Posted February 1, 20232 yr Joe Motil Officially Announces Mayoral Candidacy Columbus residents may have two candidates to choose from when voting for mayor this November. Joe Motil officially declared his candidacy today while submitting his petition signatures to the Franklin County Board of Elections for review and approval. The announcement follows incumbent Mayor Andrew Ginther’s declaration to seek reelection made in December. “While collecting signatures to run for Mayor of Columbus since April of 2022, the excitement and support from Columbus voters has been overwhelming,” stated Motil. “During that time I continued my consistent commitment to improving our neighborhoods, the lives of everyday people, and the most vulnerable.” Motil, a retired construction safety professional, has run for local and state offices multiple times over the past thirty years, seeking legislative offices on Columbus City Council and the Ohio House of Representatives. Motil has remained active in the community through service on Area Commissions and other nonprofit organizations, and has been highly critical of Mayor Ginther administration. More below: https://columbusunderground.com/joe-motil-officially-announces-mayoral-candidacy-we1/ "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
February 2, 20232 yr I honestly doubt he makes it out of the primary given his performance in other elections, but regardless woooffff. Nothing makes me see red faster Motil and his marginally thought out policies. Awful choice for mayor.
February 2, 20232 yr 10 hours ago, atothek said: I honestly doubt he makes it out of the primary given his performance in other elections, but regardless woooffff. Nothing makes me see red faster Motil and his marginally thought out policies. Awful choice for mayor. As much as I’d like to see a competitive mayoral race—even if for no other reason than to improve the health of our local democracy and spur some decent debates—this dude’s not the one to do it. He’s the Tulsi Gabbard of this race. Even though a Republican candidate would have little chance of winning, it’s still wild to me they’ve pretty much given up running anyone.
February 2, 20232 yr Yeah, I'd also love to see a much more competitive mayoral race as well, but agree that Motil isn't the one to do it. I would also like just for the Democratic Party to have a generally more healthy primary season within the city instead of just pre-selecting the candidates. Just to improve the accessibility of our elected offices. Honestly, I think the Republican Party has taken a back seat to running anyone in local columbus as a way to further push the culture divide at the state and federal level. By not having any power or input they are able to position their state and federal candidates as pushing back at the largesse, inefficiency and crime of the liberal cities to those in the suburbs or further out. It's likely that it's a waste of money to run anyone and it serves for convenient advertising to their core constituency. Not to say any of this is healthy or how a political party should operate. Just the reality of on the ground politics in America.
February 2, 20232 yr Plus they have other ways to zap us like through the Statehouse, getting the Koch Buddies to block the Downtown Zoo, SMRT and Hyperloop instead of rail and supporting Ginther's center-right attitude.
February 2, 20232 yr 2 hours ago, atothek said: Yeah, I'd also love to see a much more competitive mayoral race as well, but agree that Motil isn't the one to do it. I would also like just for the Democratic Party to have a generally more healthy primary season within the city instead of just pre-selecting the candidates. Just to improve the accessibility of our elected offices. Honestly, I think the Republican Party has taken a back seat to running anyone in local columbus as a way to further push the culture divide at the state and federal level. By not having any power or input they are able to position their state and federal candidates as pushing back at the largesse, inefficiency and crime of the liberal cities to those in the suburbs or further out. It's likely that it's a waste of money to run anyone and it serves for convenient advertising to their core constituency. Not to say any of this is healthy or how a political party should operate. Just the reality of on the ground politics in America. I don’t have anything else to add, just wanted to say that’s a good analysis :)
February 5, 20232 yr A third contender has thrown their hat into the ring, according to the Dispatch: ”Also filing to run for mayor is Carrie J. Griffin, of the 4900 block of Keelson Drive, who could not be reached for comment Thursday morning.” https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/local/2023/02/02/well-financed-ginther-may-face-two-grass-roots-challengers-for-mayor/69866096007/ I’ve never heard of them before, but I guess this means we’ll actually have a primary in May lol
