Our sloganeering Mayor Andy Ginther had been spouting off about how Columbus is “America’s Opportunity City” as far back as 2015 when he stated, his "Columbus will be America’s Opportunity City.” In 2018 Ginther told the inaugural cohort of the New American Leadership Academy, “We are a top city with immigrants. We are proud of that.” In his 2019 State of the City Address he claimed, “In my previous State of the City addresses, I committed to make Columbus America’s opportunity city, to tackling our most pressing challenges and making tangible, long-lasting changes to lift up Columbus neighborhoods and move our city forward together. We have. And we are.”

During Ginther’s 2023 mayoral campaign he wrote he would, “Ensure anyone who works in America's Opportunity City can afford to live in the neighborhood of their choice” and “Every family in every neighborhood should be able to share in the success story that is Columbus. But what makes Columbus truly special is how we respond to opportunity.” Ginther has been full of more empty campaign promises.

Andy Ginther has made his political career out of attempting to deceive the public with phony slogans and campaign rhetoric. But the facts tell a different story. The Brookings Institute, which is a highly regarded non-profit independent public policy organization, issued a new report examining the changes in regional economies between 2012 and 2022. For very large metro areas of over one million people, Columbus ranked dead last for racially-inclusive growth based on employment, earnings and relative poverty gaps.

Andy Ginther’s “Opportunity City” slogan has always been viewed as mockery by the majority of Columbus residents who are not lost to the fact that Ginther’s “Opportunity City” applies solely to the rich and powerful and special interests that he serves as mayor. Columbus, Ohio’s ranking as the second most economically segregated city in America and dead last as the most “racially-inclusive growth based large metro area on employment, earnings and relative poverty gaps” speaks volumes on the inequality and lack of leadership that has existed during Ginther’s eight years as mayor and five years as City Council President.