When Meagan Pandey, the lone Democrat seeking a seat on Hilliard City Council, questioned the ethics and integrity of Republican Stephanie Kunze during the June 22 council meeting, she knew it wouldn't be long before she would be the one in the spotlight.

It turns out Pandey has a less than perfect record herself, and she says she isn't afraid to talk about it.

Within the past six years, Pandey has been arrested twice for driving under the influence (DUI) and was sued by the city of Hilliard for failure to pay municipal income taxes in 2006.

"I knew these would come up if I chose to run for office and I am prepared to talk about them," Pandey told ThisWeek. "I accept full responsibility for my actions and recognize the trouble that alcohol has caused for me and my family. I no longer drink alcohol, casually or otherwise. I am thankful that this problem was recognized before my husband and I decided to have children."

Franklin County Municipal Court records show Pandey was arrested by Columbus Police in 2003 and New Albany Police in 2004 and charged with DUI on both occasions.

Pandey said she was surprised, considering the experiences of Hilliard City Council member Dan Nichter, that those arrests had become an issue

"I find it interesting that the GOP brings up my DUI arrests when one of the councilmen has also been arrested twice for drunk driving, once while a sitting member," she said. "These past issues are nothing I try to hide. Certainly I am not proud of what I did, but they are part of my past."

Nichter was arrested by Hilliard Police on a DUI charge in November 2008. Police said he failed a field sobriety test and refused to take a breathalyzer test. He pleaded guilty in May to a reduced charge of physical control. Nichter was fined $150 and his driver's license was suspended for six months. Nichter was previously charged with DUI in 2005. That charge was also reduced to physical control.

Pandey also said she owed back taxes to the city of Hilliard and has resolved that debt.

"The taxes owed were for around $150," she said. "I paid these over the phone as soon as my husband and I were able. Having just gotten married that May, my husband and I were pretty much living paycheck to paycheck, as many residents of Hilliard do. I wish that I could say that there was this big pile of money out of which we paid the $150 to Hilliard, but there wasn't."

Franklin County Municipal Court record show the city of Hilliard filed a small claims court case against Pandey in 2006 for $325.63.

Pandey has called for Kunze to withdraw from the Hilliard City Council election because she ran in the May Republican primary while she was a classified employee of the Hilliard City School District. State law prohibits classified civil service employees from participating in partisan elections. Kunze has since resigned her position as a secretary at Norwich Elementary School.

Although Kunze is no longer employed by the school district, Pandey said she should still withdraw from the race. Kunze, the top vote-getter in the May primary election, has maintained that under the Hilliard City Charter she is a qualified candidate.

"I would also call on the Republicans and Mrs. Kunze to accept the consequences of the laws that they have broken, as I did, and not try to hide from them or distort the laws to suit their needs," Pandey said.

"Stephanie Kunze is no more above the law than myself or any other citizen of Hilliard," she said. "Integrity does not require a person to be perfect, but it does obligate a person to take responsibility for their actions. A person shows integrity when they do the right thing and acknowledge their mistakes. We can allow the all-Republican council to distract the voters from the issue of governance, or we can discuss the ongoing neglect of the issues by Hilliard's City Council that directly affects its citizens."

Pandey said she has learned from her mistakes and she hopes Kunze will as well.

"Sometimes the best lessons in life come from your greatest mistakes," she said. "I have learned from mine and I hope that Mrs. Kunze learns from hers. I am fortunate that my experiences allow me to warn of the dangers of alcohol abuse in young women, and as an example of how one's life can turn to serving the greater good in your community and public office."

Kunze said she was focusing on her own campaign instead of Pandey's past problems.

"Frankly, I am focused on my own candidacy, which is to continue to be a positive voice for the families of Hilliard," Kunze said. "I have been busy knocking on the doors of our citizens -- not focusing on the candidacy of someone else. At the end of the campaign, I am willing to let Hilliard voters decide who is qualified and worthy to be elected as a leader in our community and who is capable of making the best judgments."

Hilliard City Council President Brett Scioto said he found Pandey's criticism of Kunze and call for Kunze to withdraw "almost comical."

"For someone who seeks to be elected to city council, Ms. Pandey sure displayed an incredible lack of maturity and irreverence," he said. "It is almost comical that a person with her history of poor decisions and legal problems would lecture a first-class candidate like Stephanie Kunze on ethics and the law."

Pandey, 29, was born in Columbus, where she lived until age 9. Her family moved to Chicago but returned to the Columbus area when she was 13. She attended high school in Dublin and graduated from Ohio State University in 2002 with a bachelor's degree in history. She married her husband, Alexander von Reuter, a year ago and works as a special project manager for a local cat rescue group. The group is working to open a new-concept, cage-free adoption center on Sawmill Road.

Pandey and her husband purchased a HUD home in 2005 that had sat vacant for nearly a decade. They gutted and rehabbed the home, doing much of the work themselves, and live there today.

Pandey said she thinks the time has come for Hilliard city government to more accurately reflect the community's population.

"As the city of Hilliard grows and its population becomes more diverse, so too should the body of governance," she said. "As council continues to approve more residential projects, Hilliard's young and diverse population grows. As Mrs. Kunze's continuing candidacy exemplifies, the Republican stronghold in Hilliard is flagrantly ignoring the laws that pertain to them.

"This is the sign of a governing body that has gone unchecked for too long. Hilliard is in need of an opposition voice on council, and that is part of why I am running," Pandey said. "Certainly members of both parties should welcome an open debate in city governance.

Pandey said more details on her views are available on her blog, http://meaganpandey.blog spot.com.