Man Jailed for Election Falsification

Posted on 7/15/2022

Defendant: John Clarke

John A. Clarke was sentenced Tuesday to a jail term of 120 days
following his conviction on May 16 for filing a false campaign finance record.

Clarke also was ordered to pay a $2,500 fine, perform 250 hours of community service and
serve five years of probation. He was taken into the custody of the Franklin County Sheriff’s
Office.

A Franklin County jury determined Clarke provided false information on financial disclosure
statements during a 2019 campaign. He stated that five people made contributions totaling
$53,000. Those five people later said they made no such contribution.

Clarke was circulating petitions for a ballot issue that, if approved, would have required the city
to divert $57 million to a private entity that would have been authorized to spend the money
without public oversight on green energy projects.

Special Prosecutor Joe Gibson and Franklin County Assistant Prosecutor Jeff Blake handled
the case before Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Chris Brown.