COLUMBUS — Starting Jan. 1, there will be two new faces on the Columbus City Council — Democrats and political newcomers Grace Kestler and Jerone Wood.
Kestler, 30, won a city council at-large seat in November’s municipal election, receiving 3,597 votes, more than any other city council candidate.
For his part, Wood, 31, will arrive on the city council in more dramatic fashion, defeating District 1 Republican incumbent Dascal Bunch by one vote, 260 to 259. A recount on Dec. 13 confirmed the results.
The victories of Kestler and Wood helped give the Democrats their first majority on the city council since 1983, election officials said. The two newcomers will replace Bunch and current Republican city council at-large member Laurie Booher.
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Grace Kestler
Kestler said many of the issues that she would like to focus on during her first term revolve around housing and transportation.
More specifically, she said she would like to focus on the city’s affordable housing issues, including working with landlords, potentially adjusting some of the city’s residential zoning regulations and encouraging more residential development.
“I’m interested in working with the planning department to figure out if there are zoning ordinances that could be modified in a way that would productively or positively affect housing issues,” Kestler said. “One of those that I feel is a good example is the square footage requirements.”
Currently, most of the city’s residential zoning districts, with a few exceptions, require a minimum of 1,000 square feet per dwelling, said Melissa Begley, city and county assistant planning director.
Kestler said she would support lowering the minimum requirements because, under the right set of regulations, it could allow people to build more affordable housing in areas of the city, particularly downtown.
“It would be my preference to decrease the square footage requirements because it would allow for smaller homes to be built in the downtown area,” she said.
Another issue Kestler said she would like to look at during her first term is exploring how the city can help ensure that sidewalks that lead to bus stops are accessible, safe and have sufficient lighting.
“Right now, many of the sidewalks are the responsibility of the homeowner to repair, and I think that needs to be evaluated that if this is a sidewalk that is a pathway to a bus stop and it needs improvement, then maybe there is an opportunity for the city to engage with fixing these paths,” she said.
Additionally, Kestler said she aims to communicate effectively with constituents and explain how money for projects and other items is allotted and spent by the city.
“Once those projects come to the table, our job is to communicate effectively about those projects with the community,” Kestler said. “I believe that is something that I really want to stress and push toward doing. I aim to share as much information as I can in a public forum.”
Overall, Kestler said she is excited about joining the council and is ready to continue preparing for her new role.
“I’m excited to engage with community members and really try to understand how I can make the biggest impact being on the city council,” Kestler said. “… There are a lot of issues that community members are really passionate about, and it’s important for me as a city council member to understand where I can actually make an impact and gauge the understanding of what my role is and how that fits into the larger picture.”
Jerone Wood
Wood said he is looking forward to focusing on three of the issues he highlighted during his campaign — homelessness, the opioid crisis and youth development.
Once he joins the city council on Jan. 1, Wood said his first task would be centered around learning how to navigate his role on council and then meet with the leaders at local homeless shelters and rehab facilities.
“There are some issues I hold close, as far as the opioid crisis, the homeless and the youth,” Wood said. “But, really, what I’d like to do is figure out how to navigate to get some of those issues to the forefront.”
Wood said he volunteers at the Brighter Days homeless shelter and thinks homelessness needs to be a “conversation that’s had more often” at city hall.
“If we’re talking about it more, there’s an opportunity for more things to happen,” Wood said. “Of course, I think we do need a bigger shelter. That’s a personal opinion. I know the shelter Brighter Days fills up quite a bit. And (we need to) just donate more resources, help (the homeless) with interview skills, basically helping them get readjusted and learning how to operate in society.”
However, Wood said he doesn’t have specific items that he would like the city council to consider at this point, but he would like to meet with the directors of local homeless shelters to see what their plans and needs are and how he can work with them and encourage more volunteering in the community.
Regarding substance abuse issues in the community, Wood said he would like to visit rehabilitation facilities, such as Centerstone and Columbus Regional Health’s Treatment and Support Center, and see what resources are available and the types of funding needed.
“I feel like if the community as a whole comes together and really makes fixing that issue a priority, and not just on the rehab side, but on the preventive side,” Wood said. “A lot of our teens, a lot of our youth, if we can stop them from taking that route, that’s less work we have to do on the rehabilitation side.”
“With TASC and Centerstone, it’s not like we’re starting from scratch, but maybe put more resources into what’s already going on,” Wood added later in the interview.
Wood said he plans to focus on many of the issues voters in District 1 told him about during the campaign.
“My information comes from when I went door-knocking in the community,” Wood said. “These are issues that people brought to my attention. …A lot of these issues, whether it is a shelter or another rehab facility for the addicts, this is what is being brought to me.”
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Age: 30
Education: DePauw University – Communications and Anthropology; Alice Salomon University of Berlin – Master’s degree in culture and conflict studies
Occupation: Founder, Grace Kestler Consulting; Community outreach coordinator, Advocates for Children – CASA
Previous elected offices held: None
Community organizations: BCSC Transition Council; United Way Board Governance committee; United Way Volunteer Action Center Committee; Inspire Columbus Team; BCSC Continuous Improvement Committee; CAMPO – Citizens Advisory Committee; Exhibit Columbus design review team; Brighter Days/Love Chapel Volunteer; Magazine Club; Columbus Young Professionals
Family: Parents, John and Elizabeth Kestler; One brother, one sister and one brother-in-law
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Age: 31
Occupation: Leasing agent, Monarch Crossing Apartments
Previous government service: none
Community affiliations: none
Education: Columbus East High School, Class of 2006. One credit away from earning his bachelor’s degree from Indiana University with a major in criminology and a minor in communication.
Family: Wife, Cierra, four children
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