Mayors urge regional collaboration to tackle housing, homelessness and economic growth

Columbus, Toledo, Findlay and Lima mayors said at a Columbus Metropolitan Club forum in Downtown Columbus that Ohio cities must work together to sustain growth, expand affordable housing and plug gaps left by federal funding changes.

The forum, hosted at the National Veterans Memorial and Museum and moderated by Stacia Nakhwin, brought four mayors to the same stage to discuss regional collaboration for talent, investment and visibility. Columbus Mayor Andy Ginther described the city’s recent bond package as the largest housing commitment in the city’s history and said the city is pursuing a regional housing coalition with the goal of getting 200,000 housing units into the pipeline over the next decade to make housing affordable for workers. "If you work in this community, you should be able to afford to live here,"…