Let’s stop acting like this is random growth. In Columbus, the same names keep showing up in two places, campaign finance reports and major development projects. According to reporting, more than 70% of Mayor Andrew Ginther’s campaign money comes from development, real estate, and infrastructure interests. That includes names like Alex Fischer, Alison Marker, Matthew Ferris, the Pizzuti Companies PAC, and Edwards Companies CEO Jeffrey Edwards. Ginther raised about $248,000 by mid-2025 and still had roughly $436,000 sitting in his account. That’s not small money, and it’s not coming from average residents.

Now go back a few years. From 2016 to 2019, major developers gave at least $440,000 to the mayor and Columbus City Council members. CASTO led with over $82,000, Kaufman Development gave over $69,000, Wagenbrenner Development over $61,000, Pizzuti Companies over $61,000, and Wood Companies over $52,000. Ginther alone received about $215,000 from developers during that time. Same industry. Same influence. Same outcome, they stay in the room.

Now look at what those donors actually do. Pizzuti is tied to Astor Park, a major mixed-use project near Lower.com Field. The residential phase alone includes 261 units, with a larger plan of around 440 units plus office and retail space. Pizzuti openly credits the City of Columbus, Franklin County, the State of Ohio, and private partners for helping make it happen. That’s public-private development at scale, and the people funding campaigns are part of it.

Move to East Franklinton. Kaufman Development is tied to Gravity, one of the most aggressive redevelopment pushes in the city. The city approved a 75% tax abatement for 10 years tied to over $31 million in improvements, part of a broader $195 million project including office space, apartments, and a 900-space garage. On top of that, the city approved a TIF and added millions more for infrastructure. That’s taxpayer-influenced support going into a project led by one of the same developer classes funding campaigns.

Now go to Harrison West. Wagenbrenner Development, now Thrive Companies, helped fund community activity in the area and then moved forward with Founders Park, a $200 million mixed-use project. The city approved a 10-year, 75% tax abatement worth an estimated $7.7 million. And even when “affordable housing” is mentioned, it’s often tied to income levels around $60,000 plus, which is out of reach for many Black households in Columbus.

Downtown, Edwards Companies continues to shape the core of the city. The same Jeffrey Edwards donating to campaigns is tied to redevelopment across multiple downtown blocks and pushing new high-rise mixed-use projects. Again, not illegal, but the overlap is constant. The people funding the system are building the system.

So let’s say it clearly. The same class of developers is funding political campaigns, building major projects, receiving tax abatements, and shaping land use decisions. You won’t find a document that says “we paid for this vote,” because that would be illegal. But you will find a pattern where access, influence, and priorities align with the people who have the money.

Now ask yourself where Black Columbus sits in this. Columbus’ own housing report says Black households are disproportionately impacted by the housing crisis. Black homeownership sits around 32 to 33%, while white homeownership is near 69%. Black-owned homes are valued about 20% less. That means less equity, less leverage, less ability to buy into the very neighborhoods being redeveloped.

So when development hits, Black communities are not entering from a position of strength. They’re entering from a position of vulnerability. Rising property values don’t benefit you if you don’t own the property. New “affordable” units don’t help if the price point is still out of reach. And by the time most residents hear about a project, the land is already bought, the plans are already drawn, and the funding is already aligned.

Then look at representation. Columbus uses a hybrid at-large system, meaning even though councilmembers live in districts, the entire city votes on them. That means a community can vote one way and still lose to citywide influence. That’s not local control. That’s diluted power.

Then look at the so-called community input system. Area commissions are advisory only. They do not have the authority to stop anything. Studies have shown these systems often favor older, white, property-owning voices and exclude people who don’t operate within that structure. So even when Black residents show up, the system isn’t built for their influence to carry weight.

Now bring it back to Bronzeville and the Near East Side. Once a thriving Black community of tens of thousands, it was gutted by highways and disinvestment. Now development is returning, but ownership hasn’t returned with it. That means history is repeating, investment comes back, but control does not.

So when people ask why Black people don’t have a seat at the table, here’s the real answer. The table is built on capital, land ownership, and political access. Black Columbus has been systematically locked out of all three for generations. And now that the city is growing, the same system is accelerating without correcting that imbalance.

This is not about saying every politician is corrupt. This is about saying the structure itself is imbalanced. The people with money have more access, more influence, and more control over what gets built, where it gets built, and who benefits from it.

Now here’s the part that matters.

Black Columbus cannot keep reacting after the fact. You cannot wait until the ribbon is cut to ask questions. You cannot rely on advisory boards with no power. You cannot expect representation from a system that dilutes your vote. The focus has to shift.

Demand true district-based elections where communities control their own representation. Demand full transparency that connects campaign donors to projects, tax abatements, and city contracts in one place. Demand community benefit agreements before projects are approved, not after they’re built. Demand investment in Black ownership, not just Black residency. Land, property, development funds, that’s where the power is.

If you are not in the ownership, you are in the outcome.

And right now, the outcome is being decided without you.