COLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL) — Columbus city councilmember Byron Hickey has officially filed paperwork to run for mayor.
Hickey currently represents District 1, being appointed to the seat to fill the unexpired term of longtime councilor Jerry 'Pops' Barnes who died in April of 2024.
RELATED: Remembering longtime Columbus Councilor, Jerry 'Pops' Barnes
"We need somebody in that is going to bring change, something different," Councilmember Hickey said in an address to the media. "For the past 12 years or 8 years we've been getting the same old thing. I feel that I have that leadership ability to do so and I'm asking the people to get behind me."
Hickey joins District 7 Councilor Joanne Cogle in the 2026 mayor's race and former Columbus City Manager Isaiah Hugley.
On May 27, Hickey and Cogle voted to fire Hugley after 20 years as the city manager. Hugley had already announced his intention to retire at the end of the year. He was terminated on a 7-1 vote with councilors citing his handling of the city's finance department and animal control as the reasons for his firing. Although he was fired, the council voted to pay Hugley through the end of the year.
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