BREAKING: Columbus Safety Collective Campaign and Columbus Elected Officials Reach Historic Agreement, Placing Unified Crisis Response Proposal on May Ballot

Columbus, OH – Tonight, Columbus City Council officially referred The Community Crisis Response Amendment to appear on the City of Columbus’ May 2026 primary election ballot. The Columbus Safety Collective Campaign reached a historic agreement with the Columbus City Council and Mayor’s Office to compromise on a collaborative charter amendment petition advancing public safety.

Specifically, the amendment will:

• Create a community crisis response system that is fully integrated into the City’s 911 response system;
• Enable non-police community crisis response workers (including trained social workers, behavioral health professionals, peer supporters, and EMTs) to meet the needs of community members experiencing behavioral health crises;
• Establish an advisory board that will work with and evaluate the entire crisis response system

City Council also voted to refer to the ballot the Safety Collective’s initial proposal, which they intend to withdraw in the days to come, leaving solely the collaboratively-written charter amendment in front of voters. Conversations with labor leaders also shaped the compromise proposal, which they support.

“Public safety has never been static. It has always evolved with every generation to meet the realities of its time: from night watches to modern police; from bucket brigades to fire departments; and from police transport to EMS when we learned medical crises require onsite care. Each step taught the same lesson: the right response saves lives,” said Council President Shannon Hardin. “Today, as we confront rising mental health, homelessness, and substance use crises, this charter amendment is the latest chapter on the long arc that bends towards justice and progress. I am grateful to the Columbus Safety Collective for their half-decade of organizing and advocacy that got us here. City Council looks forward to championing this proposal that we developed collaboratively with them.”

Statement from The Columbus Safety Collective Campaign Executive Committee: “This moment has been years in the making and we are so proud of our grassroots campaign for putting forward a proposal that will transform our city for the better, save lives, and reduce violence. Our alternate crisis response plan is common-sense, popular, grounded in research, and driven by impacted families. We are grateful to Columbus City leaders for sharing our vision for public safety and community care, and honoring the views of the nearly 30,000 residents who signed our petition. This compromised plan marks a significant, positive milestone in community relations and transparency with elected officials. We are ready to embark on the get-out-the-vote phase of this campaign and are confident this proposal will make history in May.”

“Every resident who calls us in crisis should get the specialized response they deserve,” said Columbus City Councilmember Emmanuel V. Remy, Chair of the Public Safety & Criminal Justice Committee. “Enabling clinicians and social workers to take the lead on substance abuse, mental health, and homelessness emergencies allows us to dedicate our law enforcement personnel to getting guns off the streets and taking on violent crime.”

“In the past five years, Columbus has emerged as a leader in alternative crisis response, helping thousands of people get to the care they need in a safe and supportive way,” said Mayor Andrew J. Ginther. “The strong public support behind the Columbus Safety Collective Campaign’s efforts show that residents want us to continue to build on our progress. I’m grateful we can work together to strengthen this measure, allowing us to go further, faster in resourcing this programming and getting our residents in crisis the care that best serves their needs.”

“As community expectations change around crisis response, law enforcement must evolve with them. Our officers respond to complex mental health and addiction calls every single day — and we recognize not every situation requires a badge and a gun,” said President Brian A. Steel of FOP Capital City Lodge #9. “A properly structured alternative crisis response model can improve outcomes for people in crisis while allowing officers to focus on violent crime. Public safety works best when elected officials, service providers, law enforcement, fire, and public FOP 9/Local 67 labor organizations sit at the same table.”

Additionally, the Columbus Safety Collective Campaign released polling conducted by Public Policy Polling that underscores the popularity and strength of this proposal amongst Columbus voters. Topline results show that 68% of voters say they’d vote “yes”, and the research also shows a clear cost to elected officials, with 41% of voters saying they’d be less likely to vote for a candidate who opposed the amendment, a massive plurality.

“The poll shows overwhelming support for the proposed Community Crisis Response Amendment, and clear costs to any local elected official who opposes it,” added Jim Williams with Public Policy Polling.

The original measure was ordinance 0649-2026, while the measure for the alternative is ordinance 0657-2026. The alternative differs in offering the City more flexibility in program design, implementation timeline, and funding requirements. However, the agreement reached also includes this language in the ordinance to compel the City to meet implementation milestones one year earlier than the proposed charter amendment would have, as a sign of good faith and shared commitment:

SECTION 6. That in the event the Charter Amendment is adopted by the electorate, the Department of Public Safety, Columbus Public Health, and any other applicable department, division, or office as may be further designated by ordinance of Council, are directed to develop a plan for a community crisis response services system, inclusive of non-police crisis teams, to be operational by February 1, 2028 and to be available as needed twenty four hours a day and seven days a week by February 1, 2030.

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Formed in 2020, the Columbus Safety Collective is an advocacy collective of organizations and community members dedicated to creating a safer and more just Columbus for all residents. The campaign is founded by ACLU of Ohio, Ohio Families Unite for Political Action and Change, Ohio Organizing Collaborative, and Ohio Voice, and is endorsed by a broad coalition of organizations, including Indivisible Central Ohio, Ohio Citizen Action, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio, Ohioans Against Extremism, Black Men Build, Law Enforcement Action Partnership, National Association of Social Workers – Ohio Chapter, Ohio Women’s Alliance, OPAWL – Building AAPI Feminist Leadership, Working Families Party, and more.