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These comments were always intended for private conversations but Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther and Columbus City Council President Shannon Hardin continually ignore us so, now I am compelled to speak publicly. Ginther served on the Columbus School Board six years before his appointment to City Council. Then he was elected Mayor in 2016. Hardin was appointed to Council in 2014 and has been President since 2018.

Here is an abbreviated recap of the Ginther-Hardin legacy. Columbus ranked as the second most economically segregated major US city in 2015. In 2022, the JPMorgan Chase report found racial inequities cost Columbus’ economy $10 billion annually. A 2024 report said Columbus is growing by leaps and bounds but is 700 years behind in racial equality.

In July 2025, JD Vance said Columbus is lawless. In September, Columbus Police Lieutenant and Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) President Brian Steel had his SUV with Marine Corp plates stolen from his driveway. Last week, NBC4 reported 182 cities were ranked and Columbus placed at No. 159, making it the 24th most unsafe city. It ranked even lower at No. 164 for home and community safety.

Versión en español a continuación

Celebrating our 55th year, the Columbus Free Press will honor five outstanding community activists and a community organization at our November 2025 Salon and Awards event on Saturday, November 8 from 1:30-4:30pm at the First Unitarian Universalist Church, 93 W. Weisheimer Road. Our honoree for the Free Press 2025 Outstanding Community Organization is Heer to Serve.

Heer to Serve advocates for those who are unsheltered and facing housing insecurity with a person centered approach, providing emergency and necessary supplies and support to those on the far south side of Columbus. Heer to Serve volunteers work to meet their basic needs through tangible items, social support, and programing.

With three open seats on the Board of Education and no incumbents defending them, November 4 isn’t a sleepy local race. There are six candidates, and the winners will be faced with helping rescue Columbus City Schools from its toughest stretch in decades. A $100 million budget deficit, plummeting enrollment, collapsing public trust and a growing rift between union teachers and the District’s administration.

It’s a reset moment that will determine whether Ohio’s largest District stabilizes, shrinks, or fractures entirely. Again, six candidates are vying for three seats, and their divisions mirror Columbus politics itself.

“Establishment” Democrat Party-endorsed slate:

● Patrick Katzenmeyer — husband of former City Councilmember and YWCA CEO Elizabeth Brown, and son of retired Greater Columbus Arts Council CEO Tom

Katzenmeyer. Katzenmeyer works for the developer the Pizzuti Companies, and his campaign funded by the Columbus Education PAC, which is a mix of CEOs and business leaders from Grange Insurance, Kokosing Construction and Mount Carmel Hospitals.

October 30, 5 p.m. Eastern / 2 p.m. Pacific. Join us online! 
(Please note: This link will take you to a third-party website, youtube.com.)

What this nation has experienced at the hands of the Trump administration over the past several months is as troubling as it is illegal.

From intensified attacks on free speech to large-scale and warrantless immigration raids to military troops in cities across the country – the president is using the immense power of the federal government to try and silence opposition through fear.

My community is getting ready for the annual Columbus Jewish Film Festival, but a local theater is beating it to the punch with one of the most powerful Holocaust-related documentaries you’re likely to see this year.

Among Neighbors, directed by Yoav Potash (Crime After Crime), is about the tragic and lasting effects World War II had on the town of Gniewoszów, Poland. The film is at once a history lesson, a tale of survival and a portrait of humanity at its best and its absolute worst.

It’s also a mystery, one whose solution isn’t provided until the film’s final moments.

Because the documentary does so much, and because Potash waits so long to connect seemingly disparate parts, it sometimes comes off as disjointed. But the dramatic end justifies the director’s suspense-building means, and the film is never less than compelling along the way.  

Using a combination of contemporary interviews, archival footage and eloquent hand-drawn animation, Potash introduces us to Gniewoszów both past and present.

Sunday, December 21, 6:15pm, potluck at 6:30pm
First Unitarian Universalist Church, 93 W. Weisheimer Rd.

We LOVE to gather together to relax and celebrate each other!

This year, the potluck falls on the Winter Solstice! What better way to acknowledge the date, celebrate with friends (new and old), and find community than to come to the Care and Share Time Bank (CSTB) potluck and Variety Show? And what a great way to uplift your friends and neighbors than to share your talents? It is a relaxing, low-key way for us all to share with each other. In the past, people have shared poetry and reading selections, songs (both voice and instrumental), and short skits (and more!) Wouldn't you please come and help us relax this holiday?

Use the last three days of October to join the Three Days of Action Campaign! 

Take two simple actions a day for three days to build resistance!

We don’t need members of the Ohio Guard — who are also members of our families — to be turned on our communities.

We do not want or need a military presence on the streets of Ohio. Our communities can solve our own problems by working together. 

SB 172 would require all public officials (state and local) to allow all immigration-related arrests with or without a warrant, even if the person is only “suspected” of being undocumented. It has passed the Senate and is moving in the House Public Safety Committee. 

Wednesday, October 29, 12pm
Columbus City Hall, 90 W. Broad St.

Columbus neighborhoods are currently part of a thoughtful case-by-case review process for building Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) – sometimes called in-law suites or granny flats. The system is slow and unclear, so it makes sense to streamline the process; but the solution shouldn’t be to silence residents.

A proposal from Councilmember Otto Beatty III would allow ADUs (essentially a second house) on all residential lots without any neighborhood review or input. Residents would lose the opportunity to weigh-in on whether an ADU is appropriate for their community.

Ohio lawmakers will vote this Wednesday October 29 on
Ohio House Bill 188 which calls for investing $10 million of
our tax money into Israeli bond. That means if the bill
passes, Ohio taxpayers would have effectively loaned
Israel $10 to use how it sees fit.

Therefore, I want my Ohio State Rep. to vote against Ohio
House bill 188 that could be used to fund the current
Israeli genocide with my tax money.

I should note here that on November 21, 2024, the
International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants
for two senior Israeli officials, Benjamin Netanyahu, the
Crime Minister of Israel, and Yoav Gallant, the former War
Minister of Israel, for the war crime of starvation as a
method of warfare and the crimes against humanity of
murder.

The Republicans who control state government in Ohio
have a deep political and ideological affinity for Israel.
Ohio politicians regularly get free propaganda trips to

Israel paid by the Israeli lobby to meet with Israeli officials
and offer statements of support for Israel.