Mayor Andrew J. Ginther is serving his third term as the 53rd mayor of the City of Columbus, Ohio. He previously served on Columbus City Council from 2007-15, and was president of Council from 2011 until assuming the Office of the Mayor on January 1, 2016. Under his leadership, Columbus has been named “America’s Opportunity City” while setting new records for job creation and population growth.
Mayor Ginther is uniquely committed to working with community, business, and faith and labor leaders to promote equitable opportunities for every Columbus resident. Signature initiatives include launching the Comprehensive Neighborhood Safety Strategy to reduce violent crime while realizing the most significant policing reforms in city history, such as civilian oversight of police and deploying body-worn camera technology; reducing infant mortality; expanding universal pre-kindergarten; creating the city’s first-ever Office of Diversity and Inclusion and appointing the city’s most diverse mayoral leadership cabinet; forming the Columbus Women’s Commission to advance the well-being of women in the workplace; and establishing the Department of Neighborhoods to lead community-driven investments for revitalization
Acknowledging transportation as the great equalizer, Mayor Ginther is working to provide reliable, consistent transportation options so that all Columbus residents have convenient, equitable access to jobs, education and health care. During his first year in office, the city was awarded the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Smart City Challenge Grant, making Columbus America’s “Smart City.”
A proud graduate of Columbus City Schools, Mayor Ginther was originally elected to the Columbus Board of Education in 2001 and re-elected in 2005 before joining Council. He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Earlham College, studied abroad at the University of Ulster and Queen’s College in Northern Ireland, and taught at public schools in Belfast and Derry. He also completed consecutive internships at the Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta, where he taught non-violence and dispute resolution.
Mayor Ginther, his wife – Shannon – and their daughter live in Columbus.
