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                    "Ward 2 Councilman Roderick Smith, center, speaks Tuesday during the Columbus City Council meeting at the Municipal Complex as Ward 1 Councilwoman Ethel Stewart and Ward 3 Councilman Rusty Greene listen. Smith argued the timing of discussions about the Trotter Convention Center usage policy was an effort to keep him from hosting a Thanksgiving luncheon there. Zack Plair/Dispatch Staff\t\n\t\t\tA discussion Tuesday on refining the policy for Trotter Convention Center usage sent one city councilman on a lengthy tirade fueled by personal offense.\nAt different points during Roderick Smith\u2019s grievance over resistance to his hosting a Thanksgiving luncheon rent-free at the Trotter, the first-term Ward 2 councilman shouted, talked over his colleagues and called Mayor Stephen Jones a coward. He also issued a somewhat vague warning to his fellow elected officials.\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tRoderick Smith\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\n\u201cI\u2019m sick and tired of people thinking they can play and do certain things,\u201d Smith said during the council meeting at the Municipal Complex. \u201cAs of today, the whole entire council will know that you will not be able to play with Councilman Smith on (a) day that ends in \u2018d-a-y.\u2019 That\u2019s not a threat. That\u2019s a promise.\u201d\nThe issue centered on whether Smith\u2019s event, as well as two bingo and community information gatherings planned by Ward 4 Councilwoman Lavonne Harris, qualified for free Trotter rental under city policy. All three events were set to be sponsored by the parks and recreation department and free for the public to attend. The council was poised to decide the matter Tuesday, but Harris and Smith each pulled their respective events from the agenda at the beginning of the meeting.\nUnder the policy, which the council adopted in April 2024, only city events hosted for municipal purposes qualify for complimentary use.\nDuring a work session Sept. 9, Ward 6 Councilman Jason Spears started the conversation about better defining what events qualified, suggesting they need to be free and open to the general public. But Tuesday, Spears suggested an overhaul of the entire policy.\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tJason Spears\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\n\u201cI think the policy is good bones, but I think we need to be a little bit more structured,\u201d Spears said.\nHe gave an example of the city hosting an employee Christmas party at the convention center as something the existing policy doesn\u2019t define.\n\u201cAre we going to charge ourselves for our employees to use it (because) it\u2019s not open to the public for that special event?\u201d he asked.\nSpears also held up a stack of rental agreements he said were held at the Trotter since the council adopted its policy. Some of those events garnered council approval. Others did not.\n\u201cThere hadn\u2019t been consistency overall since that happened,\u201d he said. \u201c\u2026 We should go back to the drawing board overall (on access to public facilities).\u201d\nHe pushed for a policy that would make sure Trotter facilities generated revenue \u201cand there doesn\u2019t seem to be one priority or one person \u2026 getting a better deal than the next person.\u201d\nSmith chimed in, taking personally the timing of the policy conversation. Specifically, he took issue with how many rent-free events were scheduled at the Trotter, including two of Harris\u2019 bingo events held there earlier this year.\n\u201cSince my name is up there using the Trotter Convention Center, now it\u2019s become a problem,\u201d Smith said. \u201cEvery amenity the city of Columbus has has a price tag. People have been using those amenities for complimentary usages. But since Councilman Smith is up there to do a Thanksgiving luncheon, that\u2019s where the confusion comes in at. \u2026 So the issue ain\u2019t the policy. It\u2019s the person.\u201d\nHarris\u2019 two previous bingo events never came before the council, both Harris and Jones confirmed.\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tLavonne Harris\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\nHarris, also in her first term, previously said she was unaware of the policy, since it was approved by the previous council, and coordinated those events with the parks department. For her part, she agreed with Spears that the council needs to shore up a more specific policy before approving any other rent-free events at the Trotter.\n\u2018You a coward!\u2019\nThat was not good enough for Smith, who then began sparring with the mayor.\n\u201cWhy (wasn\u2019t) the policy \u2026 brought up then?\u201d Smith asked.\n\u201cIt should have been,\u201d Jones replied.\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tStephen Jones\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\n\u201cWell, it wasn\u2019t,\u201d Smith pressed.\n\u201cBut that don\u2019t mean you keep doing wrong just because you did wrong,\u201d Jones said.\nSticking with the \u201cspecial treatment\u201d argument, Smith noted everyone on the council knew about Harris\u2019 previous bingo events \u2013 regardless of whether it approved them \u2013 and the mayor even attended.\n\u201cWhy the policy got to be brought up now? \u2026 When Zumba in Pink was brought up, did we bring up the policy? No we did not,\u201d Smith said, referencing an event that Jones\u2019 wife organizes each year for breast cancer awareness that has not used Trotter facilities. Then Smith raised his voice and repeated, \u201cNo we did not.\u201d\nAt that point, Jones attempted to gavel Smith down.\n\u201cI\u2019m a councilman just like you\u2019re the mayor,\u201d Smith shouted in protest.\n\u201cThat doesn\u2019t matter,\u201d Jones replied. \u201cI still run the meeting. So, order. Order.\u201d\n\u201cJust like I said, it\u2019s good for you, but it ain\u2019t good for anybody else,\u201d Smith continued as the mayor tried to speak.\n\u201cAin\u2019t nothing good,\u201d Jones said.\nAs Spears unsuccessfully tried to intervene to restore order, Smith kept yelling at Jones.\n\u201cYou a coward! A coward! You want to do stuff your way, but we\u2019re not gonna do it your way no more,\u201d Smith said.\nSpears finally got a word in.\n\u201cI know this may be a contentious issue on some levels, but in my opinion, we\u2019re better than this,\u201d he said.\nBut order wasn\u2019t restored for long, as Smith again accused the mayor of singling out his event in an effort to keep it from happening. He then alleged Jones had coordinated with Vice Mayor Ethel Stewart, who represents Ward 1, and Ward 3 Councilman Rusty Greene at last week\u2019s work session to bring up the policy.\n\u201cYou and Councilman Greene have never voted on nothing together under the last administration,\u201d Smith told Jones, who represented Ward 5 last term. \u201cWhen you was a councilman, y\u2019all never voted on anything together. Now, all the sudden, y\u2019all are voting together. Come on, man. I know politics.\u201d\n\u201cObviously, you don\u2019t,\u201d Jones quipped before turning to Greene. \u201cDid I ask you to do anything?\u201d\nSmith drowned out Greene\u2019s attempt to answer.\n\u201cOf course he\u2019s going to say no,\u201d Smith yelled.\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tRusty Greene\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\n\u201cYou don\u2019t know anything,\u201d Greene clapped back. \u201cJust a bunch of accusations. You don\u2019t know nothing.\u201d\nSmith later took issue with Main Street Columbus receiving an annual appropriation from the city and getting free use of the Trotter for events.\nLater, when a Main Street representative asked the city to buy more holiday decorations for downtown \u2013 decorations the city owns and for which Main Street is the steward \u2013 Smith complained more, then cast the sole vote against the purchase.\n\u201cAgain, it\u2019s certain things for certain people,\u201d he said.\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\tZack Plair is the managing editor for The Dispatch.\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n      \n      \n        Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 35 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community."
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