Columbus City Council member Tiara Ross said housing and public safety will be her priorities in her first year on council, mirroring the committees she will help lead.
Ross was sworn in last week and assigned to chair of the Housing, Homelessness and Building Committee and vice chair of the Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee under Chair Emmanuel Remy. Ross won the election for the council's District 7 seat in November over Jesse Vogel.
Ross's first regular meeting was light, but set up future debates ahead for city council on Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther's proposed budget and legislation to further the city's Zone-In initiative. Ross told WOSU she was glad nothing "too spicy" came up.
Ross said much of her first year will be focused on holding listening sessions in the community, but her committees will shape a lot of her priorities.
"We will have a strong focus on housing and working with the administration to really nail down a strategic plan for how we're going to use all of that money that we talked about that is going to go into the city's plan for housing and making sure that affordability is at the forefront of that," Ross said.
Ross said she wants to think about a comprehensive way the city can support residents and ensure adults, children and seniors can all live in safe neighborhoods.
Housing affordability was a top concern during the campaign for the District 7 seat covering downtown Columbus and most of the surrounding neighborhoods. The city is in the midst of overhauling its zoning code and trying to encourage more housing.
Next week, city council will hold a vote on the Columbus Growth Strategy. This legislation aims to create a citywide land use map, but it is getting pushback from some of the city's area commissions who are currently in charge of creating these maps.
The city council is also shaping next year's city budget after Mayor Ginther put forward his version last year.
"I'm super excited about year one, really kind of getting to know the community, making sure that have a real true understanding of what's going on and how we can support," Ross said.
Ross said she'd like to prioritize District 7 first for future listening sessions, but she will also go to every corner of the city too.
