Third candidate enters citywide Columbus Council seat race. Updated list here
Editor’s note: This story is no longer being updated. Please go here for the most up-to-date list of candidates.
Five Columbus Council seats are up for reelection in 2026, as community activists have vowed to put pressure on incumbents at the ballot box following a series of controversial votes and actions.
Council seats representing Districts 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 will be up for election May 19. Councilors Byron Hickey, Bruce Huff, Charmaine Crabb, Joanne Cogle and John Anker sit in these seats, respectively.
After the council voted to appoint Anker to the citywide District 9 seat, Royal Anderson, chairwoman of the Muscogee County Democratic Committee, promised in a March 25 council meeting that her organization would work to campaign against councilors who voted for the appointment.
While council seats are nonpartisan, Anderson argued that “about every decision made in these chambers means either blue or red.”
A coalition called Columbus, GA, United arose after the decision with the intent to support a unity candidate for races in the upcoming election. Leaders from organizations, including the Columbus branch of the NAACP and the Columbus Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance, worked together on the plan after holding multiple news conferences condemning Anker’s appointment.
Here’s who has filed paperwork declaring their intention to run for the Columbus Council in 2026. This list will be updated with more information as it becomes available and new candidates join the race.
District 1
Simi Barnes
Simi Barnes, the daughter of the late Columbus Councilor Jerry “Pops” Barnes, filed paperwork to run for District 1.
A self-described Army brat, she was born in Fort McClellan, Alabama, but spent most her childhood at Fort Benning. Barnes graduated from Troy University in 2005 and received her license in professional counseling in 2009.
Since then, Barnes has worked to help unhoused individuals secure housing, support military families through challenging deployments and reintegration, and work with individuals suffering from sexual trauma.
Barnes criticized the council’s decision last year to have Byron Hickey succeed Pops as the District 1 councilor and fill the remaining two years of his term.
“Dad was the true definition of a statesman,” Barnes wrote in an email to the Ledger-Enquirer. “And I am both humbled and inspired by his leadership. That inspiration has led me to run for District 1 because I believe that the daily issues facing the citizens of Columbus still matter and don’t deserve to be overshadowed by the political interests of those in power.”
She also was among the residents who attended the March 25 council meeting to criticize the council’s decision to appoint Anker to the District 9 seat.
Barnes filed her declaration of intention to run for the District 1 seat July 11. She didn’t fill out the section asking for her campaign’s chairperson and treasurer.
“If elected, I will support initiatives that matter most to the constituents of District 1,” Barnes said. “I will make it a priority to improve housing accessibility and be a clear voice for those who are listened to the least but need to be heard the most.”
Karen Gaskins
Karen Gaskins filed a declaration of intention to run for the District 1 seat Aug. 29.
Gaskins is a Columbus native and retired from the Columbus Police Department, where she worked as a senior sergeant in the detective division. She also trained and served on the CPD Crisis Negotiation Team for 14 years.
She graduated from Columbus State University with a master’s degree in public administration.
In the past year, Gaskins has served on the Columbus Animal Control Oversight Board, where she is working to update ordinances after Paws Humane Society took over management of the city’s animal care and control.
Last year, she helped organize the opposition to the rezoning of 111.56 acres on Macon Road.
If elected, Gaskins said, she wants to focus on issues such as increasing affordable housing “without having a negative impact on existing neighborhoods,” government accountability and public safety.
“I have spent my entire adult life serving the citizens of Columbus. Police work is definitely not a career choice to get rich. I have a servant’s heart,” Gaskins told the Ledger-Enquirer in an email. “It has become so apparent that trust in government has been decimated. Transparency has become an issue. These two issues must change, and I can fix that.”
Gaskins is chairing her campaign, and Steven Rice is the treasurer, according to the disclosure document.
District 7
Christopher Kelley
Christopher Kelley filed a declaration of intention to run for the District 7 seat July 11. Shameika Averett is chairing his campaign, and Christina Barnes is his treasurer, according to the document.
Kelley is a congressional staffer working for U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop, serving as the deputy district director.
In this role, he works to facilitate cross-district meetings and correspondence with community partners, organizations and government agencies to “strengthen alliances for better governance,” Kelley wrote in an email to the Ledger-Enquirer.
Kelley has over 20 years of experience in marketing, sales, retail management, consumer retention and logistics. He is a professional motivational speaker and a former contributor to Davis Broadcasting in Columbus.
He was born in midwestern Ohio and is a former youth and correctional minister.
“I’m running to restore public trust in city government,” Kelley wrote in the email. “This is vital to our need for Public Safety, and our drive for Economic Development. This will be achieved through Transparent Humble Servant-Leadership. Leadership that puts people first.”
District 9
Rocky Marsh
Rocky Marsh is the first candidate to file a declaration of intention for next year’s council election June 12. He didn’t fill out the section asking for his campaign chairperson and treasurer. He is running for the District 9 at-large seat.
Marsh is a retired U.S. Army Veteran and a U.S. Department of Defense civil servant budget analyst at Fort Benning. He also serves on the Columbus Crime Prevention Committee.
He ran for the District 10 at-large council seat in 2024 but lost in a four-candidate race to Travis Chambers.
Some of Marsh’s goals include keeping communities safe by strengthening municipal services, supporting uniformed members and their families and encouraging economic growth and quality of life, according to his campaign website.
“I believe every family and neighborhood in Columbus deserves to be heard, in a safe, thriving community with a positive quality of life,” Marsh told the Ledger-Enquirer in a July 14 email. “I’m running because Columbus needs leaders with varied perspectives, who are present, accountable, and ready to represent issues and challenges facing our city.”
John Van Doorn
John Van Doorn filed his declaration of intent to run for the citywide District 9 seat on July 15. He didn’t fill out the section asking for his campaign chairperson and treasurer.
He is a paralegal, published author and taught at the University of Oklahoma, Columbus State University and on Fort Benning and other military posts.
Van Doorn has served on local boards, including the Historic District Preservation Society and the board for Historic Westville. He also participated in the racial reconciliation initiative Be the Bridge.
He is a former chairman of the Muscogee County Democratic Party.
Some of Van Doorn’s goals include helping eliminate food deserts, promoting healthy lifestyles, reducing crime by increasing opportunities and increasing respect for law enforcement and other public servants, he said in a July 15 email to the Ledger-Enquirer.
“I am running to build coalitions and unity (as I have in previous organizations) in order to help bring about a forward-looking vision for the city of Columbus,” Van Doorn said. “That vision will help bring up underserved areas and less privileged citizens of Columbus, without bringing anyone else down.”
Cathy Cook
Dr. Cathy Cook filed a declaration of intent to run for the citywide District 9 seat on July 14.
She has lived in Columbus for 55 years, Cook told the Ledger-Enquirer in an email, and followed in her father’s footsteps, who is a retired dentist. Cook has been a practicing dentist for the past 27 years and owns Cook Dental Care.
Cook faced challenges with her practice during the COVID-19 pandemic, she said, losing about 30% of her team overnight. But they worked through it and merged two practices, expanding services.
This experience with her practice led to Cook being inspired to run for office, she said.
“In 2022, I discovered that my practice sits at the heart of one of Columbus’ largest food deserts,” Cook said. “I presented a proposal to the Rotary Club to redevelop the adjacent plaza into a space that could host a grocery store, urban farm co-op, and affordable housing — because I believe access to healthy food and quality living conditions is a basic right for every citizen.”
This story was originally published September 4, 2025 at 1:51 PM.
