The Columbus Dispatch's editorial board wrote a scathing article today accusing 15th Congressional District candidate and Franklin County commissioner Mary Jo Kilroy of being responsible for a $150,000 construction debacle at the new Huntington ballpark.

W.G. Tomko Inc, a union plumber contractor, dug a trench causing a section of the stadium to sink, but "Kilroy and Brown put those workers on the job site," the Dispatch wrote.

This is but the latest chapter in an on-going saga about Kilroy and Commissioner Marilyn Brown's decision to give construction contracts to union-laborers who charged more money than other bidders.

In January, a non-union contractor offered to install "plumbing and a heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system" in the park for $4.32 million. However, the commission split the plumbing job from this contractor and awarded it to Tomko. At the time Kilroy said she didn't have to explain why the commission made a decision that increased the construction cost by $215,000.

Last March, a lawsuit was filed against the commission, alleging that unions illegally wrote the bidding rules that were used to award the construction contracts. A judge later ruled in the commission's favor, stating there was no "clear and convincing evidence" that the commission abused its discretion in awarding the contract to Tomko.

Kilroy's congressional campaign spokesperson Brad Bauman was asked whether Kilroy regrets giving the contract to Tomko now that the company damaged the ballpark and what, if anything should be done to the contractor for its negligence.

"The county is in the process of getting a full assessment.  Let's see what that says before pre-judging it.  I think what the voters want to know is whether the project is on time and on budget, and it is," Bauman said.

The commissioners said they gave the contract to Tomko because it paid state-set wages, unlike its competitor that had violated wage laws in the past to the tune of $4,000 in "wage mistakes in projects for which the entire payroll was $5.3 million."

However, the Dispatch pounced on Tomko's larger problems: Tomko had been fined $23,000 by OSHA for "four serious safety violations related to an accident that killed a worker in 2006." Additionally, Tomko paid more than $48,000 in pension money and legal fees in a lawsuit by a former employee who didn't receive his pension while serving in Iraq. Moreover, Tomko's president was sentenced to jail for tax evasion in 2004 and his son now runs the company.

"When the county's policy doesn't weigh those transgressions when awarding contracts, something is seriously wrong with the policy. And with the officials applying it," the Dispatch said.