SGA to host on-campus Columbus mayoral debate in partnership with WRBL, Chamber of Commerce on April 23

April 17, 2026

The original version of this article was authored by Chuck Williams of WRBL News 3 and appears on the television station’s website.

Candidates vying to become the 71st mayor of Columbus will take the stage in Columbus State University’s University Hall [map] on Thursday, April 23, at 7 p.m. The public debate will be hosted by CSU’s Student Government Association in partnership with WRBL News 3 and the Greater Columbus Chamber of Commerce.

A three-person panel, including outgoing SGA President Undrell Walker, will pose questions to the candidates. Joining Walker will be the Greater Columbus Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Jansen Tidmore and veteran WRBL News 3 journalist Chuck Williams. WRBL news anchors Teresa Whitaker and Phil Scoggins will moderate the debate.

WRBL News 3 General Manager Tracey Rogers and Tidmore both said it was important to share the debate stage with a Columbus State student.

“The chamber and WRBL News 3 are saying that we believe that the students at Columbus State University are important,” Rogers said. “We believe that they have a powerful voice in our community, and that powerful voice needs to be heard.”

Tidmore agreed.

“We’re excited to share the stage with CSU and [SGA President] Undrell [Walker] because I think it really speaks to the fact that we know economic development is where talent meets place,” Tidmore said. “This is that talent that we spend so much time nurturing and talking about, and getting to share the stage and letting them know that we’re not just saying it, we mean it.”

Walker (pictured) welcomed the opportunity to pose student-generated questions alongside those of the chamber and WRBL News 3. Those questions will focus on community, economic development and key issues facing the city—many from a college student’s perspective. Five of the six qualified candidates have committed to attending the debate.

“To me, partnering with [WRBL] and the Chamber of Commerce just shows me that our student voices are equally as important and equally as heard as the citizens of Columbus,” said Walker, who is a senior from Hephzibah, Georgia, majoring in health science.

The debate begins at 7 p.m. and is open to students and the community. For those unable to attend in person, it will be televised on WRBL News 3 and live-streamed on WRBL+ and WRBL.com. After the hour-long televised debate ends, the debate will continue on WRBL+, a free streaming app available on Apple TV, Fire TV, ROKU and Samsung.

Having the opportunity to continue the debate on the WRBL streaming platform is important, Rogers said.

“It is so fascinating now how streaming and apps are creating these whole new opportunities that we never had before,” Rogers said. “Before we would be like, ‘OK, we’ve got an hour. That’s all we can do on TV. That’s all we can fit into our schedule,’ but now we have a bit of an open-ended opportunity, so we can add time.”

WRBL and its parent company, Nexstar, have a long history of doing political debates.

“We have become experts in the field of debates,” Rogers said. “And so, we are building off that expertise. And the other thing that I think is critically important is that when you are a media company within your community, you have big megaphones. And so, you have a powerful way to get messages out.”

Early voting for the mayor’s vacancy and other citywide races is underway, with election day scheduled for May 19.

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Media contact: Michael Tullier, APR, Executive Director of Strategic Communication + Marketing, 706.507.8729, mtullier@columbusstate.edu