Longtime Columbus resident, ‘son of immigrants’ enters mayor’s race

Danny Arencibia, finance manager at a local car dealership, is the latest Columbus resident to enter the Columbus race for mayor.

Arencibia, who works at Rivertown Ford, made his announcement Sunday at Fountain City Coffee, 1007 Broadway. He filed his Declaration of Intent with the Muscogee County Elections Office on Friday.

Arencibia is the fifth person to throw a hat in the ring for the seat soon to be vacated by Mayor Teresa Tomlinson, now completing her last term. Others who also have filed declarations of intent include former District 8 Muscogee County School Board representative Norma Elizabeth “Beth” Harris, citywide District 10 Columbus Councilor Berry H. “Skip” Henderson III, Charles Edwin Roberts, and Christina Thorington.

Thorington dropped out of the race after learning that she didn’t qualify due to a requirement that she be a registered voter in Muscogee County for two years before running for office. She did not register to vote in the county until 2017, according to Jeanette James, a qualifying officer with the elections office.

The Declaration of Intent allows potential candidates to begin raising money, but they can’t officially run for office until they qualify in March. The qualifying period for the May 22, 2018, city election is March 5-9, 2018.

Arencibia is a 20-year resident of the City of Columbus and a husband and father of four who attends The Ridge Church, according to information issued by his campaign team. He is founder of a local youth venue called the Gallery13 Event Center, and has done ministry work in the downtown area, according to his team.

In 2012, Arencibia ran unsuccessfully against State Rep. Calvin Smyre for the Georgia House District 135 seat, losing by about a 77-23 percent margin of the more than 13,000 votes cast.

“I am very proud to be the son of immigrants, and to be born here in the United States,” Arencibia is quoted as saying in the recent release. “My father came from Cuba and my mother from Mexico. My parents have shown me what true hard work can accomplish. I am proud of my heritage and proud to be part of a city that is beginning to learn to embrace its diversity.

“It is time to move our community forward and get this city back on track,” he continued. “We need to balance our city budget and foster a pro-business environment in order to grow our economy and create jobs. We need to take a strong, zero-tolerance stance on crime; all while unifying our citizens in a genuine and wholehearted sense of community.”

He proposes a focus on safety by putting 100 new officers on streets.

“Chief Boren, Sheriff Tompkins, and Marshall Countryman all need our help,” he said. “We are arguably reaching a state of emergency and we need to do whatever it takes to keep our families safe.”

In a recent email to the Ledger-Enquirer, Thorington commented on her disqualification from the race.

“Although disappointed by my disqualification due to misinformation and being registered in my college town (Mercer University), I do plan to pursue this position in the next election cycle and serve my hometown dutifully,” she wrote. “I’ve lived here for the majority of my life (over 20 years) and I hope to build the communication gap between generations in Columbus to progress our community towards growth, an industrial revolution, and sustainability while preserving the pillars of this city.”

This story was originally published January 16, 2018 at 1:48 PM with the headline "Longtime Columbus resident, ‘son of immigrants’ enters mayor’s race."