Andrew Ginther

Andrew James Ginther (born April 27, 1975)[1] is an American Democratic politician, the 53rd mayor of Columbus, Ohio, and the 48th person to serve in that office.[2] He served as President of Columbus City Council from 2011 until 2015.[3]

Andrew Ginther
53rd Mayor of Columbus
Incumbent
Assumed office January 1, 2016
Preceded by	Michael B. Coleman
President of Columbus City Council
In office January 3, 2011 – December 31, 2015
Preceded by	Michael Mentel
Succeeded by	Zach Klein
Personal details
Born	Andrew James Ginther (1975-04-27) April 27, 1975 Columbus, Ohio, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Shannon Ginther
Children	1
Education	Earlham College (BA)
Website	Official website

Early life and education

Ginther was born at Riverside Hospital in Columbus, the third of four children. Ginther's mother was a social worker and his father was an attorney specializing in adoption and foster law. His family lived in the Clintonville neighborhood of Columbus.

After graduation from Whetstone High School, Ginther attended Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana, where he earned a BA in Political Science in 1997. As part of Earlham's foreign study program, Ginther traveled to Northern Ireland to study peace and conflict resolution at the University of Ulster and Queen's College. He also taught at public schools in Belfast and Derry. Ginther served internships at the Carter Center in Atlanta, where he taught nonviolence and dispute resolution to children.[1]

Career

Ginther served as a legislative aide to Ohio state Senator Dan Brady. He then served as coordinator of violence prevention programs for the local nonprofit organization Strategies Against Violence Everywhere (SAVE).

2001–2007: Columbus Board of Education

In 1999, Ginther ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the Columbus Board of Education. In 2001 his second campaign was successful, and he served as a member of the school board for six years, being reelected in 2005. Ginther also worked for 10 years as community outreach coordinator for Triumph Communications, a central Ohio company providing public relations and political campaign management services.[4]

2007–2015: Columbus City Council

In February 2007, Ginther was appointed to the Columbus City Council to fill an unexpired term after the resignation of Matt Habash. He was elected to a new term as a member of City Council in November 2007, was reelected as a member in 2009, and on January 3, 2011 was selected to replace Michael C. Mentel as Council president, becoming the youngest City Council president in the history of Columbus at age 35. In 2011 Ginther accepted a new position as vice president of Community Affairs and Outreach for nonprofit Children's Hunger Alliance.[5] He remained City Council president through the end of 2015.

2016–present: Mayor of Columbus

In March 2015, Ginther and fellow Democrat Zach Scott, the former Franklin County, Ohio Sheriff, were selected in a primary election by Columbus voters to compete in the November 2015 general election to replace retiring Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman (D).[6] In the general election on November 3, 2015, Ginther defeated Scott with 59% of the vote.[2]

In 2019, Ginther was reelected unopposed as mayor of Columbus. During his State of the City address in February 2020, he announced initiatives to improve the city's Sullivant Avenue corridor in Franklinton and the Hilltop.[7]

Administration and cabinet

The Ginther Cabinet
OFFICE	NAME	TERM
Mayor	Andrew Ginther	2016–Present
Chief of Staff	Greg Davies	2016–Present
Director of Development	Michael Stevens	2019–Present
Director of Public Utilities	Tracie Davies	2016–Present
Director of Public Service	Jennifer L. Gallagher, P.E.	2016–Present
Director of Public Safety	Ned Pettus	2016–Present
Director of Public Health	Teresa Long	2016–2017
	Mysheika Roberts	2017–Present
Director of Finance & Management	Joe Lombardi	2016–Present
Director of Human Resources	Nichole Brandon	2016–Present
Director of Technology	Sam Orth III	2016–Present
Director of Education	Rhonda Johnson	2016–Present
Director of Recreation & Parks	Tony Collins	2015–Present
Director of Building & Zoning Services	Scott Messer	2016–Present
Director of Civil Service	Amy DeLong	2016–Present
Source:[8][9][10][11][12]

Personal life

Mayor Ginther and his family live in The Knolls, a subdivision in the northwest side of Columbus. The family moved there in August 2019.[13]

See also

• Columbus, Ohio mayoral election, 2015
• List of mayors of the 50 largest cities in the United States

References

1. Parks, Kevin (January 18, 2011). "Ginther Cites Teacher as Inspiration". ThisWeek Community News. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
2. Sullivan, Lucas; Rouan, Rick (November 3, 2015). "Ginther Defeats Scott, Will Succeed Coleman as Columbus Mayor". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
3. "Andrew J. Ginther". ballotpedia.org. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
4. Lucas Sullivan. "Candidate profile: Ginther grew up in atmosphere of service". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
5. "City Council Election 2011: Interview with Andrew Ginther". ColumbusUnderground.com. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
6. Sullivan, Lucas (May 7, 2015). "Zach Scott Pins Mayoral Hopes on Bigger General-election Turnout". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
7. https://www.dispatch.com/news/20200213/mayor-pledges-aid-for-sullivant-avenue-corridor-in-wake-of-dispatch-series
8. Kurtzman, Lori; Zachariah, Holly (November 26, 2015). "Government Insider: Ginther Begins Assembling His Cabinet". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
9. Sullivan, Lucas (December 29, 2015). "Ginther to Tour Columbus Neighborhoods as Mayor". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
10. "Mayor Ginther Appoints Sam Orth III as Director of Technology". www.columbus.gov. Retrieved July 6, 2016.
11. "Retired Fire Chief Ned Pettus named Columbus safety director". Columbus Dispatch. July 14, 2016. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
12. https://www.columbus.gov/mayor/Cabinet/
13. https://www.dispatch.com/news/20200603/protesters-stage-demonstration--in-front-of-mayor-gintherrsquos-house

External links

• Mayor's Office, City of Columbus Web site
• Ginther's campaign website

Political offices
Preceded by Michael B. Coleman	Mayor of Columbus 2016–present	Incumbent