.

“Our grassroots approach means we’re out in the neighborhoods every day, relying on dedicated volunteers and supporters to help amplify our message. It’s not just about how much money you raise — it’s about how well you connect with the community and ultimately, the voters,” Cottone said.

Parker-Jones said that people should pay attention to where the funding is coming from.

“When a newly formed PAC based outside of Hilliard out-raises a slate of long-time residents and community advocates, it raises fair questions about influence and priorities. At the end of the day, I believe voters in Hilliard care more about values and vision than outside interest campaign spending,” Parker-Jones said.

Teater and Parker-Jones have personally loaned money to their campaigns.

Hassan said the support her campaign has received is serious.

“The outpouring of support from my community just the sisterhood of women who are excited to see another woman run; women who are excited to support the first African American woman on the ballot in Hilliard; educators,” Hassan said. “It’s a wonderful thing to see how all that intersectionality came in a circle of support.”

Anna Lynn Winfrey covers the western suburbs for The Columbus Dispatch. She can be reached at awinfrey@dispatch.com.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Hilliard City Council Democratic primary controversies confuse voters