Columbus, Ohio
From Ballotpedia
| Columbus, Ohio | |
| |
| General information | |
Mayor of Columbus
Andrew Ginther | |
| Last mayoral election: | 2023 |
| Next mayoral election: | 2027 |
| Last city council election: | 2023 |
| Next city council election: | 2025 |
| City council seats: | 7 |
| City website | |
| Composition data (2019) | |
| Population: | 878,553 |
| Race: | White 58.6% African American 29.0% Asian 5.8% Native American 0.3% Pacific Islander 0.0% Two or more 4.2% |
| Ethnicity: | Hispanic 6.2% |
| Median household income: | $53,745 |
| High school graduation rate: | 89.8% |
| College graduation rate: | 36.6% |
| Related Columbus offices | |
| Ohio Congressional Delegation Ohio State Legislature Ohio state executive offices |
Columbus is the seat of Franklin County, Ohio, and is the state capital. The city's population was 905,748 as of 2020, according to the United States Census Bureau.
Click on the links below to learn more about the city's...
- Mayor
- City council
- Other elected officials
- Elections
- Census information
- Budget
- Contact information
- Ballot measures
- County government
City government
- See also: Mayor-council government
The city of Columbus utilizes a strong mayor and city council system. In this form of municipal government, the city council serves as the city's primary legislative body and the mayor serves as the city's chief executive.[1]
Mayor
The mayor serves as the city's chief executive officer. The mayor is responsible for appointing certain city officers, acting as chief conservator of the peace, supervising city administration, recommending measures to the city council, and advising the city council on the city's financial condition and other needs.[2]
The current Mayor of Columbus is Andrew Ginther. Ginther assumed office in 2015.
City council
The Columbus City Council is the city's primary legislative body. It is responsible for adopting the city budget, adopting city contracts, enacting city codes, and establishing land use policy through its zoning authorities.[3]
The Columbus City Council consists of nine members. Elections are held by district.[3]
The widget below automatically displays information about city council meetings. The topic list contains a sampling of keywords that Voterheads, a local government monitoring service, found in each meeting agenda. Click the meeting link to see more info and the full agenda:
Other elected officials
Mayoral partisanship
Columbus has a Democratic mayor. As of February 2025, 64 mayors in the largest 100 cities by population are affiliated with the Democratic Party, 25 are affiliated with the Republican Party, one is affiliated with the Libertarian Party, three are independents, four identify as nonpartisan or unaffiliated, and three mayors' affiliations are unknown. Click here for a list of the 100 largest cities' mayors and their partisan affiliations.
Mayoral elections are officially nonpartisan in most of the nation's largest cities. However, many officeholders are affiliated with political parties. Ballotpedia uses one or more of the following sources to identify each officeholder's partisan affiliation: (1) direct communication from the officeholder, (2) current or previous candidacy for partisan office, or (3) identification of partisan affiliation by multiple media outlets.
Elections
2025
- See also: City elections in Columbus, Ohio (2025)
The city of Columbus, Ohio, is holding general elections for attorney, auditor, and city council on November 4, 2025. A primary is scheduled for May 6, 2025. The filing deadline for the primary was February 5, 2025, and the filing deadline for the general election is August 6, 2025.
2023
The city of Columbus, Ohio, held general elections for mayor and city council on November 7, 2023. A primary was scheduled for May 2, 2023. The filing deadline for this election was February 1, 2023.
2021
- See also: City elections in Columbus, Ohio (2021)
The city of Columbus, Ohio, held general elections for city council, city attorney, and city auditor on November 2, 2021. A primary was scheduled for May 4, 2021. The primary election was canceled due to the fact that in all of the races on the ballot, not more than twice the number of candidates as open seats filed to run. The filing deadline for this election was February 3, 2021.
2020
- See also: November 3, 2020 ballot measures in Ohio
Columbus voters decided on three ballot measures. Issue 1 asked to authorize the city to establish an Electric Aggregation Program. Issue 2 asked to amend the city charter to create the Civilian Police Review Board with authority to launch and carry out investigations of alleged police misconduct. Issue 24 asked to authorize the county to renew and increase a tax to fund programs for mental health, alcohol, and drug addiction at a rate of $28.50 per $100,000 of the assessed property value (an increase of $6.50 per $100,000 of assessed property value).
2019
- See also: City elections in Columbus, Ohio (2019)
The city of Columbus, Ohio, held general elections for mayor and city council on November 5, 2019. The primary was on May 7, 2019. The deadline for candidates to file to run in this election was February 6, 2019. Click here for more information about the mayoral election.
2017
The city of Columbus, Ohio, held elections on November 7, 2017. A primary election occurred on May 2, 2017. Three of the seven seats on the city council were up for election. The positions of city attorney and city auditor were also on the ballot. The filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was February 1, 2017.[4]
2015
- See also: Columbus, Ohio municipal elections, 2015
The city of Columbus, Ohio, held elections for mayor and city council on November 3, 2015. A primary took place on May 5, 2015. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was February 4, 2015. Four of the seven city council seats were up for election. In the mayoral race, incumbent Michael B. Coleman decided not to run for re-election. Six candidates filed to take his place, including Columbus City Council President Andrew J. Ginther. Three incumbents sought re-election to the city council, but one resigned before the general election. Both incumbents who ran for re-election in the general election won.
