Columbus Councilor John House resigning. Here’s how his replacement will be decided
John House is resigning from Columbus Council.
He plans to submit his resignation at Tuesday night’s meeting, House told the Ledger-Enquirer in a phone interview Thursday.
House explained he is resigning to give him more time to take care of his wife, Marilyn.
“Marilyn’s Alzheimer’s has just continued to slowly but surely get worse, and her condition has gotten to the point where I can’t adequately take care of her and serve the city of Columbus the way I think the city should be served. So in that contest between the two, Marilyn wins.”
House has been one of the 10-member council’s two citywide representatives for approximately 4½ years. He won the special election in 2018 to fill the remainder of the term vacated by Skip Henderson, who won the mayoral election. House then won re-election to a four-year term in 2020.
Because he has served at least 18 months of this current term, no special election will be held to determine his immediate replacement, according to the city charter, House said. Instead, the council will vote on appointing someone to fill the remainder of the term until the seat is up for election in 2024.
However, a special election will be held at the next regular election for the council, which will be May 2024, Muscogee County elections director Nancy Boren told the L-E. At that time, voters will elect a candidate to serve the remainder of the seat’s term, which expires Dec. 31, 2024. They also will vote to elect a candidate in a separate race to determine who will serve the seat’s next four-year term, starting January 2025.
A candidate can run in both elections, Boren said.
Reaction and possible successor
The Ledger-Enquirer sought reaction from the mayor and the councilors about House’s decision to resign. The L-E also asked them whom they endorse to replace House.
Charmaine Crabb of District 5, Gary Allen of District 6 and Walker Garrett of District 8 are the ones who responded before publication in emails to the L-E.
Crabb said she cried when she learned House decided to resign.
“Councilor John House set the standard for servant leadership,” she said. “He embodies all the characteristics that citizens should look for and want in their representative. He cared about and worked for all citizens equally. He is truly nonpartisan. He is strong and fearless when he needs to be and is always thoughtful and gracious. He is thorough and detail oriented and dedicated to every aspect of service to this city.”
Allen said he is “disappointed” that House is leaving the council, but he admires “his selfless devotion to Marilyn. Family comes first.”
House is “an example of a true servant leader,” Allen said. “. . . His work ethic is the best I’ve seen since Mayor Pro Tem A.J. McClung (served on the council from 1971-98). I feel he genuinely cares, his attitude and caring heart were felt by everyone. He helped us all be better Councilors just trying to keep up with him. Since his first election, he and Marilyn attended almost every event there was. It was amazing watching him work.”
Garrett said he understands House’s reason for resigning, “doing the right thing for his family,” but he lamented that “we are losing one of the greatest councilors I believe in our city’s history.”
Also saying that House “truly embodies servant leadership,” Garrett added that House “serves the community as a volunteer for numerous organizations while making Council a nearly full time job. He is an example I want to follow.”
Garrett said he supports Tyson Begley to be the council’s choice to temporarily fill the seat until the next election.
Begley chaired the city’s Public Safety Advisory Commission through the merger of the marshal’s office with the sheriff’s office. He also chaired the city’s Charter Review Commission. Now, he serves on the Columbus Development Authority.
Professionally, Begley was CFO and COO of Delta Data, which provides back-end solutions for mutual funds, before it was acquired in 2021 by TAP Software Holdings, Garrett said.
Crabb and Allen didn’t answer the L-E’s questions about House’s possible successors, but Allen noted, “There is a precedent set that Council appoints a person who will not seek the office (in the next election). If memory serves this will be the third time since consolidation (with Muscogee County in 1971) Council has appointed someone to complete a term. We prefer the Citizens make the selection of their choice by exercising their right to vote.”
John House’s years of public service
House, 69, was the Class of 1971 valedictorian at Columbus High School. He retired from the U.S. Army in 2001 as a colonel after 26 years of service.
In retirement, House has worked for several defense industry consulting companies. He also is an active advocate for local military veterans, volunteers at the National Infantry Museum and was a part-time public administration instructor at Columbus State University.
Columbus Council is a nonpartisan governing body. House ran for Congress and won the Republican nomination in the 2012 primary, then lost to U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop, D-Albany, in the general election.
Reflecting on his years on the council, House said, “I’ve been able to meet a lot of people and show support for the great work that citizens do, and general government employees do, and public safety does. I always try to be out there to encourage them to tell people, like on Facebook postings, what I’m seeing people do because there are a lot of great people all over the city doing great work.”
And among those Facebook postings are perhaps the most comprehensive summaries of council meetings. House explained his dedication to that task.
“Prior to running for council, I would sometimes watch a video (of the meetings) or try to find the minutes, but I never felt like, as a citizen, that I really understood what council did,” he said. “I’ve always believed in transparency of government as much as possible. … I think it’s important for the citizens to know what their government does, and I felt like, once I discovered Facebook, that was a way to help people understand what’s going on, so council wouldn’t be a mystery.”
Also on his Facebook page are House’s reports about visiting various places, people and events throughout the city along with Marilyn. He is committed to keeping her active with him since she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in December 2021.
They will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary in September.
“I feel like I’m blessed to have her by my side,” he said. “She’s been hanging with me for a long time. It’s my time to take care of her.”
This story was originally published April 20, 2023 at 12:22 PM.
