Longtime Columbus and state leader Ben Espy died Saturday at the age of 81.
He served for a decade on Columbus City Council and another decade in the Ohio Senate.
Espy was former Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman's mentor. Coleman was Espy's City Council legislative aide and called him a legend in the Black community.
"He was truly legendary in this city and still is. His impact will be forever appreciated by thousands and thousands of people," Coleman said.
Espy had a favorite saying he liked to share, Coleman said, "If it is to be, it is up to me."
Coleman, who helped write speeches for Espy as a legislative aide while Espy was in the Ohio Senate, said Espy liked to use the phrase, especially when talking to young people.
"Think about that phrase, 'if it is to be, it is up to me,' (which means) that you are in charge of your own destiny," Coleman said.
Coleman says he took the phrase literally. "If you want to engage in the community, the only way a community is going to be improve is up to your own initiative to get there," Coleman said.
And Espy accomplished a lot with that attitude.
He brought Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebrations to Columbus.
"He thought it would be a great tribute to Dr. King and a way to bring people together from all parts of the city and community to march arm in arm, hand in hand beginning at City hall," Coleman said. "And at that time, we used to cross over the bridge to the Veterans Memorial. And believe me, that was a long walk because it was always cold. But it would have thousands of people joined up, and he led the march every year."
Espy fought a city effort to burn trash while serving on Columbus City Council between 1982 and 1992.
"He was a gadfly sometimes on various issues over the years. I remember the trash-burning power plant. He termed it as the 'cash-burning power plant.' And he led the effort to can that, and people won't remember that. But that was back in the 80s," Coleman said.
Espy, the father of four daughters, developed youth engagement programs that cleaned up neighborhoods and rewarded the kids that participated, Coleman said.
"(He believed in) engaging young people in their teens and in high school to help clean up the neighborhood, in neighborhoods all over the city, and in return, if they stuck with the program and continued to be engaged in the neighborhood, he would take them all to Disney World himself," Coleman said.
Coleman says Espy liked to look out for the underdog.
"He always stood up for the poor. He stood up for Black folks in the city. He stood up for righteousness. He stood up for transparency in the political process," Coleman said.
Coleman said Espy had a lasting impact on the people that knew him.
"People like me and others would come to him for advice, counsel, political advice, personal advice, community advice. And he was always there to give it, and he was very thoughtful in that way," Coleman said.
The two were once on the same ballot, facing each other in the Columbus mayor's primary race in the '90s. Coleman won the election.
"It was difficult for both of us and our families. But after it was all over, we came back together as family should. We were one big family, and we just picked it up right where we left off, and you know, I loved him. I loved him then. I love him now," Coleman said. "And you know, it's just one of those quirks in Columbus history."
Espy's wife Kathy was also a well-respected pillar in the community. She died in 2022, according to her obituary.
Espy's Ohio Senate biography states he was a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and served as Senate Minority Leader from 1996 until 2000. He had a long-running law practice and served in multiple public service positions before and after he was elected to Columbus City Council and the Ohio Senate.
