Your guide to the May 6 primary candidates
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Local primaries during an off year are historically sleepy affairs, but the May 6 election is bucking that trend.
Why it matters: Voters will elect candidates to Columbus' two most significant governing bodies: City Council and the Board of Education. Both nonpartisan races are marked by drama and unusual circumstances.
Plus: There's the first Democratic primary for Hilliard City Council in recent history.
🗳️ Early voting is already underway. View the schedule and your sample ballot, and learn about the other issues on the ballot.
Columbus City Council
Three candidates are running to fill the District 7 seat vacated by new Franklin County Prosecutor Shayla Favor.
Zoom in: District 7 covers downtown Columbus, the Short North, Franklinton, German Village and Olde Towne East.
- In the 2020 census, the district had about 100,000 residents.
Between the lines: Council has been previously criticized for appointing "placeholder" candidates to vacant seats who would then run for those seats and benefit from campaigning as incumbents.
- However, appointee Otto Beatty III is not running in November.
The candidates:
- Kate Curry-Da-Souza, United Way of Central Ohio network director
- Tiara Ross, Columbus assistant city attorney
- Jesse Vogel, Community Refugee & Immigration Services staff attorney
Friction point: Ross has spent the most time in the news.
- Political blogger D.J. Byrnes challenged Ross's residency, then reported she drove with a suspended license and $4,000 in unpaid fines and tickets.
- Ross apologized, paid the bills and reinstated her license. She also proved her eligible residency status.
- Despite the controversies, all nine council members endorsed Ross.
How it works: The two candidates who receive the most votes advance to the Nov. 4 general election.
Columbus school board
Voters will choose from 10 new faces vying for three seats.
Zoom in: That's the most candidates in a decade, per county records, even with three incumbents stepping down — including most-senior members Ramona Reyes and Michael Cole.
- The top six advance to November.
Context: It's an uncertain time for educators at the state and federal level, and there's plenty of tension within the district itself.
- A controversial plan to consolidate schools is underway, along with negotiations for a new teachers union contract.
- The board was plagued with infighting last year sparked by secret meetings among some members that state officials recently said violated open records laws.
The candidates: Liz Caslin‐Turner, Teresa Hannah, Patrick Katzenmeyer, Jermaine Kennedy, Janeece Keyes-Shanklin, Karrie Lumpkin, Mounir Lynch, Kimberley Mason, Antoinette Miranda and Julie Trabold.
- The Franklin County Democrats endorsed Kennedy, Katzenmeyer and Miranda.
- All 10 candidates are Democrats, though Ohio school board races are nonpartisan.
Hilliard City Council
The Democratic primary features incumbents Tina Cottone and Andy Teater — a former Republican who switched parties — facing off against five newcomers.
- They are: Samer Bazerbashi, Dorothy Hassan, Tony Moog, Kathy Parker-Jones and Nadia Rasul.
The intrigue: Four will advance and face three Republicans in November, with four seats open.
- Republicans aren't competing in a primary, possibly signaling a shifting political landscape in the suburb.
- Voters elected their first Democrat in three decades in 2019.