Who's running for Columbus City Council, CCS Board? Several candidates miss ballot
Multiple people who filed to run for Columbus City Council and Columbus City Schools Board of Education failed to make the primary ballot after falling short of the required number of valid signatures.
The Franklin County Board of Elections voted at its meeting Friday to certify or not certify candidates based on the number of signatures collected.
Aurora Dasan and Densil R. Porteous, executive director of Stonewall Columbus, both failed to make the ballot for Columbus City Council District 7. Porteous was already actively campaigning and placing advertisements online.
This narrows the field to three certified candidates:
Kate Curry-Da-Souza, network director of the Success by Third Grade program at the United Way of Central Ohio
Tiara Ross, an attorney in the Columbus City Attorney's Office
Jesse Vogel, an attorney at Community Refugee & Immigration Services Ohio who's raised over $70,000 in grassroots donations
The three candidates will run in a citywide primary to narrow the race down to two who will compete in the November general election.
They're vying to replace Shayla Favor as the representative for District 7, which includes much of Columbus' urban core neighborhoods such as Downtown, Franklinton, Olde Towne East, Italian Village and German Village. Otto Beatty III was appointed to fill that seat in January, but he is not running to keep it this fall.
Three candidates who filed to run for school board did not make the ballot: Yasmine Farah, Ivory L. Kennedy Jr. and Tracey L. Sigers.
Ten candidates for school board were certified:
Liz Caslin-Turner, senior program manager for post-secondary career and technical education for the Ohio Department of Higher Education
Teresa Hannah, founder and family-school liaison consultant with STEPP Forward LLC
Patrick Katzenmeyer, senior project manager at The Pizzuti Companies
Jermaine Kennedy, chief program officer at Boys & Girls Club of Central Ohio
Janeece Keyes‐Shanklin, program manager with the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation
Karrie Lumpkin, administrative professional/claims specialist with the Ohio Attorney General's Office
Mounir F. Lynch, health educator
Kimberley Mason, higher education partnership manager with the Ohio Bankers League
Antoinette Miranda, professor and director of the school psychology program at Ohio State University and a former member of the State Board of Education representing District 6
Julie Trabold, financial manager and wealth adviser with Northwestern Mutual
They are vying for three spots on the board up for election. The three incumbents, including board President Michael Cole, decided not to run again.
Voters in the CCS district will vote for up to three candidates. The six top vote earners in the primary move on to the November general election.
All the candidates who filed to run for Hilliard City Council and for the contested Whitehall City Council district made the ballot.
(This story was updated to make a candidate's name appear as it will on the ballot.)
jlaird@dispatch.com
@LairdWrites
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus candidates miss primary ballot for council, school board
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
Columbus OKs funding to fight domestic violence
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Columbus City Council has authorized funding to help a program city leaders said is vital in the fight against domestic violence. Monday, the city council authorized $345,130 from the general fund to keep the Advocacy Crisis Team for Domestic Violence (ACT-DV), a partnership between Columbus police and Nationwide Children's Hospital's Center of Family Safety and Healing. City leaders hope the money will help expand the program. How ACT-DV works is when police respond to a domestic violence situation, they will call advocates with Nationwide Children's Hospital to the scene to focus on the victims. 'When surveyed officers shared their confidence in ACT-DV and saying the partnership provides a better response in producing results for victims than other programs,' Dr. Joanne Lunceford, deputy director of the Office of Violence Prevention, said at Monday's Columbus City Council meeting. This allows the Office of Violence Prevention to enter a one-year contract with the center. The money will keep the partnership going between the police department and the hospital instead of having to outsource for advocates. 'Expanding ACT-DV services would provide the opportunity to continue building trust and safe options for some of our most vulnerable community members,' Lunceford said. At Monday's meeting, Lunceford said the hope is to bring on more advocates, having one for each police zone. ACT-DV started as a pilot program in 2023. Nationwide said it expanded in 2024 and is now fully available in two zones of the city, but can be available in all areas if called. Once the scene is secured, advocates will arrive. This frees police to focus on the investigation while the advocate can focus on helping the victim. 'Our goal is to get out to make sure that person feels grounded at a very chaotic and confusing time, then we work alongside officers knowing we have a different role,' Amber Howell, a clinical supervisor for the Center for Family Safety and Healing, said. City leaders declared domestic violence an emergency, saying the program has been extremely helpful but noting difficulties with staffing. The ordinance will officially take effect once signed by Mayor Andrew Ginther. The team responded to more than 220 calls in 2024. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Yahoo
Columbus continues affordable housing fight as some funding drops
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – The City of Columbus will now have a more centralized approach to tackling its housing crisis. It's a plan that's been in the works for years and has now come together as a new division in the city. NBC4 spoke with a man who is almost 70 and spent last year living on the streets and in a shelter. Now, he's in a safe apartment, thanks to Community Housing Network (CHN), a non-profit that develops permanent supportive housing. Police provide updates on Mifflin Township shootout suspect On Monday, Columbus City Council moved to make stories like his more common. The legislation will centralize the work to combat the affordable housing crisis. 'I had my ups and downs; I had my good days and my bad days,' CHN resident Donald Hodge said. Hodge was living on the street, then in a shelter until March. Now, he's in a 55+ living facility built by Community Housing Network. 'Oh, my goodness, I was so happy,' Hodge said. 'I couldn't believe it.' 'It gives stability,' Community Housing Network CEO Annissa Lambirth-Garrett said. 