What I Will Do as Mayor

Launch a Fair Housing & Anti-Retaliation Enforcement Initiative

Lead a Housing Strategy Deliver a citywide plan to expand affordable housing, stabilize neighborhoods, and invest in revitalization.

Expand Homeownership. Increase down payment assistance and help renters become homeowners through strong partnerships.

Protect Tenants Launch a confidential tenant portal, strengthen renter protections, and advocate for policies that address rising rent pressures.

Hold Landlords Accountable Increase penalties for repeat violations and enforce consistent inspections to ensure safe housing.

Invest in Proven Solutions Support Community Land Trusts and revitalize vacant properties to keep housing affordable long-term.

Strengthen Partnerships Align city, community, and private partners to maximize resources and deliver results.

Engage Residents Ensure policies are shaped by direct community input and ongoing engagement

Affordable and Equitable Housing

My Stay in Your Home Initiative protects seniors and long-term homeowners from being priced out as property values rise. Instead of blanket tax freezes that lock in inequality, this plan ensures fairness by tying property tax relief to what people can actually afford—not just what their home is worth.

Through a circuit breaker program, property taxes will be capped based on income—so no one is forced out of their home due to rising costs beyond their control.

At the same time, we will hold growth accountable. New luxury developments must contribute to affordable housing solutions, ensuring that as Columbus grows, our communities remain stable, diverse, and inclusive.‍ ‍

Stability. Safety. Support

Mental Health & Crisis Response

● In my first 100 days, I will redirect city funding away from ineffective incarceration-based responses and toward a coordinated mental-health transition and reentry system, ensuring individuals experiencing mental illness are no longer trapped in jail without treatment, discharge planning, or connection to care. This includes establishing clear pathways from jail to mental health services, stabilization, and housing supports so release does not mean immediate relapse or re-arrest.

● Within the first 100 days, I will implement expanded mental-health response capacity across public safety and corrections, including specialized training and staffing for patrol officers, jail personnel, and dedicated mental-health response teams, so encounters with people in crisis result in intervention and care — not criminalization.

Public Safety & Evidence-Based Crime Reduction

● In the first 100 days, I will launch the Columbus Violence Reduction Strategy (CVRS) — a data-driven, evidence-based group violence reduction model — focused on disrupting cycles of violence through targeted intervention, coordinated accountability, and strategic support for those most at risk of serious harm.

● I will immediately shift public safety strategy toward proven prevention and intervention approaches, prioritizing focused responses to repeat violence, cross- agency coordination, and community-based partnerships that reduce violent crime without broad over-policing or reactive enforcement.

Championing Education & Youth Development

Columbus Connect: Safe Summer Series

Columbus Connect: Safe Summer Series is about more than keeping kids busy — it’s about keeping them connected.
As mayor, I will expand Safe Summer to include positive public safety engagement, on-site mental health support, and trusted points of contact for youth, so young people know where to go before a crisis happens — not after.
This initiative will partner with community spaces to offer youth nights, late-night activities, arts, comedy, sports, and talent exploration, giving young people safe, creative outlets and positive interactions with adults who are there to support, not police them.
Columbus Connect will also establish a local youth resource hub and call center, providing direct access to mental health support, conflict mediation, employment opportunities, and community mentors — because prevention works best when help is easy to reach.

NextGen Columbus

NextGen Columbus is a citywide youth, safety, and opportunity initiative focused on reducing youth violence, decreasing teen arrests, and rebuilding trust between young people, public safety, and City Hall through consistent engagement, leadership development, and economic opportunity.

● As mayor, I will launch NextGen Columbus to rebuild trust and reduce youth involvement in gangs and violence by expanding positive, non-enforcement interactions between youth and public safety, investing in leadership pathways, and restoring safe, structured activities during high-risk hours.

● NextGen Columbus will establish Mayor’s Youth Leadership & Policy Cohorts, bringing high school juniors, seniors, and college students directly into City Hall to learn policy, government, and civic leadership early—creating real pathways into public service, advocacy, and local decision-making.

Literacy, Classroom Support & Family Engagement

● In my first 100 days, I will redirect education-related city funding toward literacy support tools and software, ensuring students and educators have access to evidence-based technology that strengthens reading, comprehension, and digital skills, particularly in classrooms serving historically under-resourced communities.

● I will immediately invest in classroom support funds and family engagement incentives, prioritizing culturally responsive learning environments, direct instructional support, and programs that actively involve families as partners in student success —not as an afterthought, but as a core strategy for academic achievement.

Advancing Equity & Inclusion

● Within my first 100 days, I will appoint a diverse executive and administrative leadership team, ensuring decision-making authority across city government reflects the racial, gender, and lived-experience diversity of Columbus — not symbolic inclusion, but real power and responsibility.

● I will establish clear equity accountability within leadership and hiring practices, embedding inclusive decision-making into policy development, budgeting, and departmental oversight so equity is operational, measurable, and enforced from day one.

Environmental Stewardship and Local Agriculture

● In my first 100 days, I will launch a city-supported urban agriculture and environmental resilience initiative, redirecting underutilized land and resources toward local food production, community gardens, and small-scale farming partnerships that strengthen food security, support local growers, and reduce environmental strain in underserved neighborhoods.

● Within the first 100 days, I will align environmental policy with public health and economic opportunity, prioritizing sustainable land use, neighborhood-based green projects, and partnerships that expand access to fresh food while creating workforce pathways connected to agriculture, conservation, and environmental stewardship.

A Pathway to Stability: Ending Homelessness Through Transition Villages

Implement a Stabilization & Transition Village model—a proven, cost-effective approach that moves people off the streets and into stability.

The Columbus Stabilization Village Initiative (CSVI)

This initiative will create a structured, short-term housing community designed to help individuals transition into permanent housing—not remain stuck in the system.

Key features include:Private, secure micro-units that provide dignity and personal space

24/7 access—eliminating the need for people to return to the streets during the day
On-site case management with clear housing and employment plans
Mental health and substance use support services
Workforce connections to help residents regain independence

This is not a permanent shelter—it is a pathway forward, with the goal of transitioning individuals into stable housing within 30–60 days.

Our Vision