HUDSON, Ohio – Hudson schools are investigating accusations made by a city resident that a high school coach used his school email during school hours to conduct political activity on behalf of his wife’s run for City Council.

Holly Harris sent a letter last week to Superintendent Phil Herman, Board of Education members and reporters accusing swim coach Matt Davis of misusing school resources, including his school email, to aid the campaign of his wife, Nicole Davis, who is running for Ward 4 of Hudson City Council.

In her letter, Harris wrote that Davis’ actions are a “violation of both the Hudson City School’s Policy Manual, and a possible criminal violation under the Ohio Revised Code.” But Harris said she does not want to see police pursue a criminal investigation, and advocated for an internal investigation.

“…Mr. Davis should, at minimum, make restitution to the school district for the value of the services that were used improperly and the value of any taxpayer-funded time that he misused,” she wrote.

In response to an inquiry by cleveland.com, the district released a statement: “Thank you for your inquiry about an employee’s use of position and the district’s email system during work time to campaign on behalf of a candidate. At this time, we are investigating these allegations. Once the review is complete, we will institute any corrective or disciplinary actions as appropriate.”

Reached by email on Monday, Davis acknowledged the investigation and confirmed that emails obtained by cleveland.com had been written by him.

“Those were in fact my emails and they were sent inadvertently from my school email,” he wrote. "The school has an ongoing investigation and you are welcome to reach out to them directly. Thank you, have a good day.”

Davis used his school email to discuss putting up political yard signs, share links to his wife’s campaign Facebook page and make arrangements with a business to buy apparel for his wife’s campaign.

The coach sent emails to several unidentified people during school hours on Sept. 12 with the subject line “Favor.”

“I wanted to ask a favor,” Davis wrote. “My wife Nicole is running for the Ward 4 City Council seat this year. If memory serves me correctly I believe you guys also live in our ward. Would you guys be willing to allow us to put up on(e of) her signs in your yard for the campaign. Obviously I can provide you with any info on her campaign/platform that you would need. I appreciate your consideration and support. Thanks.”

One person said they were usually not inclined to put up yard signs, but agreed so long as Davis set erected a sign in an area that was not their property. Davis replied that he would arrange a time to put up the sign and provided an update on his wife’s campaign strategy, saying she was having fundraisers and starting to go door-to-door.

Beginning Sept. 16, Davis used his school email to contact a local sporting goods store to ask about printing hats for his wife’s campaign and inquire about when t-shirts would be ready. During the same exchange, Davis asked about ordering t-shirts and hats for the Hudson Explorers Aquatics Team.