Who will succeed Pops Barnes on Columbus Council? State legislators back one candidate

Three state legislators representing Columbus have written a letter to the mayor and city councilors advocating for former state Rep. Calvin Smyre to be appointed to the council in place of Jerry “Pops” Barnes, who died April 14.

In the April 17 letter, written on Georgia General Assembly stationery, state Sen. Ed Harbison, state Rep. Carolyn Hugley and state Rep. Teddy Reese explain their rationale.

They say the council should appoint someone who has:

• Demonstrated understanding of intergovernmental works.

• History of working with or in a legislative body.

• Exceptional experience creating, debating and managing a multimillion-dollar or more budget.

• Understanding of the Columbus Consolidated Government and would have “a very little to no learning curve.”

• Experience working with the current councilors.

The state legislators say they wrote this letter after being contacted by “a great number of citizens” who “have respectfully requested that we, as their state leaders, express those desires.”

Barnes was the District 1 representative on the 10-member council. He was a Columbus Councilor for 17 years. He served 23 months of his current four-year term.

The city charter says the council appoints someone to fill the remainder of a councilor’s term if at least a year-and-a-half of that term has been served.

Muscogee County elections director Nancy Boren told the Ledger-Enquirer it is too late — at least 90 days are needed — for a District 1 special election to be on the May 21 ballot, when the even-numbered seats on the council will be up for election. So the person the council appoints to represent District 1 will serve until the May 2026 election.

The Ledger-Enquirer tried to contact each councilor to find out their thinking about the appointment to replace Barnes. None of the councilors wanted to discuss candidates on the record, but Smyre and retired Columbus police officer Byron Hickey are the two names that were mentioned as possibilities.

In 2010, a federal jury awarded Hickey $306,000 in a lawsuit claiming the city officials discriminated against him because he spoke out against racial and gender bias.

Smyre represented Columbus in the Georgia House for 48 years until 2022. He served as chairman of the House Democratic Caucus. He is president emeritus of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators and a former member of the National Conference of State Legislators.

In 1986, Smyre was appointed as the governor’s administrative floor leader, and in 2001, he was appointed chairman of the Democratic Party of Georgia — becoming the first African American to hold both positions.

In 2022, President Joe Biden nominated Smyre to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. The nomination is pending in the U.S. Senate.

In 2023, Biden nominated Smyre as one of five U.S. representatives to the 78^th Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations.

Asked for his reaction to the letter and whether he would accept the appointment if Columbus Council approves, Smyre emailed the Ledger-Enquirer the following statement Tuesday afternoon:

“While I was still grieving from the passing of my father; I was deeply saddened when I received the news that my friend, City Councilor Jerry ‘Pops’ Barnes had passed. My deepest sympathy and condolences to the entire Barnes Family. Out of respect for his family and the life he lived I want to pay my full respect by celebrating his life’s legacy and service to our community. While I am grateful and honored I strongly feel that it’s not the time for this discussion until after his (April 25) Celebration of Life. Going forward there will be ample time to consider a path forward.”

The council agrees. District 7 Councilor Joanne Cogle’s motion to delay appointing Barnes’ successor for 30 days unanimously was approved during Tuesday night’s meeting.

The L-E didn’t reach Hickey for comment before publication.