With a crowd spilling into the foyer, Bexley City Council voted Sept. 30 to elect the city's Recreation and Parksdirector as its new mayor.
Michael C. Price was approved unanimously as Bexley's new mayor, effective immediately. The council had signaled its intent to elect Price following a Sept. 29 executive session when they interviewed three candidates.
Price's ascendancy to the mayor's post comes three weeks after Ben Kessler, who served as the city's mayor for around 14 years, announced Sept. 9 that he was resigning to take a job as the executive director of the Regional Housing Coalition for the Columbus Partnership.Kessler formally resigned on Sept. 30.
Who is Michael Price, Bexley's new mayor?
Price was born and raised in Bexley and graduated from Bexley High School in 1997, according
to his biography on the city website. He graduated from then-Otterbein College with a bachelor's degree in sports management and a minor in business.
Price has worked with the city Recreation and Parks Department since 2003 and has been its director for the past 17 years. Price's family roots in Bexley go back four generations, he told attendees after taking the oath of office.
Ten people applied to become the city's next mayor. Interviews were held with three finalists during an executive session at a special City Council meeting on Sept. 29. The other two candidates were Tim Pitts, and Jennifer Fening, the former deputy communications director for Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther.
"It's the honor of a lifetime to have the faith of City Council and the community to lead the city," Price told The Dispatch. Asked about his priorities, Price said he will focus on maintaining the city's stability, continuing projects already underway or in the pipeline, and working on the city's budget as officials enter budget season.
Price also said the city would continue to evaluate the Ferndale-Mayfield site located off of East Livingston Avenue. The Dispatch reported in June that the approximately 10-acre area was once a private, unregulated landfill dating back to the 1930s that was never properly capped, exposing residents to toxins within the soil.
"We've made a lot of investments in the area, and it's important to us that residents in the area have safe and healthy living conditions, and we'll continue to evaluate and address it," Price said.
Longtime mayor Kessler lauded on last day
Before the vote took place, a few people who knew or worked with departing Mayor Kessler took to the podium and praised Kessler on his accomplishments during his tenure as mayor.
"You have put a best practice into our organization, you've elevated every aspect of Bexley and the Bexley Police Department," said Police Chief Gary Lewis. He also said that Kessler has "been out front, hand in hand" with Lewis during times of "chaos."
Susan Quintenz, who has worked with Kessler on initiatives to promote greenery in Bexley, said Kessler "ushered the community into a golden age."
"You transformed a sleepy, predictable, inner ring suburb into a happy place, a golden place," Quintenz said.
After the meeting adjourned, Kessler told The Dispatch that no longer being the city's mayor was "surreal" and "bittersweet," but he is looking forward to starting his new job Oct. 1 with the Columbus Partnership. He said he will be making one last stop at City Hall to help Price with onboarding.
“My heart is full of gratitude for the opportunity to serve this community, and the support and trust Bexley has given me along the way,” Kessler said in a prepared release. “While it is bittersweet to say goodbye, I am excited and optimistic about what the new Mayor will bring, and I am confident in the talented team we have at every level of ourcity government, a team that will ensure Bexley’s legacy of top-notch resident services.”
Even though his new job will keep his hands full, Kessler said he plans to focus time on some hobbies, including cooking and his list of home improvement projects.
Reporter Shahid Meighan can be reached at smeighan@dispatch.com, at ShahidMeighan on X, and at shahidthereporter.dispatch.com on Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Bexley City Council selects city's Recreation and Parks director as new mayor
