Last week, Elizabeth Brown announced her upcoming departure from Columbus City Council to take a new position as President & CEO at YWCA Columbus. Today, the City of Columbus formally announced the process to fill the vacant council seat for the remainder of the term.
“To ensure the continuity of governing, Council must fill vacant seats based on the process outlined in the City Code,” stated City Council President Shannon Hardin in a release this morning. “As we prepare for historic changes at Council, moving to a nine-member hybrid district system to better represent our neighborhoods, I believe the City would be best served by an experienced civic leader who can act as a caretaker.”
Columbus residents interested in applying for the vacant City Council seat should submit their resumes to [email protected] before Friday, December 9th at Noon. Current members of City Council may schedule individual interviews with applicants, and on Wednesday December 21st, each member of City Council will select three applicants for final consideration.
A public hearing will then be held the week of January 2nd for comments, testimony and discussion. On January 9th, current Council Members will nominate applicants for the vacancy and take a vote upon the new appointee.
The new appointee will serve the remainder of the term through the end of 2023.
Meanwhile, Columbus City Council will undergo a major update in 2023, expanding to a nine-member district-based system. All seats will be open for applicants who collect 250 district signatures and reside within a district. An open nonpartisan primary election will be held on May 2nd to narrow the field of candidates down to two per district.
The general election in November 2023 will decide upon all nine Council Members, five of which will be assigned a 4 year term and four will be assigned a 2 year term to stagger reelections moving forward.
For more information on the upcoming changes in 2023, or to find information on your district, visit https://www.columbus.gov/districts/.