Mayors reflect on leadership skills at ‘Our Mayors Remember’ event

City of Columbus leaders spanning generations gathered at The Commons to reflect on their time in office during a unique panel discussion.

“Legacy of Leadership — Our Mayors Remember” served as a glimpse into what it takes to be a mayor of a city but also a celebration of its history and the 38 people who have led it.

“Columbus has been fortunate to have exceptional business and civic leadership throughout our 200-year history,” Mayor Mary Ferdon said in an introduction from The Commons stage. “Perfect leadership? No, that doesn’t exist. But over the years we’ve had visionary leaders who’ve recruited successful businesses to grow a prosperous economy, as well as leaders who weathered national disasters—which we’ll probably talk about tonight— recessions, pandemics and national and world events.”

On hand were Nancy Ann Brown-Poynter (1980-1984), the city’s first female mayor, Sherry Stark, who served as deputy mayor under Robert Stewart (1984-1995), former mayors Fred Armstrong (1996-2011) and Jim Lienhoop (2016-2024), along with current Mayor Mary Ferdon.

Although Stewart died in 2015, his presence was made known via a cardboard cutout that stood behind Stark of the three-term mayor giving an enthusiastic thumbs-up.

The event, presented by Heritage Fund — the Community Foundation of Bartholomew County, was free to the public and donations from table sponsors went towards Heritage Fund’s Mayor’s Government Scholarship for recent BCSC graduates interested in studying a government-related program.

WCSI’S John Foster moderated the event, asking the former leaders about their biggest challenges while in office, qualities of an effective mayor, their legacies, even advice they would give Ferdon as her administration nears a year old.

Brown Poytner took office in 1980 and discussed the dismissiveness some men exhibited when she ran for and was in office. One person who did not treat her that way was J. Irwin Miller.

Early on in her tenure as mayor, there was a community meeting at Donner Center that still looms in her mind. When the meeting concluded, Miller called out to Brown Poytner to get her attention with several calls of, “Mayor Brown!” before getting her attention. The title was something she said she was still getting used to at the time.

“And he said, ‘I just want you to know that we think you’re going to do a good job. And if there’s ever anything you need, just give me a call. We’ll see what we can do. And I thanked him very much — and you know, I never made that call, but the men in the community changed their posture when they were talking to me after that, and that made a big difference.”

Jim Lienhoop reflected for the audience on what it was like as mayor following the 2020 murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers and the killing of Breonna Taylor by law enforcement in Louisville. He also told stories of steering the city through the pandemic.

“It’s a wanting task to be the one that people look to in a situation like that and be expected to try to make you feel a little better,” Lienhoop said.

Fred Armstrong, for his part, said his biggest challenge was following Stewart.

“That was a tough thing— a three-term mayor. Very, very popular guy. His wife was my second-grade school teacher, I loved her to death, and Bob actually was the one who convinced me to run for mayor,” Armstrong said. “… It’s been the greatest 16 years of my life—except for my wife— that I’ve ever had.”

He also discussed the devastating 2008 flood, recalling one anecdote that showed how some community members found blessings in unexpected places.

“I visited a lot of homes, a lot of people, a lot of basements,” Armstrong said of the flood’s aftermath. “…We went to a home, and this guy comes to me, ‘I want to show you my basement.’ ”

The two went downstairs where it was flooded, but the man told the former mayor it was no big deal.

“I said, ‘It looks like a pretty big deal to me,’ Armstrong recounted to audience members. “… He said, ‘You don’t realize that my three kids sleep down here, and if it would have happened during the night, they would never have a chance to get out of the way.’ That makes you stop and think a little bit about how blessed we are in an unfortunate situation.”

Ferdon talked a bit about running a city in an age where information is ubiquitous and finding a way to break through the noise to effectively communicate with constituents.

“Social media, for good or for evil, has changed our lives and how we communicate with the public, and I don’t see that changing. And so oftentimes, before I learn something, I see it or I hear about it on a social media site, and of course, it’s not 100% true, and, of course, it’s already attaching blame. It’s already stirring up people who are angry or upset, and it’s very difficult as a government— we’re behind from the very beginning.”

All six agreed that being an attentive listener is paramount to leading a city. Other advice included surrounding yourself with competent people, avoiding a tendency to micromanage and making sure a work-life balance is maintained.

“Bob Stewart would say, ‘surround yourself with people smarter than you are and you will look good,’ And of course, he was always the smartest in the room, but he made all of us department head people feel special and feel appreciated,” Stark, who also served as head of redevelopment during her time, said.

Ferdon observed just how different each mayor was.

“We all have different personalities. And so I think to be a good leader you really have to be authentic. When you talk about listening to people and caring about people and making good decisions — you have to be a good leader, but you have to do it based upon your personality.”