Incumbent Councilmember Les Carrier joined hosts Jordan, Tim, and reporter Kevin Corvo for Hilliard Beacon Audio Companion #130 (during a happier moment when Cleveland was still in the playoffs - back on October 2nd) to discuss his decision to seek a fourth term on Hilliard City Council and reflect on his tenure.
Carrier cited several accomplishments that have marked his political terms in Hilliard. A major calling card was Issue 9, which restricted residential TIFs, then following on and establishing a dedicated recreation and parks fund with Issue 22. He emphasized that these actions (and resident votes on these issues) have made Hilliard something of a model for surrounding cities like Marysville and New Albany as well as Gahanna as they also go through similar development cycles.
Looking forward, Carrier said his campaign is newly driven by concerns about visibility of faith in public life for all residents, transparency in development decisions, and maintaining what he regularly calls “neighborly” growth rather than revenue-maximizing zoning.
He criticized recent changes to council rules that eliminated the invocation from meetings, describing the move as a break with tradition and emblematic of a growing disconnect between local and national values. He also questioned the city’s emphasis of a “revenue-per-acre” model in its comprehensive plan, warning it risks prioritizing profits over community needs, using the city’s pickleball facility debate as a symbol of that imbalance.
The conversation turned to Hilliard’s pending city manager search. Carrier reflected on lessons from the first city manager hire, expressing a desire for someone seeking consensus on council, who understands community engagement and avoids what Les calls “bureaucratic inertia” of top down governance. He revealed that Hilliard’s recent community survey results, which he claims showed declining resident satisfaction and feelings of inclusivity, were initially withheld from Council and remain unreleased to the wider public - prompting him to file a records request. The Hilliard Beacon has asked Councilman Carrier to provide those materials so that we can file a follow-up.
Carrier also noted he is concerned with ongoing staffing challenges, particularly in recreation, suggesting partnerships with the YMCA and more competitive hiring strategies. If elected, he warned that Hilliard’s fast-growing infrastructure needs a closer look, criticizing the idea that the city’s traffic network is already “overbuilt.”
Lastly, we touched on the emerging changes being made to Hilliard’s ongoing Amazon data center projects and an upcoming vote in City Council.
Carrier acknowledged that while these projects deliver significant tax and infrastructure contributions there are ongoing ecological concerns about resource strain, resident tolerance for ongoing operational noise and volume of construction is always a consideration.
We thank Les for joining us on the way to the November election!
(Music and production by Tim Hofmann for Franklin Street Studios)
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