New faces in offices of city attorney, auditor
Two new people will take over offices held by longstanding officials after Tuesday’s election. Columbus City Council President Zach Klein won his race for city attorney, replacing Richard C. Pfeiffer. And Megan Kilgore, a former deputy in the city auditor’s office, will replace Auditor Hugh J. Dorrian, who is retiring after holding the job since 1969, Reporters Rick Rouan and Mark Ferenchik write.
Two of Columbus’ longestserving elected officials will be succeeded by members of their own party.
Columbus City Council President Zach Klein won his race for city attorney, and Megan Kilgore, a former deputy in the city auditor’s office, won her election to that office Tuesday. Both are Democrats who had the support of the current officeholders.
They will succeed City Attorney Richard C. Pfeiffer, who has held that job since 2003, and Auditor Hugh J. Dorrian, who has
won every election since he was appointed to the post in 1969.
With 97 percent of Franklin County precincts reporting Tuesday night, Klein was winning with 72 percent of the vote. Kilgore was winning with 77 percent of the vote.
Klein beat out private practice attorney Don Kline, 41, a Republican. Kilgore defeated Republican business executive Bob Mealy, 61.
Klein, 38, has been a city councilman since he was first appointed in 2011. He won re-election in 2015 and lost for Franklin County prosecutor in 2016.
“The No. 1 priority is continuing the legacy of Rick Pfeiffer, of giving back to the community, of transparency,” Klein said Tuesday. “That’s something I’ve mimicked as council president.”
Klein said he plans to bring Amy O’Grady, the city’s opioid czar, to his office to help tackle the city’s
addiction epidemic.
Klein said during the campaign that criminal-justice reform and fighting opioid addiction would be among his top priorities.
He also wants to expand the “zone initiative,” a plan that Pfeiffer started to battle landlords who aren’t maintaining properties and to shutter businesses that attract crime.
Kline said he thought his campaign was able to get across to voters about where he stands. “We ran a very strong campaign. I completely enjoyed meeting all the people in the community,” he said.
Kilgore, 35, won her first run for political office Tuesday. She
spent 11 years in the auditor’s office with Dorrian, working as assistant city auditor from 2004 to 2015. She has been a municipal finance adviser for H.J. Umbaugh & Associates for the past two years.
The auditor oversees the city’s revenue stream and sets the budget number that the mayor cannot exceed when he presents his budget to council each November.
Kilgore said during the campaign that it is important to manage the city’s finances to maintain its AAA bond rating, which was reaffirmed earlier this year. She opposed a proposal that would let the city exceed state-mandated debt caps, though she cannot stop the council from putting it before voters as a charter change.
Turning to Dorrian during her victory speech, Kilgore thanked him for his support: “Sincerely, I appreciate being a member of your family. I hope I make you proud.”
Mealy said he felt like he was running against Dorrian and the Democratic political machine.
“It’s all this money,” Mealy said. “Did I comprehend what I was up against? I really didn’t. I learned a lot from it.”