Five people will run for Columbus City Council District 7 in May's primary election.
The seat is currently held by Otto Beatty III, who was appointed to the seat last month to fill the vacancy left by Franklin County Prosecutor Shayla Favor. Beatty has said he would not try to run for the seat and fulfilled that promise by not filing.
The candidates include:
- Former Near East Side Commission Chair Kate Curry-Da-Souza
- Columbus resident Aurora Dasan
- Stonewall Columbus Executive Director Densil Porteous
- Columbus Property Team attorney Tiara Ross
- Immigration attorney Jesse Vogel
Curry-Da-Souza, Porteous, Ross and Vogel had applied to fill the council vacancy, but were passed over in favor of Beatty.
Dasan did not apply for the vacancy, but did speak in front of council, declaring her intent to run in the election this year. If elected, she would become the first transgender person elected to Columbus City Council.
The May primary will decide which two of the five candidates will advance to November's general election. Before the election, the signatures each candidate submitted to qualify as a candidate need to be verified by the Franklin County Board of Elections.
Incumbent Councilmembers Chris Wyche, Emmanuel Remy and Rob Dorans did not have any challengers file to run against them for their district seats. Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein and City Auditor Megan Kilgore will also not face challengers in their re-election bids.
