Columbus councilor calls for names of city manager finalists to be released
Columbus Councilor Toyia Tucker of District 4 has criticized the search process for a new city manager after Columbus Mayor Skip Henderson announced he was pausing the search.
Henderson announced during the Nov. 18 council meeting the search was being paused, saying that it would provide time for a “comprehensive look at salaries” in the city government. The plan was to restart the search in about three to six months.
During the meeting, Henderson declined to name the candidates under consideration for the position.
In a Dec. 5 Facebook post, Tucker criticized the decision not to publicly name the city manager finalists, sharing a screenshot of an email she sent to Henderson and city attorney Clifton Fay.
Henderson declined to publicly name the finalists or explain why their names weren’t being put forth during the Nov. 18 meeting because of personnel reasons.
Tucker cites the Georgia Open Records Act in the email, arguing that the law requires a search firm or city to make the names of city manager candidates public when there are “three or more finalists.”
In the email, Tucker requested that the names be released during the Dec. 9 meeting.
“In a perfect world, this matter wouldn’t be so difficult,” Tucker wrote in her Facebook post. “I am sharing this request publicly and informing everyone who has reached out to me that my efforts to get transparency failed. The Mayor WILL NOT release any further details about the City Manager Search Process, although we know that there were qualified applicants.”
Tucker said in the post that there were two “extremely, highly qualified candidates” being considered, with one being from Fort Benning. She encouraged residents to sign up for the public agenda to put pressure on Henderson to release the names.
“I am making an appeal to all of you who truly care to take a page out of the Animal Advocates Book.” Tucker wrote.
The Ledger-Enquirer didn’t reach Tucker, Henderson or Fay for comment before publication.
This story was originally published December 8, 2025 at 12:07 PM.
