01-05-2025
Meet the three candidates running for Columbus City Council's District 7 seat
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – As three Columbus City Council candidates vie for a chance to face off in the November general election, voters in the city will soon decide who moves forward.
Three candidates are competing for the council's District 7 seat, which represents Downtown and most of the city's central neighborhoods. All Columbus voters, not just those who live in District 7, will vote in the nonpartisan race.
The primary election will take place on May 6, when residents will have the opportunity to vote for one candidate on the ballot. The top two candidates with the most votes will proceed to the Nov. 4 general election.
The District 7 seat opened up when former Councilmember Shayla Favor was elected Franklin County prosecutor. The council voted to appoint Otto Beatty to temporarily fill the seat, and he is not running to keep the position.
Those running for the city council seat in the primary election include Kate Curry-Da-Souza, Tiara Ross and Jesse Vogel.
Curry-Da-Souza, 43, is a network director with United Way of Central Ohio, a nonprofit focused on addressing poverty and supporting the success of young students. She has worked in the nonprofit industry for about two decades. Curry-Da-Souza grew up in northeast Ohio, before moving to Columbus in 2001. She later went on to complete a bachelor's degree in humanities with an English focus at Ohio State University.
'My husband and I both graduated from colleges here in Columbus and have chosen to make this our long-term forever home,' Curry-Da-Souza said. 'I believe I have the vision and long-term community engagement and connection because I volunteered and worked here for so long to be able to be a great person and representative on Columbus City Council.'
A top issue for Curry-Da-Souza is affordability – specifically when it comes to housing, food access and childcare. She discussed the idea of having tiny home neighborhoods to provide affordable housing.
'Some of the ways that I envision being able to make Columbus more affordable is to ensure that we have different levels of housing,' Curry-Da-Souza said. 'So do we have tiny homes nestled into other tiny homes on a lot, so people can have a place to have their garden and have their kids play and elders can have something that's accessible while still living in the neighborhoods that they've already grown to love.'
Curry-Da-Souza also said she would like to examine using vacant lots for urban gardens to address food insecurity and explore ways to make childcare more affordable. She believes that her accountability to the community rather than a political party sets her apart in this race, as well as her ability to relate to those struggling with affordability in Columbus.
'We're really focused on having an independent candidate so that all voices are heard downtown on city council,' Curry-Da-Souza said. 'I come at this, having been a student who struggled through college, working multiple jobs as a single parent. I have worked really hard to get where we are, but I recognize how expensive childcare is. I recognize what it's like to need to ride the bus because it's the only form of transportation.'
Ross, 37, has been an assistant city attorney for the past seven years. Before working for the city attorney's office, she worked in financial crimes compliance at JPMorgan. She holds a bachelor's degree in psychology and strategic communication, as well as a Juris Doctorate from Ohio State University.
'Being a native of the city of Columbus and having grown up in some of the very communities that I hope to be so fortunate to serve, allows me to have a really intimate understanding of the community,' Ross said.
Ross said the most important issue to her is quality, affordable housing. She said she does not believe there is a single 'silver bullet' to address the issue, but that it needs to be confronted in a number of ways, including ensuring the city is developing enough housing to match its growth.
'As we are thinking about what development looks like, making sure that we are prioritizing affordable housing for people, making sure that when we are looking to develop, we are planful about the areas in which development occurs to make sure that there is appropriate infrastructure that walks alongside development,' Ross said.
Other important issues to Ross include creating 'comprehensive solutions' to public safety, through exploring systems such as alternative police response for nonviolent mental health issues. Ross said her prior experience in city government sets her apart from other candidates and would allow her to 'hit the ground running.' She also said she wants to change the fact that there are currently no Black women on city council.
'Having been the one candidate that has worked inside city government for the better half of the last decade offers me the unique opportunity to have already created and established very good relationships with the administration, with members of council, with neighborhood leaders and neighborhood organizations,' Ross said. 'I think representation matters here; who is at the table and what voices are represented at the table. There is a gaping hole right now where there are no Black women that are serving on city council.'
Vogel, 32, is an attorney who has spent the past few years representing low-income individuals in Columbus, currently with the nonprofit Community Refugee and Immigration Services. A Columbus native, Vogel holds a bachelor's degree in politics from Oberlin College and a Juris Doctorate from Ohio State University.
'I would be an advocate for people,' Vogel said. 'Frankly, I'm a Democrat, but I want to hold others accountable, including other Democrats, to see how collectively we can do better at making our city work for working people, and I'm ready to be able to get on council and ask some hard questions.'
Vogel said a top issue he would like to address is the cost of living in Columbus. Specifically, the prices of rent, property taxes, transportation and childcare. Vogel said he wants to preserve existing affordable housing that is at risk of being sold, as well as build new accessible options.
'I've been an attorney representing renters struggling to stay housed and I think our city needs a stronger strategy to make sure that our public dollars are being invested to build housing that people can actually afford,' Vogel said. 'I'd like to work to feed a revolving fund with some of the affordable housing bonds that our city is raising and use that to target investment in housing for low-income people and working people.'
Vogel said he is additionally an advocate for making COTA buses free to use, and that he is interested in working on a property tax relief program for low-income seniors who are at risk of losing their housing.
'I've been an advocate for working people across the city of Columbus and their families for years,' Vogel said. 'I understand the challenges they go through to get housing to get where they need to go and to send their kids to quality school. That's a unique perspective and it's one that I would bring to the city council.'
Polls will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on May 6. More information about the city council candidates can be found here.
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