Councilmember Emmanuel V. Remy Bio
Councilmember
Emmanuel V. Remy has served the residents of Columbus on City Council since
January 8, 2018. He is Chair of the Administration, Environment, and Public
Safety Committees.
During
his tenure on Council, Emmanuel has worked to meet and better understand the
needs of each neighborhood in Columbus. Under his direction, the City has
created new programs to better serve residents, reviewed and amended policies
to foster more diversity in City staff hiring, and ushered in a new Council
Districting Map for the 2023 Election of Columbus City Councilmembers.
As
Chair of the Environment Committee, Emmanuel created the Cleaner Columbus
Initiative in 2019, designed to promote educational opportunities and public
engagement to combat litter, promote recycling, and stop illegal dumping with
help from Scarlet the Litter Cardinal. In November 2020, the Cleaner Columbus
Employment Program pilot using CARES Act funding launched with great success.
In just three weeks, this program temporarily employed residents at $15 an hour
to clean up litter in various neighborhoods. In 2021 Councilmember Remy led the
Cleaner Columbus Student Grant that gave $500 to student organizations that
cleaned up litter and continued the Cleaner Columbus Employment Program. This
year, Cleaner Columbus hosted a Community Cleanup in April 2022 and launch a
public service announcement campaign to educate residents and visitors about
the ramifications of littering.
Outside
of Emmanuel’s committee work, his office has a strong passion for Welcoming and
resettlement work in Columbus. In 2019 Columbus City Council and Emmanuel hosted
the City’s first ever Naturalization Ceremony in Council Chambers. In 2020 his
office was awarded grant dollars through Welcoming America to create a
Resilient Rapid Response Initiative which led to contracting with local
partners to create and disseminate COVID-19 PSA videos in multiple languages. Most
recently Emmanuel helped create “Central Ohio’s Plan for Welcoming Immigrants
and Refugees” by partnering with US Together, Franklin County Commissioner
Kevin Boyce, Welcoming America, and the American Immigration Council through
the Gateways for Growth (G4G) Initiative grant. Central Ohio will continue in
the G4G implementation cohort with technical assistance and grant support in
2022.
Emmanuel
serves on the Greater Columbus Arts Council as a Board Member for Columbus City
Council and is heavily involved in the National League of Cities, having served
on numerous boards and task forces and attending City Summits and Congressional
Conferences annually.
Emmanuel
works as a Realtor by trade, specializing in the residential market to help
buyers realize their dreams. Emmanuel is married to his wife, Liz, who works as
a teacher with Columbus City Schools and serves as the Columbus Education
Association (CEA) representative for her school. They have three children
enrolled in Columbus City Schools.
Prior
to joining Council, Emmanuel spent the past 6 years as the president of the
Northland Community Council (NCC). With over 130,000 residents covering 25
square miles of the city of Columbus, Northland represents a diverse population
that reflects the greater City as a whole.