6 voted yes. 3 voted no. Columbus councilors explain their votes on Hickey appointment
Now that the Columbus Council has appointed retired police officer Byron Hickey to succeed the late Jerry “Pops” Barnes as the District 1 representative and fill the remaining two years of the term, the Ledger-Enquirer asked each councilor to explain their votes in Tuesday night’s 6-3 decision.
Barnes, who died April 14 at age 80 from an undisclosed illness, was the District 1 representative on the 10-member council for 17 years.
In 2010, a federal jury awarded Hickey $306,000 in a lawsuit claiming the city officials discriminated against him because he spoke out against racial and gender bias.
In a letter dated three days after Barnes died, three state legislators representing Columbus urged the mayor and city councilors to appoint former state Rep. Calvin Smyre to the council. The letter was from state Sen. Ed Harbison, state Rep. Carolyn Hugley and state Rep. Teddy Reese.
Then on May 13, WTVM reported that Smyre and those three legislators instead supported one of Barnes’ daughters, licensed professional counselor Simeone “Simi” Barnes, to be the successor.
Here are the councilors’ responses to the L-E’s query:
Charmaine Crabb of District 5
Made the motion to appoint Hickey. Voted yes.
“I was so happy to nominate Byron Hickey last night at the conclusion of the month of honoring Pops,” Crabb wrote in an email. “Pops had let many Councilors and constituents know that he was mentoring Byron to replace him. I was honoring Pops and District 1 citizens wishes by nominating Byron Hickey.”
Glenn Davis of District 2
Seconded the motion. Voted yes.
“Two main reasons,” Davis wrote in an email. “One, the insurmountable support from District 1 for Byron Hickey. And two, Pop shared with me who he was mentoring to take his position. He said Bryon would be a good representative that would serve his position/district well. I honored Pop’s request.”
Bruce Huff of District 3
Voted no.
Huff didn’t answer before publication.
Toyia Tucker of District 4
Voted yes.
Tucker didn’t answer before publication.
Gary Allen of District 6
Voted no.
Allen submitted the name of Simi Barnes, but the council didn’t vote on that nomination because Hickey was nominated first and received a majority of the votes.
“Councilor Pop Barnes and I were seat mates for over 14 years,” Allen wrote in an email. “I heard Councilor Pop Barnes speak of his daughter, Simi Barnes, several times and he was very proud of her. After talking with her about her interest in fulfilling her Dad’s dreams, she felt what better way than to serve the Citizens over the next two years in District 1. After talking with her several times since the funeral I agreed with her.”
Joanne Cogle of District 7
Voted yes.
“Pops had expressed to me many times that he had been working with Byron Hickey to take his place on council,” Cogle wrote in an email. “My vote for Byron Hickey honored his wish.”
Walker Garrett of District 8
Voted yes.
“Byron has served on city boards such as the Public Safety Advisory Committee, worked within the city government as a police officer, and has experience representing city employees through organizations such as the Police Benevolent Association,” Garrett wrote in an email. “Also, he made it clear he will not seek the office when the election comes up next. Finally, numerous constituents from Councilor Barnes’s district reached out to support Byron to take the role. I thought Calvin Smyre would have been a great fit for the position but he withdrew his name from consideration.”
Judy Thomas of citywide District 9
Voted yes.
Thomas didn’t answer before publication.
Tyson Begly of citywide District 10
Voted no.
“I’ve served with Byron in the past and looking forward to serving with him again,” Begly wrote in an email. “I had planned to vote for someone else that was more aligned with Pop’s wishes, and called to tell me they wouldn’t run for the seat in the next election. To be clear though, I’m happy to work with Byron.”
This story was originally published May 30, 2024 at 11:31 AM.
