NBC4 WCMH-TV

New Franklin County Prosecutor Shayla Favor announces her transition team

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — The new Franklin County prosecutor has announced her transition team as she looks to implement her “key priorities” in her new role.

Meanwhile, her Columbus City Council replacement was selected Monday and will bring a familiar name to the city.


Democrat Shayla Favor, who was a Columbus City Council member since 2019, won the November election over Republican attorney John Rutan to become the county’s new top attorney. Favor announced Monday her 14-member transition team to “develop recommendations for current operations and identify critical issues,” as said by her office.

Favor has never prosecuted a felony criminal case but worked in the Columbus City Attorney’s office as a legal investigator before moving to assistant city attorney, overseeing zoning, health, fire, and building code violation cases.

The chair of her transition team will be Janet Jackson, a former Columbus City Attorney and Franklin County judge in Municipal Court. “My aim with this transition team was to assemble a diverse group of people who have been effective in addressing different aspects of public safety and community support,” Favor said.

The remainder of her transition team includes:

Columbus City Council also completed its transition and voted in the new councilmember that will replace Favor. Otto Beatty III, the stepson of U.S. Representative Joyce Beatty (D-OH), was voted in unanimously to join the city council.

“I was chosen in particular for my expertise in housing,” Beatty III said. “I’m hoping in the area of housing that we can open up opportunities for all the citizens and not just those, you know, young professionals, but older adults who may be struggling with those things.”