Columbus Ward 4 Councilman Pierre Beard qualified Monday to run for re-election as an independent candidate.
Beard has held the council seat since September 2019, when he won a special election to finish the term of former councilman Fred Jackson. He ran as an independent in that election as well and defeated Democrat Kegdra Gibbs-Gray.
“I just want to continue to bring people from all aspects of life together,” he said. “That’s my sole purpose when it comes to politics as well. On a local level, people shouldn’t have to figure if they’re Democratic or Republican or Libertarian. (Officials) should all be someone that’s on neutral ground and agree with both sides without party affiliation.”
Beard said he wants to advocate for “a bold agenda equal to the scale of our challenges” if re-elected. He hopes to focus on quality-of-life issues like infrastructure improvements and work closely with all of the city’s department heads.
The deadline to qualify for candidacy is Friday. Beard said he wanted to get a feel for whether Ward 4 citizens would support him again before deciding to run for re-election.
“I wanted to make sure I did a worthy enough job,” he said.
Beard was cited in Columbus for misdemeanor possession of marijuana in January.
As an independent, Beard is guaranteed a spot in the June 8 general election and will not be on the ballot for the April 6 party primaries.
Retired educator Pat Fisher Douglas and former councilman Marty Turner will face each other in the Democratic primary, and the winner will face Beard in June. Turner held the Ward 4 seat for eight years before Jackson unseated him in the Democratic primary runoff election in May 2017.
Tess Vrbin was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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