The Franklin County Democratic Party will again decide Tuesday night whether or not to endorse a candidate in the two-way race for Columbus City Council District 7.
Candidates Tiara Ross and Jesse Vogel, who are both Democrats and local attorneys, made it through the primary neck-and-neck in May and will face off in November after knocking out Independent candidate Kate Curry-Da-Souza. Ross won 41% of the vote city wide while Vogel won 39% of the vote, but took home the most votes from precincts making up District 7 in downtown Columbus and its immediate surrounding neighborhoods.
Vogel hopes to replicate the effort made by now-Franklin County Prosecutor Shayla Favor in 2024 after she convinced the party to sit out the election. Ross is hoping the party will back her campaign after consolidating support from all of Columbus City Council, Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther and Favor.
If the party endorses, the winning candidate will get a key advantage over their opponent. Endorsed party candidates are added to a slate card that's handed to voters at the polls and features the names of candidates endorsed by the county party.
Vogel, a local immigration attorney, told WOSU a competitive race where candidates have to actively campaign can help energize Democrats.
"I think it's best that we both continue to connect and knock doors," Vogel said. "We both earned a spot in the final after our primary in May. And we deserve a fair fight and so do the voters," Vogel said.
Ross, an assistant city attorney, said she is seeking the endorsement because she believes the county party has a responsibility to inform voters of who the best choice is.
"I believe that the party has a role in helping voters make those decisions and getting messaging out as broadly as we can, because quite frankly, we need folks to vote. We need folks to come to the polls and in order to do that, we've got to get the word out," Ross said.
Before Tuesday's meeting, both candidates were interviewed by the county party's screening committee. Ahead of Tuesday, the committee may make a recommendation on who the county party as a whole should endorse.
Favor's effort to head off an endorsement last year ended up paying off. The county party chose not to endorse in the Democratic primary race against Anthony Pierson — who was recommended by the screening committee — and Natalia Harris. Favor later won the primary and the general election against Republican John Rutan.
The party chose not to endorse Ross or Vogel ahead of this year's primary, but are reconsidering after both Democrats advanced. The power of the endorsement was shown in how it impacted the race for three open seats on the Columbus City Schools' Board of Education.
Twelve candidates ran for those seats in the primary, but the party opted to endorse three. Those three — Patrick Katzenmeyer, Jermaine Kennedy and Antoinette Miranda — were the top three candidates in the primary, getting 5,000 more votes than the fourth place candidate Mounir Lynch.
Ross said she doesn't think this race is an "apples to apples" comparison to Favor's effort last year. She pointed out the county party did let the primary election go by without endorsing, but the county party did endorse Favor in the general election.
"There was a winner of the primary, I'm proud to have won the top vote," Ross said.
A key difference that Ross didn't address is that Favor argued for a non-endorsement because the race was between three Democrats. Ross and Vogel are both Democrats and the only two candidates left in the race.
Ross and Vogel were separated by about 700 votes in the primary.
Vogel said he thinks "hostile Republicans" in the Ohio Statehouse are threatening values of Franklin County Democrats and voter turnout is declining in Franklin County. He said this is a reason to make voters more excited by letting a competitive local race continue where candidates have to campaign "the old fashioned way" to earn support.
"Folks on the committee to some extent agree that they're seeing in this race two candidates do everything you want good Democratic candidates to do," Vogel said. "Raising money, bringing in new donors to support democratic values, connecting with new volunteers who have never before gotten involved in a race, and turning out votes and engaging with them in a time when lots of democratic voters are anxious about the future of our party."
Vogel said there wouldn't be a competitive race and turnout would be extremely low in Columbus had he and Curry-Da-Souza stayed out of the race. He said he was warned before the election that council members and others in the city's Democratic establishment had already chosen a candidate.
Vogel said if the committee does endorse Ross, it wouldn't sink his campaign.
Ross' own campaign was marred by challenges to her candidacy and revelations she owed over $3,000 in unpaid parking tickets and drove on a suspended license last year. She still earned the most votes in May.
Supporters of both sides of the debate are expected to speak up. Committee member Will Petrik organized a letter of about 600 people telling the party not to endorse in the race. The letter was signed by eight elected officials in the county and 18 members of county party central committee.
The letter said, "The fundamental ideal of democracy is that power rests with the people — that each of us has an equal voice and equal opportunity to shape decisions that affect our lives. But more and more people are becoming disillusioned by a political system that’s controlled by a small group of powerful elites and a Democratic Party that hasn’t delivered change that improves people’s lives."
The letter doesn't side with Vogel or Ross and calls them both "strong" candidates. The letter cited the split vote in the May primary, saying the will of the voters isn't clear.
Multiple supporters of Ross have written to the county party, asking it to endorse Ross, including Central Ohio Labor Council, AFL-CIO Executive Director Jamie Shumaker, former Columbus City Councilmember Fran Ryan and Pastor Larry Price from Triedstone Baptist Church.
"I know Tiara's dedication because I have seen her commitment to our church community. I have seen her show up even when it's difficult and continue in the service of others. I know that this same spirit will lead her to be a wonderful representative of District 7 on Columbus City Council," Price wrote.
The meeting will be held at the IBEW Local 683 Hall on Goodale Boulevard at 6 p.m. The meeting is open to the public.
