City & town

Mayor, City of Columbia

Vote for: 1
Candidates: 5
Election: Nov 3, 2026

What this office does: The mayor leads the city of Columbia, presides over its city council and represents it.

Nonpartisan. Open seat: Mayor Chaz Molder is not on the city ballot.

Candidates Compare by issue

Timothy Johnson

No party listed

The gist

Supports preserving land and slowing development
Pledges to stay accessible to residents

More about Timothy

View sources (1)

Supports preserving land and slowing development
Southern Middle TN Today News with Tom Price 9-29-26 (Mayoral Forum, from the Columbia Daily Herald)
News coverage · Front Porch Radio (Kennedy Broadcasting) · Sep 29, 2026 · frontporchradiotn.com
“Johnson cited the need to preserve land and slow development.”
Pledges to stay accessible to residents
Southern Middle TN Today News with Tom Price 9-29-26 (Mayoral Forum, from the Columbia Daily Herald)
News coverage · Front Porch Radio (Kennedy Broadcasting) · Sep 29, 2026 · frontporchradiotn.com
“By being accessible, we are going to be aware of the critical issues and be aware of the things we need”

Jai Lipscomb

No party listed

The gist

Supports making growth pay for its own costs
Supports youth programs and a community center
Supports living wages and keeping Columbia affordable

More about Jai

View sources (2)

Supports making growth pay for its own costs
Southern Middle TN Today News with Tom Price 9-29-26 (Mayoral Forum, from the Columbia Daily Herald)
News coverage · Front Porch Radio (Kennedy Broadcasting) · Sep 29, 2026 · frontporchradiotn.com
“Growth should pay for growth, and we keep hearing that, but substantial growth also means preserving what makes Columbia special.”
Supports youth programs and a community center
Southern Middle TN Today News with Tom Price 9-29-26 (Mayoral Forum, from the Columbia Daily Herald)
News coverage · Front Porch Radio (Kennedy Broadcasting) · Sep 29, 2026 · frontporchradiotn.com
“We don't have a community center here, nothing for the youth to gauge.”
Supports living wages and keeping Columbia affordable
Jai Lipscomb campaigns to be mayor of Columbia
News coverage · Main Street Maury (Main Street Media of Tennessee) · Jun 15, 2026 · mainstreetmediatn.com
“she wants to keep Columbia affordable, facilitate living wages and attract college graduates back to their hometown”

Stewart Parker

No party listed

The gist

Supports state, federal and county partnerships for infrastructure
Supports competitive wages for city employees

More about Stewart

View sources (1)

Supports state, federal and county partnerships for infrastructure
Southern Middle TN Today News with Tom Price 9-29-26 (Mayoral Forum, from the Columbia Daily Herald)
News coverage · Front Porch Radio (Kennedy Broadcasting) · Sep 29, 2026 · frontporchradiotn.com
“That goes back to building relationships with our state partners and our federal partners, and having the cities and the county work together”
Supports competitive wages for city employees
Southern Middle TN Today News with Tom Price 9-29-26 (Mayoral Forum, from the Columbia Daily Herald)
News coverage · Front Porch Radio (Kennedy Broadcasting) · Sep 29, 2026 · frontporchradiotn.com
“We have done a great job in recent years focusing on making competitive wages, living wages for our city employees”

Eric Previti

No party listed

The gist

Pledges closer cooperation between Columbia and Maury County
Supports mutual aid agreements among fire departments
Supports adequate services for homeless residents and animal services

More about Eric

View sources (1)

Pledges closer cooperation between Columbia and Maury County
Southern Middle TN Today News with Tom Price 9-29-26 (Mayoral Forum, from the Columbia Daily Herald)
News coverage · Front Porch Radio (Kennedy Broadcasting) · Sep 29, 2026 · frontporchradiotn.com
“We need to work better together”
Supports mutual aid agreements among fire departments
Southern Middle TN Today News with Tom Price 9-29-26 (Mayoral Forum, from the Columbia Daily Herald)
News coverage · Front Porch Radio (Kennedy Broadcasting) · Sep 29, 2026 · frontporchradiotn.com
“If somebody needs backup, somebody shows up to help”
Supports adequate services for homeless residents and animal services
Southern Middle TN Today News with Tom Price 9-29-26 (Mayoral Forum, from the Columbia Daily Herald)
News coverage · Front Porch Radio (Kennedy Broadcasting) · Sep 29, 2026 · frontporchradiotn.com
“providing adequate services for the city's homeless and organizations like Maury County Animal Services”

Ashley Townsend

No party listed

The gist

Supports safer roads with sidewalks, railings and speed limits
Supports open lines with state officials for emergencies

More about Ashley

View sources (1)

Supports safer roads with sidewalks, railings and speed limits
Southern Middle TN Today News with Tom Price 9-29-26 (Mayoral Forum, from the Columbia Daily Herald)
News coverage · Front Porch Radio (Kennedy Broadcasting) · Sep 29, 2026 · frontporchradiotn.com
“Do we have the right speed limits posted in high trafficked areas? Do we have the proper amount of sidewalks”
Supports open lines with state officials for emergencies
Southern Middle TN Today News with Tom Price 9-29-26 (Mayoral Forum, from the Columbia Daily Herald)
News coverage · Front Porch Radio (Kennedy Broadcasting) · Sep 29, 2026 · frontporchradiotn.com
“have that open door policy with them and a line of communication open just in case we have some kind of natural disaster”

Challengers are listed first and incumbents last; otherwise candidates appear in ballot order. The Gist does not rank, rate or endorse candidates. Only positions backed by a cited source are shown; 7 issues covered in this race.