In addition to the regularly scheduled election, the city also held a special election on November 3, 2015, for the council seat vacated by Troy Miller in 2014. A primary election was not held for this race.[5][6]
Census information
The table below shows demographic information about the city.
| Demographic Data for Columbus | |
|---|---|
| Columbus | |
| Population | 905,748 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 220 |
| Race and ethnicity** | |
| White | 53.3% |
| Black/African American | 29% |
| Asian | 5.8% |
| Native American | 0.3% |
| Pacific Islander | 0.3% |
| Two or more | 8.2% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 7.9% |
| Education | |
| High school graduation rate | 89.8% |
| College graduation rate | 38.2% |
| Income | |
| Median household income | $65,327 |
| Persons below poverty level | 17.8% |
| Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2018-2023). | |
| **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. |
Budget
The city of Columbus' budget covers the calendar year, January 1 through December 31. In July and August each year, city departments prepare their proposed budgets and submit them to the Finance and Management Department. In October, the city auditor releases an official estimate of available resources from the general fund. The city charter dictates that the city's annual proposed budget cannot exceed the city auditor's official estimate. The city charter requires the city's administration to present the annual budget proposal to the city council by November 15. The city council then holds budget hearings by committee as well as hearings for public comment. The city council then votes to adopt the budget proposal.[7]
Fiscally standardized cities data
The fiscally standardized cities (FiSC) data below was compiled by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy to make municipal budgets comparable across cities in the United States.[8]
| “ |
FiSCs are constructed by adding revenues and expenditures of each central city municipal government to a portion of the revenues and expenditures of overlying governments, including counties, independent school districts, and special districts. The allocations to FiSCs are estimates of the revenues collected from and services provided to central city residents and businesses by these overlying independent governments. Thus FiSCs provides a full picture of revenues raised from city residents and businesses and spending on their behalf, whether done by the city government or a separate overlying government.[9] |
” |
| —Lincoln Institute of Land Policy[10] |
The tables below show estimated finances within city limits. As such, the revenue and expenses listed may differ from the actual city budget.
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Historical total revenue and expenditure
To see the historical total revenue or expenditures as a rounded amount in this city, hover over the bars.[8]
Columbus, Ohio, salaries and pensions over $95,000
Below is a map of the nationwide salaries and pensions in this city over $95,000. To search a different ZIP code, enter it in the search bar within the map.
Contact information
Mayor's office
City Hall 2nd Floor
90 West Broad Street
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone: 614-645-7671
City Clerk's office
90 West Broad Street
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone: 614-645-7431
Click here for city council contact information.
Ballot measures
- See also: Franklin County, Ohio ballot measures
The city of Columbus is in Franklin County. A list of ballot measures in Franklin County is available here.
Noteworthy events
2020: Events and activity following the death of George Floyd
During the weekend of May 29-31, 2020, demonstrations and protests took place in cities nationwide, including Columbus, following the death of George Floyd. Events in Columbus, Ohio, began on Thursday, May 28, 2020, near the Ohio Statehouse.[11] On May 30, Mayor Andrew J. Ginther issued a curfew and Gov. Mike DeWine (R) deployed the Ohio National Guard to the city.[12]
2015: Nondiscrimination laws
In July 2015, the Movement Advancement Project described Columbus, Ohio, as a city or county that prohibited discrimination in employment on the basis of gender identity via ordinances that apply to public and private employers. At that time, a total of 71 of America's largest 100 cities prohibited private employers from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation, while 69 of those cities also prohibited discrimination based on gender identity. This did not include those jurisdictions that prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity for government employees.[13]
Nondiscrimination laws can cover a variety of areas, including public employment, private employment, housing, and public accommodations. Such laws may be enacted at the state, county, or city level.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ National League of Cities, "Cities 101 — Forms of Municipal Government," accessed September 1, 2021
- ↑ Columbus City Codes, "Sec. 62. - General powers and duties of mayor.," accessed September 1, 2021
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 City of Columbus, "City Council," accessed September 1, 2021
- ↑ Franklin County Board of Elections, "2017 Primary Election Schedule," accessed February 2, 2017
- ↑ Franklin County Board of Elections, "2015 Election Info," accessed September 19, 2014
- ↑ Franklin County Board of Elections, "2015 Primary Election Schedule," accessed February 5, 2015
- ↑ [file:///Users/maddysalucka/Downloads/City%20of%20Columbus%202023%20Budget%20Proposal.pdfCity of Columbus, "2023 Proposed Operating Budget," accessed August 23, 2023]
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, "Fiscally Standardized Cities database," accessed August 23, 2023
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, "Fiscally Standardized Cities," accessed August 23, 2023
- ↑ NBC4i, "Protest in downtown Columbus broken up after demonstrators breach Ohio Statehouse," May 29, 2020
- ↑ Columbus Business First, "Ginther enacts curfew for Columbus, DeWine activates National Guard amid continuing protests," May 30, 2020
- ↑ Movement Advancement Project, "Local Employment Non-Discrimination Ordinances," accessed July 7, 2015
