Interest is running high among local Democrats hoping to fill a vacant seat on the Franklin County Board of Commissioners.
Columbus City Council President Pro Tempore Elizabeth Brown, state Rep. Erica Crawley, Franklin County Clerk of Courts Maryellen O’Shaughnessy, Worthington School Board member Sam Shim and Gahanna-Jefferson School Board President Beryl Piccolantonio have announced their intentions to seek the appointment, with many others considering the race.
“I know (they) all won’t run, but I think the list was in the double digits last week,” said Michael Sexton, chairman of the Franklin County Democratic Party’s Executive Committee.
Who are the leading Democrats seeking to replace Marilyn Brown as Franklin County commissioner?
New policy expands paid family leave for Franklin County employees
The Franklin County commissioners expand a new policy to ensure all county employees receive paid family leave, a major step toward increases in gender and racial equity.
The new policy is an extension of the commissioners Paid Family and Medical Leave put in place last year. The expansion went into effect at the beginning of the year and allows county workers to take up to eight weeks of paid leave for events such as childbirth, adoption, care for seriously ill family members, quarantine and for treatment due to COVID-19.
The previous policy, made permanent in 2020, was limited to two weeks per year and was required to be taken all at once, as opposed to intermittent use for caregiving purposes. Commission spokeswoman Jodi Andes said the policy s expansion provides more flexibility for the county s nearly 1,400 employees.