Mom. Attorney. Business Owner.

"I believe that to ensure a bright future for our children and grandchildren, we must be politically engaged at the local level."

Merisa Bowers has been involved in local activism for almost two decades. She is invested and committed to Gahanna and shares your concerns with the issues facing Gahanna today and the future.

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Why I'm Running

On the eve of the next decade, Gahanna is at a critical point.

I'm running because Gahanna is a special community, with a fantastic character and incredible potential. I believe that I bring new perspectives and vision that sees the existing assets and bright future of our City.

Protect our Assets, Leverage our Opportunities.

I'm running because Gahanna deserves elected officials who communicate with integrity and who govern transparently. As a council member, I will ensure that not only do you know how I vote, but constituents will be included in deliberations.

Active Engagement, Meaningful Inclusion.

I'm running because Gahanna needs leadership that reflects the diversity of its residents. Broad experiences and exposure create knowledge and empathy.

Values

Policy is important. Values even more.

Merisa went to law school to fight for people and she has walked the walk on the Midwestern values she was raised with.

GOOD STEWARDSHIP: Take care of what we have.
SERVICE: Raise others up and put their needs before our own.
FAIRNESS AND COMPASSION: Strive toward perfecting systems and processes that deliver justice and dignity, with empathy.

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Build Bridges

Whether working with neighborhood groups, corporate partners, neighboring townships and municipalities, or the school district, the City must operate with an awareness of its place in the fabric of Central Ohio.

Policies and Goals

Improve the Relationship between the City and the School District.
Work with surrounding Townships to improve quality of life for all residents and partner where feasible to reduce costs.
Be at the table when issues affecting our Region are being discussed.
Build and maintain relationships with public and private sector leaders.
Expand public-private partnerships in Gahanna, including local business support of public amenities.
Build and Improve relationships between the City and our most important business community: locally owned small to mid size companies who employ our friends and neighbors.

Restore Public Trust

Current elected officeholders have taken for granted the trust that voters have given. The Gahanna Tax Lawsuit and the failure to communicate with citizens, discrepancies in following Ohio’s Sunshine Law, and “do-over voting” have all breached that trust over the last decade.

New technology, publicly accessible data, and fresh activism can more effectively assist people to hold their representatives accountable and rebuild trust in democratic institutions.

Regardless of political party, the value of transparency is crucial to good governance. Trust will only be restored with transparent data, transparent dialogue, and meaningful citizen engagement.

Policies and Goals

Video/Audio Stream all City Council Meetings.
Improve quality of Meeting Minutes to accurately reflect deliberations.
Reduce amount of discussion in Executive Session so that more work and conversation happens on the public record.
Implement standing community hours that enable and empower all residents to be engaged at a meaningful level.
Provide childcare at City Council Meetings to enable more residents to participate and attend.

Put People First

Long-term success requires smart and sustainable investment in every part of Gahanna and across our diverse communities. Whether supporting our aging Boomer population, seeing Gen Xers and Millennials through life’s ups and downs, or guiding Gen Z into happy and healthy adulthood, our successes and growth are shared. As a community, we are interconnected.

We must prioritize the welfare, safety, and security of all of Gahanna's residents not just in talk but in deed.

Policies and Goals

Improve and fund community-based and proactive policing policies that include implementing common sense reforms.
Invest in infrastructure projects that have a bigger impact to our community such as to improve safe walkability, flooding mitigation, and sustainable development that serves actual community needs.
Hold developers accountable to their promises to residents and to follow industry-best environmental practices.

About Me

Meet Merisa Bowers

Merisa is a proud daughter of Ohio, hailing from the rust belt city of Canton.

Merisa started college at the University of Cincinnati in the wake of the September 11 attacks, and while the city was still reeling from unrest and boycotts after the killing of an unarmed Black youth in 2001. This shaped her college experience, becoming engaged in civic planning and community organizing. Merisa graduated with a degree in political science and international human rights with departmental honors. After graduation, she began work at a large law firm in Cincinnati and remained active in community organizations and political action.

In 2009, Merisa graduated from Case Western Reserve University School of Law (Cleveland, Ohio), cum laude, having studied constitutional rights, administrative, and criminal law. During law school, she clerked for a Federal District Court Judge in Akron and at a small firms in the Cleveland area, where she excelled in issues related to government overreach and violations of people's constitutional rights.

Graduating law school in the height of the recession, Merisa moved back to Cincinnati where she was mentored by civil litigators and criminal defense attorneys, and then to Central Ohio in 2012. Today, her legal practice is centered on advocating for families in domestic matters.

Merisa is married to Curtis, who has been a first responder for over 20 years, and together they have a 5 year old son. They chose Gahanna in 2012 to raise their family because of its diversity, rootedness, strong schools, and great community.

In 2019, Merisa ran for a seat on the Gahanna City Council, winning the race as the top vote-getter. She began her first term on Gahanna City Council in 2020. This year, she serves as the Vice President of Council, chairing the Committee of the Whole and serving as the liaison to the Gahanna-Jefferson School Board. On City Council, Merisa strives to deliver constituent-centered representation, making herself accessible to residents and stakeholders, building bridges with neighboring communities, and helping create policy that advances the success and well-being of all residents.

Find Merisa and her family at the Farmers Market, Creekside, or having fun at one of our many beautiful public parks.

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