Thank you to the Franklin County Board of Elections for running a fair election on November 4th for the next member of Columbus City Council who will represent the citizens of District 7.

After the primary with three candidates, Jesse Vogel won the majority of votes in District 7. On November 4th he also won the majority of votes in District 7. The tax-paying citizens of District 7 made their voices heard and Jesse Vogel is the person they want to represent them in city government. Right or wrong, District 7 believes in Jesse Vogel.

So what happens now?

Tiara Ross will triumphantly take her chair on City Council and applause will ring throughout city hall: a victory Dick Cheney would be proud of because every step was coordinated to win. Every member of City Council voluntarily donated thousands of dollars to her campaign and knocked on doors to get out loyal members of the Franklin County Democratic Party.

Get over it.

City government doesn’t care what you think or need anyway. They run a 24-hour marketing campaign online to tell us how wonderful they are avoiding the difficult questions. And when you take the time and effort to speak in person at City Hall, they turn off the cameras so that nobody can see or hear what happens. It’s like eating cotton candy for breakfast every day.

• Solve the increasing control of single-family homes by Wall Street investors? Nope.
• Work with experts in city development at OSU to create a plan for affordable housing and “more than affordable” housing for the working poor? Nope.
• Roll back tax abatements that choke-off funding for our vital public schools? Nope.
• Audit city finances to search for ways to save money or eliminate corruption? Nope. 

The goal of Columbus city government is to force you to give up.

The loyal Democrats who voted for Ross weren’t voting against a Republican.

They were voting against the future of a healthy local democracy. They voted against their friends and family who work and live in District 7.

So congratulations to our Columbus City Council and the Franklin County Democratic Party for giving another person a lifetime appointment to City Council (still a part-time job with a pension and gold-plated health care). Remember… Ross will always get re-elected.

Not because there isn’t anyone who wants to run against her, but because running an at-large campaign in Columbus costs hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Still proud of living in Columbus? Your “elected” leaders don’t care… and that’s the goal of Columbus city government. To rule by division, pour sugar all over a rotten gerrymandered disaster, and call it democracy.

They want you to ignore the end of local democracy and celebrate another Democratic victory. Or, at least do nothing and watch football on television.

I dare you to do something about it.

I dare you to start asking questions and demanding answers.

Questions are a sign of intelligence. City Hall hates questions.

And at the very least, the next time you see Jess Vogel please address him correctly as “District 7 Councilmember Vogel.” He won the district not once, but twice.