Special Council Meetings: Tuesday, Sept. 29 – 6:00pm & Wednesday, Sept. 30 – 7:30pm
Dear Bexley Residents,
In the two weeks since Mayor Kessler announced his intent to resign, your City Council has been hard at work on the important duty of electing Bexley’s next mayor. I believe this is one of the most important choices we will make as a City Council, and I’m happy to share that each Council Member has approached this process with a deep commitment to make the best decision for Bexley. The selection process we are moving through has been thoughtful, fair, and carefully considered. Today, I want to provide an update on where things stand today, along with information on what you can expect next.
We received ten applications for the position of mayor by the September 18 deadline. As promised in my initial message on September 10, these ten applications were reviewed by all members of City Council in Executive Session at the September 22 meeting. After thorough review of each candidate’s background and experience, we have selected the following three candidates to interview:
- Jennifer Fening
- Tim Pitts
- Mike Price
On September 29, 2026 at 6:00 pm, City Council will hold a special meeting where each candidate will be separately interviewed in Executive Session. On September 30, 2026 at 7:30 pm, Mayor Kessler will formally resign from his position and City Council will vote to elect Bexley’s next mayor. As with all City Council meetings, these meetings will be open to the public and live-streamed to the City’s YouTube page. Following the September 30 meeting, we will also issue announcements on the City’s website, Bexley Blast, and social media pages.
This is an important time for Bexley and I’m so grateful to those of you who have reached out to share your thoughts, ideas, encouragement, and concerns with me. As a reminder, Section 16 of Bexley’s City Charter charges City Council with the duty and authority to select a successor mayor in the instance of a mayor’s resignation. As your elected Council Members, we are all committed to choosing the strongest candidate for mayor to serve until the community is able to vote at the next mayoral election for Bexley, scheduled for November of 2027. If you have questions or would like to chat, you can reach me at jsaad@bexley.org.
In Community,
Jess
