Columbus City Council District 7 candidate Jesse Vogel conceded to Tiara Ross after her narrow victory Tuesday evening.
Vogel spoke to 星空无限传媒 Wednesday and said he called Ross to congratulate her on her win. He said it became clear during the historically-competitive race that Ross cares deeply about the city.
The unofficial results showed Ross received 55,465 votes and Vogel got 53,813 votes. That's with 100% of precincts reporting in Franklin County and all city precincts in Delaware and Fairfield counties reporting.
Vogel said he doesn't quite know what his future in politics and campaigns will be yet, but he hopes to have another chance at running.
"It's been an honor of a lifetime and an incredible learning experience to do this work this year, and I wouldn't give it up. And I hope to have the chance to do it again another time in the future and hopefully win," Vogel said.
Vogel said the election showed other candidates can find success like he did against the city's political establishment. Ross found the backing of all of Columbus City Council, Mayor Andrew Ginther, Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein, the Franklin County Democratic Party and more.
While they were both Democrats, Ross benefitted politically and financially from this support, while Vogel worked to outraise her and nearly matched her vote total through grassroots campaigning and fundraising.
"Now we have a playbook. We understand more about how voters are going to behave in a race with two candidates going head to head in this district system," Vogel said. "And so we have learned so much and engage so many people who never before thought about getting involved in local politics."
The city's district system requires a candidate to live within the boundaries of one of the nine city districts, but all Columbus voters get a say in the race.
Vogel wouldn't be able to run for city council until this seat is up for grabs again in 2029, unless he chooses to move to another district. Vogel thinks more candidates may step up when five seats are up for re-election in 2027.
Vogel and Ross' race was the only contested race for city council this year. Incumbent council members Emmanuel Remy, Christopher Wyche and Rob Dorans went unchallenged.
Columbus City Council President Shannon Hardin and council members Melissa Green, Nancy Day-Achauer, Lourdes Barroso de Padilla and Nick Bankston will be up for re-election in 2027.
Vogel acknowledged this race was unique, because Ross had early struggles to address, including $3,800 in parking tickets and driving on a suspended license. He said another candidate could beat an opponent supported by what he called the "party machine" even without factors like these.
Vogel also criticized the city's district system calling it "flawed," like he did on the campaign trail. He said the data from the election is interesting and people are upset.
"I think, by seeing this kind of result, they think it doesn't really look like real representation for them in their neighborhood. And I feel that anger, too, and frustration. This is the system we have at the moment, but I know that others are looking at what kind of reform is possible," Vogel said.
Vogel said reform is possible, but he wants to also think about a system that can include the voices of more voters. He said a true ward system could do this and he'd be all in on that kind of change.
