Ohio, Columbus residents have selected Olabisi Eddy’s policy idea of “Landlord-Tenant Mediation” as the issue they would like to see championed in City Hall by Council President Pro Tem Elizabeth Brown.

Five Columbus residents pitched their policy ideas to Council President Pro Tempore Elizabeth Brown, Councilmember Priscilla Tyson and Councilmember Shayla Favor for Columbus’ first-ever Policy Pitch Night.

The virtual event, originally scheduled to take place in person this past March, gave everyday residents the chance to present creative solutions to the issues that matter to them most.

The goal of Olabisi Eddy’s presentation “is to help prevent the harm that evictions inflict upon families by ensuring that landlords and tenants work together to explore better outcomes for each party through mediation.”

“We want to tap into the knowledge of everyday residents as we work to support the success of every person in Columbus,” said Pro Tem Brown.

“All of the proposals were fantastic, and I’m excited to work with Olabisi Eddy to help her advance her policy.”

The four other policy proposals, selected by a group of local grassroots leaders and community members as finalists, included ideas around:

• Providing tools to help daycare centers achieve at least 1-star certification so that they can continue to receive Step-Up funds.
• Creating a City-level division of mobility and economic policy to focus on equitable non-highway transportation.
• Allocating $2 million in City funding to expand the SNAP-Ed program in high-need Columbus neighborhoods.
• Permanently expunging eviction records for residents who participate in financial literacy classes or other relevant workshops.

Policy Pitch Night originated in Cincinnati two years ago when Cincinnati City Council Member P.G. Sittenfeld partnered with Cohear, pledging to bring the winning policy to City Hall. The annual event has been a resounding success in Cincinnati.

Winner of the City of Columbus Policy Pitch Nigher, Olabisi Eddy studied at Carnegie Mellon University and was a former Graduate Assistant at Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy.