Lawsuit, Ballot Initiatives Aim to Make Columbus City Council More Accountable

Residents seek to restrict closed-door meetings and change council election system

Apr. 8, 2026 at 6:55pm

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A dimly lit, cinematic painting of an empty city council chamber, with sunlight streaming in through the windows and casting long shadows across the room, creating a contemplative and nostalgic mood that reflects the civic issues at the heart of this story.The push for more open and accountable city government in Columbus reflects a desire among residents for their elected leaders to be more responsive to community needs.Columbus Today

A lawsuit filed with the Ohio Supreme Court is seeking to force Columbus City Council to hold all of its meetings in public, while a separate ballot initiative is aiming to change how council members are elected in the city. Both efforts are driven by a desire to make the council more transparent and accountable to residents.

Why it matters

The lawsuit and ballot initiative come amid growing concerns from some Columbus residents about the council's increasing use of closed-door executive sessions and the current hybrid district system for electing council members, which some say does not adequately represent all neighborhoods in the city.

The details

The lawsuit was filed by Hilltop resident Rachel Wenning, who argues the city's charter requires all council meetings to be public. Meanwhile, the Our City, Our Say campaign is collecting signatures for a ballot initiative that would establish a district-based system where council members are elected solely by voters in their districts, rather than the current hybrid system where the entire city votes in all district races.

  • In late March 2026, Wenning filed the lawsuit with the Ohio Supreme Court.
  • In early April 2026, the Our City, Our Say campaign began collecting signatures for its ballot initiative.

The players

Rachel Wenning

A Hilltop resident and former Local Politics columnist for Matter News who filed the lawsuit seeking to force Columbus City Council to hold all meetings in public.

Our City, Our Say

A coalition of organizations, including Asian American Midwest Progressives (AAMP), that is collecting signatures for a ballot initiative to change how Columbus City Council members are elected.

Shannon Hardin

The president of Columbus City Council, who has expressed openness to considering changes to the current hybrid district system for electing council members.

Rob Dorans

The Columbus City Council President Pro Tempore, who has stated he voted against the current hybrid district system because he didn't believe it adequately addressed concerns about neighborhood representation.

Jonathan Beard

A community leader who was involved in a 2015 push for a citizen-initiated charter amendment to address how council members are elected, and who has now proposed drawing a new district map to create multiple majority-minority districts.

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What they’re saying

“And that doesn't seem like a conversation that needs to happen in private. That's a person who is going to be representing us on council, and we should be privy to that person's upsides and downsides.”

— Rachel Wenning, Hilltop resident and lawsuit filer

“Ultimately, I think what each member of our coalition has come to, regardless of how they've gotten involved, is that the current system of running for and winning a council seat is virtually impossible for people who don't have corporate sponsorship or the backing of the Franklin County Democratic Party to be able to fund and support a city-wide campaign.”

— Sharon Kim, Lead organizer, Asian American Midwest Progressives

“Every model comes with different incentives. For me, the questions are: would the new structure allow Council to build the housing our City needs, knowing that ward models amplify voices that tend to oppose affordable housing? Will it enable representation that looks like the City as a whole, knowing what a racially and economically segregated city we are geographically? And will it allow the City to make investments where they're most needed, not pitting neighborhoods against each other?”

— Shannon Hardin, Columbus City Council President

What’s next

The lawsuit filed by Rachel Wenning is currently making its way through the Ohio Supreme Court, while the Our City, Our Say campaign continues to collect signatures for its ballot initiative. If successful, the initiative would go before Columbus voters in November 2026.

The takeaway

The efforts to restrict closed-door council meetings and change the way council members are elected in Columbus reflect a growing desire among some residents for more transparency and accountability from their local government. The outcome of these initiatives could have significant implications for how the city's leadership is chosen and how it operates in the future.