Priscilla Tyson
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Priscilla R. Tyson (born April 4, 1955) is a former
Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451–1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, the capital city of the U.S. state of Ohio * Columbus, Georgia, a city i ...
Councilwoman A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or regio ...
and is the longest-serving female councilmember in the
Columbus City Council The Columbus City Council is the lawmaking body of Columbus, Ohio. It meets in the City Council Chambers located on the second floor of Columbus City Hall. Following the 2023 election, the City Council expanded from seven to nine members. Counc ...
's history. She is the founding director for
City Year City Year is an American education nonprofit organization founded in 1988. The organization partners with public schools in 29 high-need communities across the US and through international affiliates in the UK and Johannesburg, South Africa. City ...
Columbus. She also spearheaded the passage of
Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451–1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, the capital city of the U.S. state of Ohio * Columbus, Georgia, a city i ...
' CROWN Act to end hair discrimination.


Personal life

Tyson was born on April 4, 1955. Tyson grew up on the East Side of Columbus on St. Claire Avenue. Her father had died when she was 6 months old. She has 4 siblings, 3 sisters and 1 brother. She was raised by her mother and step-father. In 1994, her name was Priscilla H. Butler. She married attorney Renny Tyson in 1999. She has 5 children.


Education

She attended Garfield Elementary School, which has now been transformed into the King Arts Complex. She attended Eastmoor Middle School and then graduated from Eastmoor High School in 1973. She graduated from
Franklin University Franklin University is a private university with its main campus in Columbus, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1902 to serve the needs of students beyond traditional undergraduate age. On-site courses are offered at the university's campu ...
with a
Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...
degree in
Business Administration Business administration is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. Overview The administration of a business includes the performance o ...
. She was the first of her family to earn a college degree.


Career

During high school, Tyson worked for a paint company. She went on to work for Lazarus department store during her college years. From 1977 to 1993, Tyson was the vice president of National City Bank, now owned by PNC. From 1993 to1997, she was the vice president of community relations at Ohio Health Systems. She was the first Black vice president in the company. From 1994, Mayor Greg Lashutka asked Tyson to serve on the Columbus Civil Service Commission, despite her being a
Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...
. She would serve 14 years on that Commission from 1993 to 2007. In 1997, she founded Columbus' City Year Chapter and led the organization for 13 years. In 2005, she opened her own art gallery called "Star Arts Gallery Limited." In 2006,
Kevin Boyce Kevin L. Boyce (born October 5, 1971) is an Americans, American politician and a member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party who currently serves as President of the Franklin County, Ohio, Franklin County Board of Commission ...
, who was a Columbus City Council member at the time, had encouraged her to apply to fill a seat vacancy. In January 2007, she was appointed to Columbus City Council after a seat became vacant. In the 2007 election, Tyson defeated Republican Heidi Samuel by 64.5%. In the 2012 election for
Ohio's 3rd Congressional District Ohio's 3rd congressional district is located entirely in Franklin County and includes most of the city of Columbus. The current district lines were drawn in 2022, following the redistricting based on the 2020 census. It is currently represen ...
, she lost the Democratic primary to
Joyce Beatty Joyce Marie Beatty ( ; née Birdsong, March 12, 1950) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Ohio's 3rd congressional district since 2013, and as chair of the Congressional Black Caucus from 2021 to 2023. A member of th ...
. In 2016, she was selected as the Council President Pro Tempore by her fellow council members. That same year she sponsored a city ordinance to raise the age to buy
tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
to 21 years old. In 2017, Tyson won reelection to the Columbus City Council, alongside fellow incumbents
Shannon Hardin Shannon G. Hardin (born April 7, 1987) is an American Democratic politician who has served as the President of the Columbus, Ohio City Council since January 2018. Hardin is a Columbus native, and attended Columbus Africentric K-8 and Columbus Al ...
and Mitchell Brown. That same year Tyson co-sponsored an $1.1 million funding package to help redevelop buildings for the Pointdexter Village Museum. In 2021, as the city council chair for the Health and Human Services Committee, Tyson encouraged the public to wear masks and get vaccinated during the
COVID-19 Pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. After deciding not to run for another term, Tyson retired as city councilwoman on December 31, 2021. She spent 14 years on the council. Throughout her time as council member, she had been involved with numerous projects. She also assisted in launching a complete review of the Columbus zoning code. During her time on the council's Finance Committee, she spearheaded the effort to pass Columbus' largest General Fund and Capital Improvement Budgets. She advocated for the established of the Commission on Black Girls in 2018, which researches and analyzes Black girls' quality of life in the city and state. She also spearheaded the passage and implementation of the Columbus CROWN Act that aims to bans hair discrimination.


Affiliations

Tyson was a board member and Finance Committee member for the National League of Cities (NLC). She was President of the NLC's National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials and a member of the Ohio Municipal League. She had also served as the Services to Youth chair of The Links, Inc. Additionally, she was a board member of the Columbus Education Commission, Community Shelter Board, Great Columbus Art Council, and the Phoenix Theater Board. She has also been shown to be a member of Columbus Carrousels Inc. as of 2011.


Awards and honors

In 1996, Tyson was honored as Women of Achievement by Columbus'
YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swit ...
chapter. In 2012, she was awarded the
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights movement from 1955 until his ...
Award alongside Reverend Dale Snyder by the Columbus Education Association. In 2022, the city of Columbus renamed the Cultural Arts Center in Tyson's honor for her contributions to the arts and the center is now called the "Priscilla R. Tyson Cultural Arts Center."


References


External links


Ballotpedia page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tyson, Priscilla 1955 births Living people Franklin University alumni Columbus City Council members African-American women in business 21st-century African-American women politicians 21st-century African-American politicians 21st-century Ohio politicians Politicians from Columbus, Ohio