I’ve had four encounters with Columbus City Council President Shannon G. Hardin since the beginning of the summer.
The first three happened in early June: the executive committee of the Columbus Coalition for Rent Control, of which I’m a member, met with him and Councilmember Shayla D. Favor, Chair of the Housing, Public Health, and Criminal Justice committees on City Council. We had a meeting to discuss whether our petition and their “Housing For All” legislative package had any overlap.
The second was at the panel discussion and “Town Hall” event meant to introduce an educational campaign about said legislation.
After the “Town Hall” – a dog-and-pony show during which three people from the committee were allowed to pose questions to a panel of bureaucrats and an elected official who had nothing to do with the legislation – Council President Hardin asked me what I thought of the proposed legislation.
“It looks like a good framework,” I said, adding, “But – ”
“But it needs to have some teeth,” interjected Hardin. He followed that up by saying, “Thank you for everything you do. Keep holding us accountable – I mean it.”
