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Municipal elections in Columbus, Ohio (2017)
2019 →
← 2015
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| 2017 Columbus elections |
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| Election dates |
| Filing deadline: February 1, 2017 |
| Primary election: May 2, 2017 General election: November 7, 2017 |
| Election stats |
| Offices up: 3 city council seats, city attorney, city auditor, 3 special district members |
| Total seats up: 8 |
| Election type: Nonpartisan |
| Other municipal elections |
| U.S. municipal elections, 2017 |
The city of Columbus, Ohio, held elections on November 7, 2017. Three of the seven at-large seats on the city council were up for election. The positions of city attorney, city auditor, and three seats on the Education Service Center of Central Ohio were also on the ballot. A primary election was held on May 2, 2017, for the city council race.[1]
Incumbents Mitchell Brown, Shannon Hardin, and Priscilla Tyson—who were endorsed by the Franklin County Democratic Party—won re-election. The other three candidates who appeared on the general election ballot were Jasmine Ayres and Will Petrik, who were endorsed by Yes We Can Columbus, and Kieran Cartharn, who was endorsed by the Franklin County Republican Party.
Both the city attorney and city auditor elections were open races. Zach Klein defeated Don Kline in the race to replace City Attorney Richard Pfeiffer Jr. Megan Kilgore won the election against Bob Mealy in the race to succeed City Auditor Hugh Dorrian.
A proposed tax levy for the Franklin County Board of Developmental Disabilities was also on the general election ballot and was passed with 80 percent of the vote.Elections
City council
3 at-large seats
☑ Mitchell Brown (i)
☑ Shannon Hardin (i)
☑ Priscilla Tyson (i)
☐ Jasmine Ayres
☐ Kieran Cartharn
☐ Will Petrik
General election results
| Columbus City Council, General Election, 2017 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Priscilla Tyson Incumbent |
23.75% | 59,889 |
| Shannon Hardin Incumbent |
23.45% | 59,141 |
| Mitchell Brown Incumbent |
20.64% | 52,046 |
| Jasmine Ayres | 12.23% | 30,853 |
| Will Petrik | 10.43% | 26,313 |
| Kieran Cartharn | 8.68% | 21,887 |
| Write-in votes | 0.82% | 2,072 |
| Total Votes | 252,201 | |
| Source: Franklin County Board of Elections, "2017 General Election Official Results," November 21, 2017 | ||
Defeated in primary
Josh Jaffe- Sarah Ries
- Whitney Smith
- Jeffrey Brown (Write-in)
Other city officials
Since only two candidates filed to run for city attorney and city auditor, no primary was held for those races.[2]
City attorney
Incumbent Richard Pfeiffer Jr. did not file for re-election.
☑ Zach Klein
☐ Don Kline
City auditor
Incumbent Hugh Dorrian did not file for re-election.
☑ Megan Kilgore
☐ Bob Mealy
Education Service Center of Central Ohio
Full term
☑ Joyce Galbraith (i)
☑ Greg Spencer (i)
Unexpired term ending 12/31/2019
☑ Beth Glitt (i)
Ballot measures
General
• Issue 4: Franklin County Board of Developmental Disabilities Proposed Tax Levy 
| A yes vote was a vote in favor of renewing a tax for the use of the Franklin County Board of Developmental Disabilities. |
| A no vote was a vote against renewing a tax for the use of the Franklin County Board of Developmental Disabilities. |
Primary
• Proposition 1: Franklin County Tax Levy Question
| A yes vote was a vote in favor of a renewal and increase of a tax levy for the purpose of supporting services for senior citizens. |
| A no vote was a vote against a renewal and increase of a tax levy for the purpose of supporting services for senior citizens. |
Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Ohio elections, 2017
The Columbus municipal primary election shared the ballot with elections for three seats on the Columbus City Schools school board. Three Franklin County Municipal Court judges and a statewide ballot measure were also on the general election ballot in November.[3]
Voters in Columbus may also have been asked to vote to authorize the sale of alcohol at specific times and at specific locations if an establishment in his or her precinct had requested that this be approved. These elections only impacted certain precincts and did not necessarily appear on all voters' ballots.
Endorsements
| Endorsements for Columbus municipal election | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Endorser | City council | City attorney | City auditor |
Franklin County Republican Party  [4]
|
Kieran Cartharn Josh Jaffe Sarah Ries |
Don Kline | Bob Mealy |
Franklin County Democratic Party  [5]
|
Priscilla Tyson (i) Shannon Hardin (i) Mitchell Brown (i) |
Zach Klein | Megan Kilgore |
| Yes We Can Columbus[6] | Will Petrik Jasmine Ayres |
N/A | N/A |
About the city
- See also: Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the seat of Franklin County, Ohio, and is the state capital. As of 2010, its population was 787,033.
City government
- See also: Mayor-council government
The city of Columbus uses 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.[7]
Demographics
The following table displays demographic data provided by the United States Census Bureau.
| Demographic Data for Columbus, Ohio | ||
|---|---|---|
| Columbus | Ohio | |
| Population | 787,033 | 11,536,504 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 219 | 40,858 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White | 58.6% | 81.3% |
| Black/African American | 29% | 12.4% |
| Asian | 5.8% | 2.2% |
| Native American | 0.3% | 0.2% |
| Pacific Islander | 0% | 0% |
| Other (single race) | 2.1% | 1% |
| Multiple | 4.2% | 2.9% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 6.2% | 3.8% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate | 89.8% | 90.4% |
| College graduation rate | 36.6% | 28.3% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income | $53,745 | $56,602 |
| Persons below poverty level | 19.5% | 14% |
| Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2010). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2014-2019). | ||
| **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. | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Columbus Ohio election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Columbus, Ohio | Ohio | Municipal government | Other local coverage |
|---|---|---|---|
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Franklin County Board of Elections, "2017 Primary Election Schedule," accessed February 2, 2017
- ↑ The Columbus Dispatch, "10 candidates file to run for Columbus City Council in May primary," February 1, 2017
- ↑ Franklin County, Ohio, "Candidate List," accessed February 25, 2017
- ↑ Franklin County Republican Party, "2017 Endorsed Candidates," accessed April 19, 2017
- ↑ Franklin County Democratic Party, "Candidates and Issues Endorsed by the Franklin County Democratic Party," accessed April 19, 2017
- ↑ Yes We Can Columbus, "Candidates," accessed April 19, 2017
- ↑ City Charter of Columbus, OH, "Sec. 3, 17, 57 and 62-65," accessed September 14, 2017
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