'It allows individuals to have a place where they can focus on their personal well-being. They have a roof over their head, a basic need. Without it, how can you recuperate when you're coming home from the hospital? Or if you're someone who is suffering from a disability? How can you thrive and grow if you don't have a place to call home?' Pilot program testing tasers in Ohio's prisons; may expand statewide CHN is part of a group of organizations working to combat the housing crisis in Columbus. Now the city is making its work with these groups and on housing in general more centralized. 'It's a long time coming to have a place in the city whose main job is to make sure that renters have support and have someone looking out for them,' Columbus City Council President Shannon Hardin said. The division will provide legal counsel to low-income tenants facing eviction, ensure people affected by emergency vacate orders are supported, and expand access to information that will help people stay in their homes. 'Now it just has a home where we can have folks that are able to identify when issues are coming around, have a place where we can send folks to engage with the city, and really a place that can hold folks accountable,' Hardin said. Work is already underway and hiring for the division will start at the end of June. Donatos to open fully-automated pizza restaurant at John Glenn International this month Council has also approved the last of the emergency rental assistance funds to be used to help Columbus residents facing eviction; the city approved $1 million, left over from pandemic-era federal funds. It represents the last of the second round of emergency rental assistance that was part of the 2021 American Rescue Plan. This money went to organizations helping keep people in their homes, from fighting back against evictions to direct payments to landlords. Now, the money is gone and the city is tasked with finding new ways to keep people in their homes. 'We will continue to make a forceful economic argument why we need to find a way to support, but there is a truth that we need the federal government to be a partner in this, we need the state government to be a partner in this,' Hardin said. Since the pandemic, Columbus has put out nearly $91 million in emergency rental assistance. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Yahoo
Franklin County voters: What to know before heading to the polls
Franklin County, Pennsylvania, residents can vote in the municipal primary on Tuesday, May 20. According to a community announcement, the Franklin County Board of Election has provided answers to frequently asked questions to assist voters. Polls will open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. Registered voters who are in line at 8 p.m. will still be allowed to vote. Voters can verify their registration status, party affiliation and polling place location on the SURE Public Portal at For additional assistance, voters may contact the Franklin County Voter Registration Office at 717-261-3886. Franklin County has 73 polling places. Voters must vote at the polling location assigned to them based on their home address. Polling place locations are indicated on voters' registration cards. Voters can also confirm their polling place on the SURE Public Portal, which provides directions from their home to the assigned polling place. There have been changes to some polling locations since the last election. The Greene 4 polling location is now permanently at St. Paul Lutheran Church, 44 E. Main St., Fayetteville. The Metal 3 polling location has moved to the Upper Path Valley Presbyterian Church, 16950 Main St., Spring Run. For those who received an absentee or mail-in ballot, the deadline to return the voted ballot is 8 p.m. on May 20. Voters are encouraged to mail their ballots as soon as possible to ensure they arrive on time. Voters who are concerned about timely delivery may return their ballots in person to the Franklin County Voter Registration Office at 272 N. Second St., Chambersburg. It is important to note that voted ballots will not be accepted at polling places. The May 20 municipal primary ballot will include various offices, such as judge of the superior court, judge of the commonwealth court, county treasurer, school director, tax collector, township auditor, township supervisor, borough mayor, borough councilperson, magisterial district judge #39-3-04, judge of election, and inspector of election. Voters registered as Independent or with a minor political party will not be eligible to vote in this primary election. Sample ballots can be found on the Franklin County website at or at the Franklin County Commissioners' Office. Voters should bring an approved form of identification if they are voting in an election district for the first time. This can be either a photo or non-photo ID. Other voters will not be required to present identification. All polling places in Franklin County are considered handicapped accessible. Voters needing assistance in voting may only receive help if their registration record indicates the need for assistance or if they complete and sign a declaration of the need for assistance at the polling place. Voters may choose anyone to assist them, except for the judge of elections, their employer, or an officer or agent of their union. Each polling place will have a lighted magnifier with bifocal lenses available for those who may have difficulty reading their ballot. Campaigning is regulated at polling places. Individuals or candidates must remain at least 10 feet away from the entrance during voting. For information about candidates on the ballot, voters can check local newspapers or contact the Franklin County Democratic Committee at 717-530-1662 or the Franklin County Republican Party at 717-263-7999. For any questions regarding voting or the Election Day process, voters should reach out to the Franklin County Voter Registration Office at 717-261-3886 or the Franklin County Election Board at 717-261-3812. Additional information is available on the Franklin County website at Franklin County voters can also find information on the voting system used in the county, including a demo of the digital scan ballot and assistive devices for the visually impaired at Election results will be posted on the county's website and can also be found on the Department of State's website at This story was created by Janis Reeser, jreeser@ with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the information gathering, review, editing and publishing process. Learn more at or share your thoughts at with our News Automation and AI team. The Public Opinion, The Record Herald, Echo-Pilot are growing their local news This article originally appeared on Waynesboro Record Herald: New polling places, deadlines and rules for Franklin County voters
