Below are the introductory statements from the seven candidates running for four open seats on the Worthington City Council. The candidate forum was hosted by the League of Women Voters and the Worthington Area Chamber of Commerce on September 12, 2024, at the McConnell Arts Center.
Each candidate was given one minute to introduce themselves and explain why they are running for city council.
Joycelyn Dong
Begins speaking at 0:51:10
Thank you so much for your time tonight and for coming out. My name is Joycelyn Dong. I was born and raised here in Worthington by my lovely parents who are also immigrant small business owners here in Worthington, Ohio. I graduated from Thomas Worthington, and after that, headed off to Northwestern to study biomedical engineering. After graduating from Northwestern, I stayed in Chicago for a little bit to really craft my expertise in designing thoughtful strategy to help financial institutions grow their businesses in order to make better client experiences. I returned to Worthington to take care of my aging family members, my dad, who's 92, my uncle, who's 89. They both have forms of dementia. So why am I running? I'm seeking to bring representation for the next generation, our small businesses, and our aging community here in Worthington. I think it's really important that we start to think about the future and design a future for all generations. Thank you.
Rebecca Herman
Begins speaking at 0:52:21
Hello, I'm Rebecca Herman. I'm currently on city council right now, so thank you for everyone who voted for me last time. I appreciate living here in Worthington. I moved here in 2002, married to my husband, who graduated from Worthington High School. It was not Thomas back then, so we're a little bit older. But I have an undergraduate in business management and an MBA with a concentration in finance. I have a background in economic development, and I also used to have my series seven in finance. So with everything that we have going on here in Worthington, I love it very much. We have a lot of plans that we've put together and I'm dedicated to making sure that we can continue that action. We've had action here most recently with our vision Worthington plan and I'm very excited with what we've done so far. I'm hopeful that you will see that I am an action-oriented person, that I'm here for you, and I'm making sure that our plans not only are completed, but our plans get action and move forward. We have the deer that we've taken care of, we have mitigation starting with that, and then we also have our pool. After 10 years, we finally have some type of a resolution for that. So I look forward to your vote this November to continue working for you. Thank you.
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Edward Johnston
Begins speaking at 0:53:48
Thank you everyone for coming tonight. I see a lot of familiar faces. I've been a lifelong resident of Worthington, graduating from Worthington High School. And I've had a business for the last 30 plus years in Worthington. It's API security services investigations. I'm the present CEO. I employ a lot of employees each year, as well as the majority of my contracts are outside Worthington. So why am I here? I feel that today we need more business. We need to move forward with looking at options for seniors, just like my mom that lived right off the Village Green for a number of years. She married Penny from the Penny family. And so I just feel that this is the right time to contribute and to serve all of you. Thank you.
Glenn Pratt
Begins speaking at 0:54:58
Thank you. Thank you everyone for being here. My name is Glenn Pratt. My wife and I have lived in Worthington now for 31 years, raised three sons and care deeply about the community and this is our chance to give back to the community and be part of the solution. I'm a retired public finance attorney. For more than four decades I spent my career helping to finance and build community assets like nonprofit hospitals, senior housing, economic development projects, and affordable housing. What does that mean for Worthington? That means I know how government works and I know how public money works. I know how to get things done by building consensus among a team of professionals with different perspectives and coming to a successful completion of a transaction that everyone can live with. Worthington is facing some challenges, both in economic development, we lost some significant employers recently, and we need to maintain our tax base and also provide for housing. We're not getting enough housing. Thank you.
Maria Ramirez
Begins speaking at 0:56:02
Well, thank you for being here today. My name is Maria Ramirez. I'm a 23-year Worthington resident and I am trained as an architect and urban planner. In my day job, I work as the public art coordinator for the Greater Columbus Arts Council and I have been an active and engaged volunteer in our community here in Worthington. I am running for Worthington City Council because I want to make sure that we keep a high quality of life for the people who live here and for the people who work here. And as a community, we came up with a really wonderful vision for how to improve the quality of life and seek a better future through the visioning process that brought our community together. But to reach that vision, we need to embrace some changes. What kind of changes? I support adding greater housing diversity in Worthington to better meet the needs of our local residents and to welcome new residents. I want to support local businesses so they can grow their businesses and stay here in Worthington and I want to have a high quality of life and ... [time was called]
David Robinson
Begins speaking at 0:57:18
Good evening. Thank you to the chamber and the League of Women's Voters for hosting this important event. I no longer take for granted American democracy. I think we're all learning that we have to we have to participate and cultivate it for it to remain strong and this grassroots community meeting is that and so it's a real honor to be here. I'm grateful to be here tonight. I'm a believer in the ability for us to, through common effort make the world a better place. And I think the folks that founded Worthington 225 years ago believed that and we're in that lineage. So that's why I'm running for Worthington City Council. It has been an honor and I hope you'll send me there for four more years. There's lots to get done and with a new council, I think we can do it. Thank you.
Michael Sharvin
Begins speaking at 0:58:12
Good evening, thank you for being here. My name is Michael Sharvin and I'm running for City Council because I believe our community is at a turning point. We need to be bold enough to ask for more and savvy enough to protect what matters most to us. I grew up here as I graduated from Thomas Worthington in 2002. I returned eight years ago with my wife and three kids who are aged four and a half, three and a half, and one and a half because I know this is a special place. As a real estate attorney, I've seen how projects succeed when they're carefully planned and I've also seen how they fail when they're not. I'm here to get things done. Residents tell me that they're tired of having to drive to other communities to visit their restaurants and their public spaces. When they would rather have those here in our community within walking distance and biking distance. My focus is on driving smart redevelopment of commercial corridors, expanding housing options for all ages and creating a vibrant public spaces where our community can come together and thrive.