More often than not, the plush leather chair and wooden desk in the upper left corner of Columbus City Council with Mayor Andrew Ginther's name on the front sits empty.
Ginther averages less than one Columbus City Council meeting a year since he took office in 2016. While the mayor of Ohio's largest city is not required to come to every council meeting, that rule varies from city to city and so do the attendance records of other Ohio mayors.
In place of himself, the mayor sends a small army of city staff and department directors to each meeting to speak on behalf of his cabinet. They often answer questions from the public and council members.
Ginther, who is also the president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, told WOSU that because he sends city staff, his administration is engaged and well represented at council meetings.
"Whether it's housing, whether it's safety, whether it's LinkUs, we're going to continue to focus on what's best for the people of Columbus and not get caught up in empty chairs on Monday nights," Ginther said.
Ginther said he doesn't think he will attend more often. The mayor recently announced he plans to run for reelection in 2027.
"We have cabinet level directors or their designees at council meetings every Monday night to go in depth and detail about legislation that's being considered by the council. Obviously I'm in, if not daily, weekly communication with council members," Ginther said.
Ginther hasn't been to a meeting since June 2022, WOSU found after a review of every livestreamed meeting since Ginther took office nine years ago. That includes every meeting this year up until July 21.
The most Ginther has ever gone to council in one year was in 2020, when he went five times during the COVID-19 pandemic and Black Lives Matter protests. Many of those 2020 meetings were virtual due to the pandemic.
In every other year, Ginther went either once or not at all. Often, if he went to meetings, it was to acknowledge an important event, recognize a longtime city employee who was leaving or speak on important news like the pandemic or protests.
Despite what Ginther said, the empty chair is a powerful symbol at the city's near-weekly public meetings. City council meetings are the most visible way everyday citizens can expect to have their grievances heard by city government.
The mayor regularly attends other public events to speak and often holds press conferences to take questions from the media.
WOSU also requested Ginther's calendar for June and July of this year. Much of Ginther's Monday afternoons are blocked off for "private appointments." Out of the six meetings since the start of June, the mayor has been busy for five of those afternoons.
Ginther had a public event on June 2 with media to talk about summer youth programming. The other four meetings were blocked off for "private appointments."
Ginther's Deputy Chief of Staff Jennifer Fening declined to say what these meetings are.
"Mayor’s appointments that are calendared as “private” are just that, private," Fening said in an emailed statement.
What does city code say about Columbus' mayor attending city council meetings?
Columbus' city code doesn't specifically say whether or not the mayor needs to attend city council meetings.
City code outlines the mayor's power related to city council. The mayor has a right in council to a seat and so do the city attorney and the director of any other department.
Despite having a seat, none of these offices have a vote on council. The mayor does have a veto power, but the council has the ability to then override it.
The mayor does have the right to introduce ordinances and take part in discussion of all matters coming before council.
Besides his powers as the city's executive, the mayor is required to recommend laws for adoption to city council, keep the council advised of the financial condition and the needs of the city, and to prepare and submit to the council reports that the city council requires him to submit.
Columbus City Council President Shannon Hardin told WOSU he thinks this is the way Columbus' government is set up to function. He didn't say whether the mayor should attend more meetings.
"Our form of government is a strong mayor's government, where the mayor has administrative responsibilities and council has legislative responsibility over the finances of the city," Hardin said. "What does happen in our council is the mayor sends his directors, who directly have oversight over the legislation and the resources that are being requested from council."
Hardin is right that Columbus has what's called a "strong mayor" form of government.
According to the Ohio City and County Management Association, under the strong mayor form of government, political power is concentrated in the mayor, which means that other members of the elected body relinquish at least some of their policy-making power and influence.
Other cities have different forms of government and different rules around their mayor attending meetings.
How often do other mayors in Ohio attend city council meetings?
Under Ohio's Home Rule law, cities and counties are allowed to choose their own forms of government through city code and the city charter. Most cities either choose a "strong mayor" form of government or opt for no mayor at all with a city manager or administrator running the government's administration.
Even when a city has a mayor, their job description and city laws play a role in their attendance at council meetings.
In Ohio's next two largest cities, Cincinnati and Cleveland, both mayors are required to attend for different reasons. Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval also acts as the president of city council, running the meetings himself. Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb does not preside over city council, but city code requires him to attend.
Some mayors are even voting members of their city councils and are appointed as mayor by their peers.
Akron Mayor Shammas Malik and Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz are not required to attend city council like Ginther. But neither Malik nor Kapszukiewicz have a designated seat that sits empty when they don't attend meetings.
Among Columbus' suburbs and other small cities in Ohio, most mayors attend every meeting. The mayors of Gahanna, Grove City, Grandview Heights, Whitehall and Bexley all regularly attend their city council meetings either because they are required to or to provide updates on their administration.
Elsewhere in Ohio, Athens Mayor Steve Patterson and Warren Mayor William "Doug" Franklin also attend most city council meetings.
