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Nadia Rasul Tops Hilliard City Council Race, Powered by Deep Community Roots

Nadia Rasul

 

In an election that signaled both political and generational change, longtime Hilliard resident Nadia Rasul emerged as the top vote-getter in the November 4, 2025 City Council race securing one of four open seats and becoming the first Muslim woman ever elected to Hilliard’s council.

Rasul’s victory was decisive and historic, but according to her, the reason she won was simple: “People want to feel heard.”

In an interview following the election, Rasul said that many Hilliard residents feel their voices come too late in the decision-making process. By the time citizens deliver public comments, the council has often already signaled how it intends to vote.

“That’s why people are frustrated,” she said. “They want a city government that listens before decisions are made.”

That desire for change combined with what many describe as Rasul’s deep and genuine connection to the community helped propel her to the top of the field.

The Greatest Story Never Told

Sign saying If you're not angry, you're not paying attention

Unless you’ve recently been abducted by ICE you already know about Columbus City Councilmember Emanuel Remy and the $84,700 paid to his staff member for his verbal abuse (our tax dollars mind you, not his). He has lost the trust of the people he is supposed to represent, but ran unopposed on November 4 thanks to the gerrymandered “At-Large” voting system where all competition is crushed without mercy… but you’re missing something.

One of the last independent journalists in Columbus, D.J. Byrnes AKA “The Rooster,” broke the story before the November 4 election. If you subscribe to his online news you would know about it (you should). Would that news have affected the Vogel vs. Ross District 7 race? Yes, it would have.

So what did all of the corporate-owned media outlets do about it? Didn’t they do their civic duty to inform the people of Columbus all about what a terrible person Emanuel Remy has been?

Nope. They did nothing. They sat on the story for after the election.

Power in Solidarity: Fundamentals for Community Organizers (3-part Series)

Details about event

Monday, November 24, 2025, 8:00 – 9:15 PM
Register here

Join Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) and the Solidarity Organizing Initiative (SOI) for Power in Solidarity — a powerful, three-part training series designed to ground you in the tools and practices that build real community power.

Together, we’ll explore:

  • Organizing 101: The fundamentals of community organizing
  • Shared Interest Storytelling: Connecting through values and experiences
  • Listening & 1:1s: How to build trust and bring people into the work
  • Running Effective Meetings: Tools to strengthen your organizing spaces

This series is great for:

Power in Solidarity: Fundamentals for Community Organizers (3-part Series)

Details about event

Monday, November 24, 2025, 8:00 – 9:15 PM
Register here

Join Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) and the Solidarity Organizing Initiative (SOI) for Power in Solidarity — a powerful, three-part training series designed to ground you in the tools and practices that build real community power.

Together, we’ll explore:

  • Organizing 101: The fundamentals of community organizing
  • Shared Interest Storytelling: Connecting through values and experiences
  • Listening & 1:1s: How to build trust and bring people into the work
  • Running Effective Meetings: Tools to strengthen your organizing spaces

This series is great for:

Community Conversation in Support of our Immigrant Neighbors

Details about event

Sunday, November 23, 2025 - 1:15pm
Old First Presbyterian Church, 1101 Bryden Rd., Columbus
We are hosting a third community coversation on immigration and our response.

Collaboration with Black Men Build, Interfaith Association of Central Ohio, and others.

Meal provided.

 

 

Dear Mom… Am I a Socialist?

Logo

There wasn’t a secret handshake. No incense or candles.

On a whim, I attended a meeting of the Columbus Democratic Socialists of America meeting on November 22. I had no idea what to expect, but I knew I was not satisfied with how Franklin County or the Columbus city government had been making decisions. To my surprise, I was surrounded by a diverse group of about a hundred other people who felt the same way.

Sitting in front of me was the legendary Joe Motil, former candidate for mayor. Sitting to my right was Jesse Vogel, former candidate for City Council District 7 (who won the voters of District 7, but still lost the election). And behind me sat Kate Curry-Da-Souza who ran as an independent in the primary for District 7 City Council.

Everyone had different, but authentic complaints.

If faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountains, the faith of a people in their nation and in each other could move the world!

Those of us whose memories trace back to the afternoon of November 22, 1963, remember exactly where we were, to the moment, when we learned President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.

Sister Justicia, the Principal of Cleveland’s St. John Cantius Catholic High School called me from the study hall I was monitoring and shared the shocking news that President Kennedy had been shot. I suggested we link the school’s public address system to a network radio broadcast, so that the entire student body would know.

It had been a little more than a week since I had joined my senior classmates on a trip to Washington, D.C., where we excitedly witnessed, on November 11, 1963, President Kennedy laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown soldier.

It was the closest I had come to the President who spoke to my soul , and I am sure to the soul of many young Americans when, in his Inaugural Speech he said:

“Let the word go forth, from this time and place, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans…”.

My advice to Zohran Mamdani before meeting President Trump

A little over two weeks after endorsing his rival on Election Eve, President Donald Trump will welcome New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani in the Oval Office on Nov. 21.

Trump is going to get SCHOOLED on class, wit, and intelligence. Trump with his 2nd grade way of speaking and juvenile behavior that only flies with MAGA. Their sit-down is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET, according to the White House. It is currently listed as being closed to the press. That's the sad part. Perhaps the White House is trying to avoid Zelenskyy's style fiasco or another embarrassment like of MBS that happened yesterday with ABC News courageous reporter Mary Bruce.  

My advice to Mamdani before meeting Trump:

* Tell President Trump, "Do not stop me from making NYC Great Again,"

* Don't cut off the federal funds which is a fraction of federal taxes New Yorkers pay.

* Show the President little gratitude by saying "Thank you for endorsing Cuomo!"  

Anduril intends to put Pickaway County on the world map – as a target

Ohio with a target on it

A Pickaway County resident spoke out last night against re-zoning for the Anduril Arsenal-1 Hypersonic Missile plant proposed for his community, warning that a munitions facility in central Ohio could be a target in future wars.

Free Press reporters attended the Pickaway County, Madison Township Zoning Commission meeting Thursday, November 20, observing a presentation by proponents of re-zoning requests by Anduril plant representatives and witnessed the adamant remarks from the opposition.

Ohio Nuclear Free Network (ONFN) spokesperson Pat Marida spoke out against the zoning: “I don’t know if the commissioners understand the magnitude of what’s going on here. That this is going to turn this into an industrial zone – noisy, polluted…Anduril came to Pickaway County in 2023 and started wooing elected officials. The public knew nothing of this until February 2025, when Madison Township trustees voted to rezone a site near Rickenbacker -- even though a crowded room of neighbors spoke out against it at the public hearing.”

Hear about the Freedom Flotilla to Gaza - Video with Tom Hayes

Tom Hayes

Jewish Voice for Peace organized a Zoom call with Tom Hayes, local filmmaker and participant Gaza humanitarian aid mission in late September.

Watch video here

Following his kidnapping and imprisonment in Israel, Tom returned to his home in Columbus on October 12.

Tom is a long-time advocate of Palestinian rights and a documentary filmmaker. In the 1980s, he filmed in Palestinian refugee camps and has produced three long-form documentaries on the denial of Palestinians’ rights. His 1985 documentary “Native Sons: Palestinians In Exile,” narrated by Martin Sheen, follows the lives of three refugee families living in Lebanon’s camps. His 2015 film “Two Blue Lines,” explores the impact of Jewish settlement on the Palestinians, from before the creation of the state of Israel to the present day. Hayes most recently co-directed “Voyage of the Handala,” an independent documentary about the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, is premiering Oct. 27 at Evolution Mallorca International Film Festival in Spain.

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