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Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Democrats Vogel, Ross knock independent out of race in Columbus City Council primary
The two Democrats knocked out the independent candidate in the nonpartisan Columbus City Council District 7 primary, according to unofficial early results on May 6. Jesse Vogel had 40% of the vote, Tiara Ross had 40% of the vote and Kate Curry-Da-Souza had 20%, as of around 10 p.m. with 89% of precincts reporting. Ross, an assistant city attorney, and Vogel, a public interest attorney, will proceed to the Nov. 4 general election. Curry-Da-Souza, former chair of the Near East Side Area Commission and an independent on the left, is out of the race. District 7 includes Downtown and much of the city's urban core neighborhoods, but the entire city had the opportunity to vote on the race. Under Columbus' unusual district system, first rolled out in 2023, all nine city council members are elected citywide. Candidates must live in their districts. This race, the only contested Columbus City Council race this year, is to fill the seat vacated by Franklin County Prosecutor Shayla Favor. Three incumbent council members will be unopposed on the November ballot. City Council candidates sit on stage for the forum at New Birth Christian Ministries on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025 in Columbus, Ohio. Vogel said he's proud of the work his campaign has done. "It's been a whirlwind. We knocked on thousands and thousands of doors. I'm proud that it appears we're moving on into the general and really excited about getting to continue this work and share a message about how we can help Columbus work better for working people," Vogel told The Dispatch. Vogel, an immigration attorney, says he was motivated to run by his experience advocating for residents in eviction court. His endorsements include the Ohio Working Families Party, LGBTQ+ Victory Fund (a national organization), Stonewall Democrats of Central Ohio and Columbus City Schools Board Member Sarah Ingles. Ross told The Dispatch it's clear residents want a safer and more affordable city and that's why they voted for her. "I want to thank every volunteer, supporter and neighbor who believed in this campaign and the vision we shared for a more just and inclusive Columbus," Ross said. "And we're going all the way to November." Ross, who moved from Reynoldsburg into the district to run, is endorsed by the entire city council, Mayor Andrew J. Ginther, City Attorney Zach Klein and a long list of powerful local Democrats. She said she has deep roots in the city. Ross and her supporters point to her track record working on housing issues for the city attorney's office. Vogel said Curry-Da-Souza ran a great race and he's thankful for her advocacy for bold solutions. Curry-Da-Souza told The Dispatch, "We can do so much more when we work together." "I know our community is not fully being served by those who are currently elected," she said. "It's been an honor to build community on this campaign and I'm looking forward to see what happens next." With a far smaller campaign fund and fewer endorsements than her opponents, Curry-Da-Souza faced an uphill battle. Vogel raised more than $130,000 from hundreds of donors. Ross raised more than $60,000 from donors and received more than $60,000 in-kind contributions from sitting council members who campaigned with her. Curry-Da-Souza raised about $8,000. With little on the ballot and rain most of the day, less than 10% of registered Franklin County voters cast a ballot in the primary. Government and Politics Reporter Jordan Laird can be reached at jlaird@ Follow her on X, Instagram and Bluesky at @LairdWrites. This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus City Council primary results: Democrats knock out independent
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
All of Columbus votes May 6 in a council primary. Here's what the candidates stand for
Columbus' first primary for city council in years is a heated three-way race for the open seat representing District 7, which includes Downtown and much of the city's urban core. Whether or not you live in the district, all Columbus residents will vote in the race. Under Columbus' unusual district system, first rolled out in 2023, all nine city council members are elected citywide. Candidates must live in their districts. The candidates are Tiara Ross, an assistant city attorney who moved back to the district to run and is endorsed by the entire sitting council; Jesse Vogel, a public interest attorney from Olde Towne East motivated by his experience advocating for residents facing eviction and Kate Curry-Da-Souza, former chair of the Near East Side Area Commission. Ross and Vogel are Democrats and Curry-Da-Souza is running as an independent in the nonpartisan election. Hear from them in our voter guide: Meet 3 candidates for Columbus City Council in May 6 primary Housing is the first and last topic on everyone's lips and all three candidates agree that the growing city needs more of it, and it needs to be affordable for people. After all, the canddiates are running to fill the spot vacated by Franklin County Prosecutor Shayla Favor, whose signature issue while on the council was housing. In addition to affordable housing, the candidates support many of the same progressive ideals, like better public transportation and community-oriented policing. Where they differ is in their ideas for solutions, backgrounds, and how far they stray from the current council's stances. This is the only city council race this year as three incumbent council members are running unopposed: Emmanuel Remy (District 4), Christopher Wyche (District 1) and President Pro Tempore Rob Dorans (District 3). Ross and Vogel are sitting on much larger campaign chests than Curry-Da-Souza, according to campaign finance reports filed with the Franklin County Board of Elections. Vogel has raised more than $130,000 from hundreds of donors in central Ohio and connections around the country. Ross has raised more than $60,000 from donors and received more than $60,000 in in-kind contributions from sitting council members' campaign funds. Curry-Da-Souza has raised about $8,000. Ross, 37, describes moving back to Downtown Columbus, across from the hospital where she was born, OhioHealth Grant Medical Center, as a full-circle moment for her. Ross lived much of her childhood and adult life with her grandparents in Reynoldsburg. Ross says she spent a lot of time during her childhood in the Milo-Grogan neighborhood, where her grandfather, Bishop Jerome Ross Sr., was pastor at Triedstone Missionary