Sandusky city commissioner calls out newspaper

First-term commissioner's coverage of forum he helped organize falls short

SANDUSKY —

A Sandusky city commissioner took a swat at the local newspaper on Saturday after he posted a sideways video with poor sound of a candidates’ forum at a social network page.

“It happens sometimes depending on the room you’re in when using an iPhone to record LIVE,” Koonce explained after a reader commented that she could not hear the candidates. “I can hear some candidates better than others, so at least we have something for the people. We can’t count on the RAGister to cover it for us.”

Koonce developed an animosity for the Sandusky Register, believed to be the oldest, longest continually operating business in Sandusky, shortly after he was elected in 2023. Just prior to that he was seeking the newspaper’s help in a salary dispute with his employer, Sandusky Schools, asking an editor to write stories about his beef with former district superintendent Dan Rambler.

His relationship with the newspaper was further damaged after Register reported that Koonce became confused during a city commission vote for the Columbus Avenue streetscape project. The plan to narrow the traffic lanes and widen the sidewalks in the downtown portion of the street almost did not happen. Koonce, the swing vote, said he intended to vote against it but accidentally voted in favor of it because he became confused about how to vote.

Koonce, who was a journalist briefly earlier in life, also became embroiled in controversy in 2024 when he claimed the process for selecting a new Sandusky Schools athletic director was tainted. He suggested that former football coach Lucas Poggiali was picked for the job because he’s white. Koonce later denied he said the selection was race related, but video recordings of meetings Koonce attended include him making such claims.

The Sandusky Register has hosted hundreds of political debates over the last two decades. The Register was founded in Sandusky in 1822.