| Andrew Ginther | |
| Office: | 53rd Mayor of Columbus |
| Term Start: | January 1, 2016 |
| Predecessor: | Michael B. Coleman |
| Order1: | 82nd |
| Office1: | President of the United States Conference of Mayors |
| Term Start1: | 2024 |
| Predecessor1: | Hillary Schieve |
| Office2: | President of Columbus City Council |
| Term Start2: | January 3, 2011 |
| Term End2: | December 31, 2015 |
| Predecessor2: | Michael Mentel |
| Successor2: | Zach Klein |
| Birth Name: | Andrew James Ginther |
| Birth Date: | 27 April 1975 |
| Birth Place: | Columbus, Ohio, U.S. |
| Party: | Democratic |
| Spouse: | Shannon Ginther |
| Children: | 1 |
| Education: | Earlham College (BA) |
Andrew James Ginther (born April 27, 1975)[1] is an American Democratic politician, the 53rd mayor of Columbus, Ohio, and the 48th person to serve in that office.[2] He previously served as President of Columbus City Council from 2011 until 2015.[3]
Ginther was born at Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. Ginther's mother was a social worker and his father was an attorney specializing in adoption and foster law. His family lived in Tallmadge, Ohio, later moving to a house on Charleston Avenue in the Clintonville neighborhood of Columbus. Ginther is one of three biological children of the couple, who fostered about 50 children over many years.
After graduation from Whetstone High School, Ginther attended Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana, where he earned a BA in Political Science in 1997. As part of Earlham's foreign study program, Ginther traveled to Northern Ireland to study peace and conflict resolution at the University of Ulster and Queen's College. He also taught at public schools in Belfast and Derry. Ginther served internships at the Carter Center in Atlanta, where he taught nonviolence and dispute resolution to children.
Ginther served as a legislative aide to Ohio state Senator Dan Brady.[4] He then served as coordinator of violence prevention programs for the local nonprofit organization Strategies Against Violence Everywhere (SAVE).[5]
In 1999, Ginther ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the Columbus Board of Education. In 2000, Ginther worked for then-City Councilmember Maryellen O'Shaughnessy's congressional campaign for . He worked as the chief fundraiser during her unsuccessful run for Congress.[6] [7] In 2001 his second campaign was successful, and he served as a member of the school board for six years, being reelected in 2005. Ginther also worked for 10 years as community outreach coordinator for Triumph Communications, a central Ohio company providing public relations and political campaign management services.[8]
In February 2007, Ginther was appointed to the Columbus City Council to fill an unexpired term after the resignation of Matt Habash. He was elected to a new term as a member of City Council in November 2007, was reelected as a member in 2009, and on January 3, 2011, was selected to replace Michael C. Mentel as Council president, becoming the youngest City Council president in the history of Columbus at age 35. In 2011 Ginther accepted a new position as vice president of Community Affairs and Outreach for nonprofit Children's Hunger Alliance. He remained City Council president through the end of 2015.
In March 2015, Ginther and fellow Democrat Zach Scott, the former Franklin County, Ohio Sheriff, were selected in a primary election by Columbus voters to compete in the November 2015 general election to replace retiring Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman (D).[9] In the general election on November 3, 2015, Ginther defeated Scott with 59% of the vote.
In 2019, Ginther was re-elected unopposed as mayor of Columbus. During his State of the City address in February 2020, he announced initiatives to improve the city's Sullivant Avenue corridor in Franklinton and the Hilltop.[10]
Ginther was re-elected for a third term in 2023, defeating independent candidate Joe Motil with 64% of the vote.[11] In 2024, he was elected as the 82nd president of the United States Conference of Mayors, succeeding Hillary Schieve.[12]
| The Ginther Cabinet | ||
|---|---|---|
| OFFICE | NAME | TERM |
| Mayor | Andrew Ginther | 2016–present |
| Chief of Staff | Greg Davies | 2016–2018 |
| Ken Paul | 2018–Present | |
| Director of Development | Michael Stevens | 2019–present |
| Director of Public Utilities | Tracie Davies | 2016–present |
| Director of Public Service | Jennifer L. Gallagher, P.E. | 2016–present |
| Director of Public Safety | Robert W. Clark | 2021–present |
| Director of Public Health | Teresa Long | 2016–2017 |
| Mysheika Roberts | 2017–present | |
| Director of Finance & Management | Kathy Owens | 2022–present |
| Director of Human Resources | Nichole Brandon | 2016–present |
| Director of Technology | Sam Orth III | 2016–present |
| Director of Education | Rhonda Johnson | 2016–2019 |
| Matt Smydo (Interim) | 2019–Present | |
| Director of Recreation & Parks | Tony Collins | 2015–2019 |
| Paul Rakowsky (Interim) | 2019–Present | |
| Director of Building & Zoning Services | Scott Messer | 2016–present |
| Director of Civil Service | Amy DeLong | 2016–present |
| Source:[13] [14] [15] [16] [17] | ||
Since 2019, Ginther and his family have lived in The Knolls, a subdivision in the northwest side of Columbus.[18]