COLUMBUS — A former Republican governor of Ohio and two former big-city mayors who are Democrats have come together to lead a new foundation that will provide policy and research help to a group of Ohio’s largest cities and suburbs.
Republican Gov. Bob Taft, former Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman and former Cleveland Mayor Jane Campbell will lead the nonprofit Ohio Mayors Alliance Foundation, the group announced Monday.
The foundation’s executive director will be Keary McCarthy, who serves the same role at the Ohio Mayors Alliance, a bipartisan advocacy group founded in 2016 to elevate the needs and interests of cities and metropolitan areas in the eyes of state and federal policymakers.
Taft said the affiliated foundation will work with the alliance to support mayors as they implement new local policy initiatives. It will also provide mayors a sounding board for their ideas and a place to go for support as they work to implement them, Campbell said.
