Columbus mayoral candidate Steve Kelly — what he says about top issues in election
Editor’s note: This is one of the Ledger-Enquirer’s profiles of candidates in the Columbus mayoral election. Early voting for the 2026 local nonpartisan election, which coincides with the Georgia primary, begins April 27, and election day is May 19.
Columbus mayoral candidate Steve Kelly was born and raised in Rochester, New York.
At 19 years old, Kelly joined the U.S. Army. During 20 years of service, he was deployed overseas multiple times, he said.
His last station was at Fort Benning, bringing Kelly to Columbus in August 2017.
He bought a house, planning to remodel it, then sell it when he moved away from Columbus. But rather than being a temporary stop, Columbus became his home.
After building bonds and friendships with people in Columbus, he decided to stay. Kelly married a woman from Columbus about two and a half years ago, he said. The couple welcomed the birth of their daughter not long after the wedding, Kelly said.
Kelly initially wanted to get into investment banking, but he began a career in general contracting, focused on remodels and renovations. As he got involved in the community, he learned more about issues affecting residents, Kelly said.
Motivating him to run for mayor, Kelly said, the Columbus Consolidated Government needs new leaders because the “same people have been there for decades.”
“Their time has passed,” he said. “They’ve had their chance to try and do something, something more constructive with Columbus.”
Kelly sat down with the Ledger-Enquirer to discuss some of his top policy issues and initiatives he would pursue if he is elected mayor.
Creating economic opportunities in south Columbus
Kelly said South Columbus is important to him. His daughter’s grandparents and many of his in-laws live there.
“We actually did our gender reveal right in Oakland Park on Blan Street,” he said.
Kelly advocates for a holistic approach to growing economic opportunities in south Columbus.
He said that part of the city needs infrastructure upgrades because, in many areas, “when it rains, it floods.”
Kelly wants to see work done on the sewage system, more sidewalks and more lighting in south Columbus. More vocational training should be offered there for children and young adults, he said.
“The truth is, not everybody is going to go to college,” Kelly said. “That is not everybody’s path in life.”
Many viable trades pay well, he said, such as barbers, welders or electricians. This training is available at Jordan Vocational High School and Columbus Technical College, Kelly said, but he wants it expanded and better funded at a state or federal level.
Kelly said he would work to bring in more medium and large companies and businesses to help generate revenue and create jobs.
Plan for the infrastructure in Columbus
One of his priorities, Kelly said, is ensuring the infrastructure in Columbus is maintained well..
“We have infrastructure that’s not even that old but is starting to fail,” he said.
Within his first 100 days as mayor, Kelly said, he would assess properties that are condemned and scheduled for demolition to determine whether any are suitable for transitional housing.
If that isn’t possible, Kelly said, the demolition process should work faster and more efficiently.
Potholes also should be fixed quickly, Kelly said.
“That seems to be, honestly, the biggest infrastructure complaint I get from residents,” he said. “Almost every community member I talk to says something about potholes. And that’s something that could easily be fixed.”
Managing the Columbus budget
Many questions arise about the impact on Muscogee County if the Georgia General Assembly eliminates or reduces property taxes, Kelly said.
If the legislature eliminates the property tax, he said, then the most feasible way for Columbus to make up for that loss of revenue would be to raise the sales tax, which already is 9% in Columbus (4% goes to state, the rest local) — tied for highest in Georgia, as of last April.
“That’s not realistic,” Kelly said. “So, where is this additional money going to come from?”
The proposed data center could be an answer, he said, which could decrease the burden of sales and property taxes on residents. Kelly would also lean on bringing in more medium and large businesses that could generate additional revenue for the city.
“We are going to have some issues that we’re going to face in the future that are coming that people are talking about a little bit,” he said. “But they’re not raising as much of an issue as they probably should be.”
Public safety
If elected mayor, Kelly said, he will establish strong relationships with Columbus Police Department Chief Stoney Mathis, who plans to leave CPD by the end of this year, and Muscogee County Sheriff Greg Countryman.
Kelly said he wants to make it easier for residents to acquire doorbell cameras, which could work with CPD’s system to decrease crime.
He also said he wants to learn more about school zone cameras to determine whether they could be restructured.
When it comes to working with federal agencies, like the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Kelly said he would let them execute their jobs as long as what they are doing is legal.
“My number one priority is the safety of the residents of Columbus,” he said.
While he does not want local law enforcement to proactively assist agencies like ICE without warrants, Kelly said that doesn’t mean they would not intervene at all.
“As a combat veteran, I know that if I am out there in contact, getting shot at, ambushed or anything else, I’m praying for help to come,” Kelly said. “We will not leave them just sitting out there all alone. We will assist them out of said situation.”
But, unless he is required to, Kelly said, he does not plan for local agencies to assist with their day-to-day operations.
Planned initiatives
Kelly said he wants to implement an initiative focused on youth engagement, expanding recreational centers and updating playgrounds.
“We still have some playgrounds that need to get replaced or rebuilt,” he said.
Kelly said he also wants to partner with Fort Benning to create a mentorship program, especially for young people who might not plan to go to college.
Mentorship programs often miss the highest-risk kids, Kelly said. He envisions creating a program to target young people who fall through the cracks.
“The platform that I am running on is crime and public safety, homelessness and poverty, youth engagement, infrastructure and economic growth,” Kelly said. “So, even though youth engagement is number three, it really ties directly in with number one.”
