Last week, when we wrote an update on the upcoming open seat at Columbus City Council, we spoke to a wide variety of potential candidates and political insiders who have indicated that they may or may not be seeking an appointment into the position. One name in particular came up several times during those conversations; a name that is already familiar to City Hall.
“I hear Kevin Boyce is at the top of the list,” stated Jon Beard, President and CEO of the Columbus Compact Corporation, who applied for an open City Council position in September, and stated that he would not be seeking the appointment in January.
Boyce was recently mentioned by The Columbus Dispatch as a potential replacement for Councilmember Michelle Mills, but he stated that he declined to take part in the application process because the timeframe to decide was too immediate. Ultimately, that position went to Fran Ryan, who is serving the short term role only until the end of the year. Ryan previously served on City Council from 1971 to 1977.
If Boyce decides to seek the appointment process, he’d follow in Ryan’s footsteps, since he also previously served City Council from 2000 to 2009. Boyce vacated the position in January of 2009 when he was tapped by then-Governor Ted Strickland to become Ohio State Treasurer. Interestingly enough, Eileen Paley was one of the two new Councilmembers in 2009 that were appointed to fill seats vacated by Boyce and Maryellen O’Shaughnessy — and Eileen Paley is now the one vacating Council in January, creating the open position.
After losing the Treasurer position to Josh Mandel in 2010, Boyce was later appointed to serve as a member of the Ohio House of Representatives for the 25th District, and was reelected to continue to serve in that position in 2012 and 2014. If he seeks the transition to Columbus City Council, he would be the second State Representative to do so in recent months, following 18th District Representative Michael Stinziano, who won his bid for the local office last week.
Boyce has been reached out to for a comment on the possibility of seeking the appointment in January, but has not responded as of the time of publishing this article.
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