LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — After a three-week long trial, plagued by scheduling, the fate of Anthony Piagentini has been decided.
Monday evening, Louisville Metro Council voted to keep Piagentini on the council, not getting the 18 votes needed for removal.
All eight Republicans and two Democrats, Tammy Hawkins (D-1) and Brent Ackerson (D-26) voted "no" on all eight counts. Several other Democrats split their decisions depending on the charge.
Last year, Louisville's Ethics Commission found Piagentini (R-19) committed several violations. At the center of the ethics complaint and ensuing investigation is a deal that sent $40 million of COVID relief money to the Healthcare CEO Council. Piagentini abstained from the final vote because he had accepted a job at CEOc.
Kent Wicker, the attorney for the charging committee, made the case in early March that Piagentini had been seeking a job with CEOc for months, and was set to benefit from the deal.
But Piagentini's side argued that he had been networking with several health care companies, not just CEOc. His attorneys pointed out that the Republican acted in Council norms in the way that he abstained just seconds before then-President David James called for a vote.
In October 2023, the bipartisan Louisville Metro Ethics Commission found Piagentini guilty on six of seven charges levied against him in the case and recommended he be removed from Metro Council. The grant money was later pulled by Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg and has since been allocated elsewhere.
Current Council President Markus Winkler (D-17) co-sponsored the ordinance with Piagentini that awarded the grant to CEOc. He split his votes on the charges.
"I did think that he violated the ethics code on a number of charges," Winkler said. "I don't remember exactly which ones off the top of my head that I voted for. I wish that he had handled the situation differently. I'm sure he wishes he in retrospect, wishes he had handled the situation differently."
This was the third removal trial in Metro Council history, and Kevin Kramer (R-11) has participated in all three. He voted "no" on all charges.
"He had passed along a resume saying 'Hey, if you know somebody, this is what I do for a living,' and then the charging committee makes it seem like networking is equivalent to a crime," Kramer said. "And I was surprised by that."
The person who was the subject of the second trial, Barbara Shanklin (D-2), is still serving on Council. She and fellow Democrat Jecorey Arthur (I-4) did not cast final votes in the trial.
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