About Councilmember Tyson
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A dedicated leader and lifelong resident of Columbus, Priscilla R.
Tyson joined Columbus City Council in January of 2007. On City Council, she has
worked for job creation, economic development, safety, and a high quality of
life for the residents of Columbus. In her previous role as chair of the
Finance Committee, Councilmember Tyson led the effort to pass the city’s
largest ever General Fund and Capital Improvements Budgets. As chair of the Health
and Human Services and Workforce Development committees, her work addresses
many of our community’s highest priorities, including access to healthcare and
job training.
Councilmember Tyson’s proudest achievements include investing in
programs designed to create pathways out of poverty; increasing access to food
and employment opportunities; sponsoring homelessness prevention programs;
funding $1.7 million in home repairs in the Driving Park neighborhood through
the James Johnson Driving Park Home Repair Program; creating the first city
funding for community gardening and the Columbus Arts Commission; increasing
funding to recruit more small and minority businesses for nuisance abatement
contracts; and updating the Columbus Civil Rights Code to protect people on the
basis of age, disability, sex, gender identity or expression, familial status,
and military status. In 2016 Councilmember Tyson partnered with Franklin County
Commissioner John O’Grady to pass one of the first joint City-County Food Plans
in the nation aimed at reducing food insecurity. Councilmember Tyson in an
effort to improve the overall health of Columbus residents - successfully
passed T21 legislation which raised the legal age of selling tobacco products
from 18 to 21.
Councilmember Tyson is an advocate for our community at the
federal and state levels. She is a National League of Cities’ (NLC) Board
member, a member of the Finance Committee for the NLC, the Immediate Past President
of the NLC’s National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials, and a member of
the Board for the Ohio Municipal League. In these roles, Councilmember Tyson
and her colleagues champion the interests of cities and towns before elected
and administrative officials.
After a distinguished career in banking and healthcare, Councilmember
Tyson founded City Year Columbus and led the organization for thirteen years as
it provided thousands of hours of volunteer service to students and teachers in
our public schools.
Councilmember Tyson serves on the board of the Greater Columbus
Arts Council. She also serves on the City Council’s Small Business Roundtable.
Previously, she served on the advisory committee of Partners Achieving
Community Transformation. She has also served as the Services to Youth chair of
The Links, Inc. and as a member of the Columbus Education Commission.
Councilmember Tyson has been honored with the YWCA Women of Achievement Award,
the Ohio Hispanic Coalition’s Padrino Award, the Columbus Education Association’s
Martin Luther King Humanitarian of the Year Award, the Amethyst 2013 Purple
Heart Award, the 2014 Making a Difference Community Service Award, and the
Progressive Leadership Academy Outstanding Public Service Award, the 2016
Aspire Award recipient from the Godman Guild, the a Sickle Cell Service Award
from the Faith Thomas Foundation, recognized by the National Alliance on Mental
Illness, the Berean Leadership Award as well as numerous other recognitions.
Councilmember Tyson grew up in the Shepard community in Northeast
Columbus, graduated from the former Eastmoor High School, and earned her
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Franklin University. She
and her husband reside in Eastmoor and are the proud parents of five grown children.
Operating Budget Priorities: Under
Tyson’s guidance, as Chair of the Finance Committee, the city saved money,
reformed city government, become more efficient – while keeping its promises from
2009 and maintaining a AAA Bond rating – which is one of the best ratings held
by any major city in the United States. Councilmember
Tyson also led passage of the $872,713,000.00 Operating Budget for 2017 – which
was the largest budget proposed at that time. Commission on Black Girls: One of Tyson’s proudest achievements include
the establishment of a 25 member Commission on Black Girls which was
established in July of 2018. The Commission was established to study and assess
the quality of life of Black girls in Central Ohio. The Commission is developing
and implementing recommendations to ensure opportunities, successful futures,
and the achievement of a high quality of life for Black girls in Columbus. It
is focused on girls ages 11-22 the Commission will first participate in
fact-finding and education to learn more about the current quality of life for Black
girls in Columbus.