Baptist Church for 50 years. "My roots in District 7 are extensive and I'm excited to be able to return back to District 7 to prioritize the needs of this community and work toward a more equitable Columbus," she said. Ross has served in the City Attorney's Office for seven years. She is the deputy chief of the City Attorney's Property Action Team, which goes after problem properties that pose safety risks to tenants or others. She is also the general counsel for the city's Inspector General, an office created in 2022 along with the Columbus Civilian Police Review Board to investigate alleged police misconduct and excessive uses of force. Ross will have to leave her job at the city attorney's office if she's elected, but she said she's ready for the next step in her career. Ross moved to Downtown on May 5, 2024, a day before the cutoff to be eligible to run for this seat. Her last-minute move led a local political blogger to unsuccessfully challenge her residency and eligibility at a Franklin County Board of Elections hearing. Her campaign faced controversy after her poor driving record came to light during that hearing. Records later revealed Ross was driving on a suspended licence for an unpaid speeding ticket. On top of that, she had nearly $3,8000 worth of unpaid Columbus parking tickets. Ross said she took "full responsibility for the situation," paid the speeding tickets and parking fines and got her license reinstated. Still, Ross has racked up endorsements from a long list of powerful local Democrats, including all nine city council members, Mayor Andrew J. Ginther, former mayor Michael B. Coleman, Prosecutor Shayla Favor and her boss, City Attorney Zach Klein. She also has endorsements from multiple Black church leaders in the city, like her grandfather, and the Columbus Building Trades Council and the Central Ohio Labor Council. "I really want to be the candidate for the community, the community's candidate," Ross said. "I think that is a very different narrative, it's the real narrative, but a very different narrative than what has been painted of me. I think it is because of my work that I have the confidence of the folks that are already working with the city because they've seen my dedication first-hand." Ross said her priorities as a candidate include advocating for neighborhood investments, safe and affordable housing, paved roads and sidewalks. Vogel, a 32-year-old Olde Towne East resident, said he was motivated to run by his experience representing clients in eviction court and organizing efforts during the pandemic to help residents facing eviction. In 2020, Vogel was a law student at Ohio State University during the pandemic when he saw vulnerable people facing eviction. He co-founded the Central Ohio Housing Action Network and recruited volunteers to distribute information about eviction court and their rights to residents facing eviction. He said seeing neighbors come together to make an impact was a formative experience for him. "That also taught me about the vulnerability of our housing market that's been populated with investors from other places and companies that are not accountable to local residents," Vogel said. "And it made my wheels start turning about how do wee keep on digging into this problem of housing stability?" Vogel worked for Legal Aid of Southeast and Central Ohio, including on housing issues, for more than two years before leaving in January to work as an immigration attorney for Community Refugee & Immigration Services (CRIS). Vogel is running on a platform that includes universal pre-K, making buses free to ride, and changing how Columbus spends affordable housing bond dollars already passed by voters. Instead of giving bond dollars to private developers to build housing, he wants the city to use the money in a revolving fund to build city-owned and operated affordable housing. "I'm running this campaign because it's an opportunity to build something with others across the city, a vision for the future where life is more affordable and people have more opportunity in Columbus and have the opportunity to stay here and build the life they want," Vogel said. Vogel has endorsements from the Ohio Working Families Party, LGBTQ+ Victory Fund (a national organization), Stonewall Democrats of Central Ohio and Columbus City Schools Board Member Sarah Ingles. He is a member of the LGBTQ+ and Jewish communities. Curry-Da-Souza, 43, sat on the Near East Area Commission from 2019 to 2024 and chaired the commission from 2022 to 2024. Columbus area commissions advocate for their communities and also review some development projects in their neighborhoods and make recommendations to the city government. Since 2022, Curry-Da-Souza has worked as network director with Success by Third Grade for United Way of Central Ohio. "I've given a life of service to the community in different kinds of ways and I'm ready," Curry-Da-Souza said. "I feel like I have a different kind of vision, because (on the Near East Area commission) I've seen the struggle between community members and developers and city council, and I think that I can help. I can help bridge that because I understand it differently, because I've seen those struggles." Curry-Da-Souza said her priorities include addressing food insecurity, including with food banks but also more urban agriculture; investing in Columbus Promise students; and creating more housing quickly. She has proposed imposing a fee on empty homes to encourage owners to bring them back online by selling or renting. "Many times, it's only one thing that we hear about (in Columbus) and that's build, build. But build what? These giant units that take 30 acres and it's all this land and it's going to take two years to get off the ground. People don't have two years if they're living in a car," she said. "So what is a smaller project that will take a couple contractors?" Curry-Da-Souza is endorsed by the Forward Party and Forward Ohio and former Columbus mayoral candidate Joe Motil. As an independent, Curry-Da-Souza said she would bring something new to the city council, which is comprised of all Democrats. "I'm ready to fill that spot and be accountable to Columbus," Curry-Da-Souza said. "People are ready for change and they want something different, and I'm here for it and I'm ready to give it." The other big Columbus race: Meet 10 candidates running for Columbus school board in the May 6 primary Government and Politics Reporter Jordan Laird can be reached at jlaird@ Follow her on X, Instagram and Bluesky at @LairdWrites. This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Meet the three candidates running in the Columbus City Council primary
