When Darren Leach returned to Columbus in June 2007, he said it was much the way Jewish leader Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem in the Old Testament.
Though ultimately tasked to lead the Israelites in rebuilding the wall around the city, Nehemiah first surveyed the work being done.
Leach said Monday he spent 17 years “surveying” Columbus. Now, he believes he is ready to lead the city.
“I have children and grandchildren that live here,” Leach told a crowd of about 25 in the Genesis Dream Center on Northside as he formally announced his bid for mayor. “They’re growing up here. We’ve got to make this place conducive for them to grow.”
Leach, who pastors Genesis Church, is one of four candidates who have announced their intent to run for mayor – joining Ward 5 Councilman Stephen Jones, Lowndes County District Supervisor Leroy Brooks and Realtor Bill Strauss. Qualifying for next year’s city elections begins Jan. 2.
Mayor Keith Gaskin endorsed Leach in September when announcing he would not seek a second term.
Born in Columbus, Leach spent much of his childhood in New York City before returning and graduating from Caldwell High School. He earned a mechanical engineering degree from Tennessee State University before employing those skills in the private sector in Jackson for 10 years.
Before leaving Jackson, Leach dabbled in mortgage brokering and real estate development. Once he came back to Columbus, he worked brief stints in insurance and securities.
“None of that stuff stuck,” he said.
But he said he realized what all of it was for when Gaskin asked him to run for mayor.
“God had systemically been moving me through these things to prepare me for this job,” Leach said.
His campaign, with the slogan “Rebuild Our Communities,” includes five “pillars”: rebuilding neighborhoods where children and families thrive; infrastructure, including affordable housing; expanding the tax base so the city doesn’t have to “borrow to build”; improving public safety; and youth and recreation.
“I see what should be,” Leach said. “… I’ve been trained to develop strategies that take us from vision to ‘we have it.’”
Leach said he did not view his opponents in the mayor’s race as competition, simply as four men looking for a job. Columbus’ competitors, he said, are cities like Starkville, West Point and Tupelo.
“They want the businesses that would come to our community,” he said. “They want them in their community. … So we have to put the things in place that will make us attractive again … that will make people say, ‘You know where I’m going? To Columbus, Mississippi.’ Why is that? ‘Because they’re the Friendly City. They manage their money well. They’re going to take care of us. Their streets are safe and clean. … That’s where I want to raise my family.’”
Gaskin, in introducing Leach Monday, said he “definitely” would have sought reelection if Leach had not agreed to run.
“What I noticed about Darren early on is he has a public servant’s heart with an engineer’s mind,” he said, noting the two had met frequently to discuss the city’s needs over the past two years. “That’s a pretty powerful combination for somebody who wants to be mayor.”
Leach’s speech and platform earned him an unlikely friend in one of his opponents. Strauss attended Monday’s announcement, standing up at one point and praising Leach.
“He’s got his heart in the right place,” Strauss said. “We kind of came to an agreement that whoever comes out on top, if it’s one of us, we’re going to work together.”
Strauss noted he still hopes to win the mayor’s race but told Leach, “You would make a great mayor.”
But Leach acknowledged at least two of his opponents – sitting elected officials Brooks and Jones – come into the race with significantly more name recognition than him. It’s a gap he knows he has only six months to close, but he believes he has a solid plan.
“Work hard,” he said. “… By sharing my message with as many people as I can as quickly as I can and as passionately as I can, they’ll either help me see that I am not the best person for this job, or they will see that I am.”
Zack Plair is the managing editor for The Dispatch.
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