Columbus primary voters overwhelmingly supported sending clinicians, not police officers, to some nonviolent 911 calls, according to unofficial results.
About 77% of voters said yes to Issue 5, according to unofficial vote totals with 99% of precincts reporting.
Early vote totals were so decisive that the Columbus Safety Collective opened champagne and declared victory on city Issue 5 shortly after polls closed.
The city has already been moving toward alternative crisis response models in recent years but the charter amendment will create a new city service separate from police or fire. Civilian professionals like counselors or social workers will respond to calls about some people dealing with a mental health crisis, homelessness or substance use.
The amendment will commit the city to standing up these non-police crisis teams by 2028 and making them available round-the-clock by 2030. The ballot issue does not include an associated tax increase.
Chana Wiley, co-chair of the Columbus Safety Collective, said this amendment will build trust in the city and set up the correct response.
“It will also save lives so someone will not be harmed, criminalized or victimized for having a health care crisis,” Wiley said.
For Wiley, it’s personal. She has been advocating on this issue since her younger brother, 36-year-old Jaron Thomas, died in 2017, days after Columbus police responded to his call for help. She said election night finally felt like getting some justice.
Issue 5 was initiated by the Columbus Safety Collective, which includes the ACLU of Ohio and local activists, after more than five years of pushing the city to reimagine policing. The issue has broad support from Democrats who rule City Hall and from the labor unions for city police and fire. There is no organized opposition to the issue.
The issue on the ballot is revised from the one for which the Columbus Safety Collective originally gathered more than 30,000 signatures. City Hall leaders and the Collective made tweaks to win over union support and move up the timeline for implementation. Columbus City Council placed a modified version on the ballot and the Safety Collective agreed to withdraw its measure.
Columbus City Council President Shannon Hardin said this is a huge step forward for the city and a promise delivered.
“Tonight we are celebrating a community win,” Hardin said. “I think this will make Columbus a safer, more just city.”
Issue 5 will also require the city to create a new advisory panel on all alternative response programs in the city. Mayor Andrew Ginther has already started developing that panel.
“Tonight’s approval of Issue 5 reflects Columbus residents’ commitment to ensuring people in crisis receive the right response at the right time, building on five years of progress that has made our city a leader in alternative crisis response and helped thousands of residents access care,” Ginther said in a press release.
A report commissioned by the city estimated that having a civilian response unit to fully cover the city could take more than 70 full-time employees with annual costs of about $11 million to $14 million.
For context, the city’s 2026 general fund budget is over $1.2 billion and includes about $827 million for public safety.
Government and politics reporter Jordan Laird can be reached at jlaird@dispatch.com. Follow her on X, Instagram and Bluesky at @LairdWrites.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus voters want clinicians, not cops, responding to some 911 calls
Reporting by Jordan Laird, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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