Isaiah Hugley likes to describe where he started: a public housing apartment in Baker Village, a family on welfare, trips to the store on Fort Benning Road with food stamps, and rides on the city's Metra buses.

On Jan. 4, 2027, he will be sworn in as the 71st mayor of Columbus and the first Black mayor voters have elected in the city's 198-year history.

"I'm ready to go to work for the people of Columbus, Georgia," Hugley said the night he won.

A historic first

Hugley won the June 16 runoff with 16,309 votes (51.6%) to 15,312 (48.4%) for City Council member Joanne Cogle, a margin of fewer than 1,000 votes. He had led a six-candidate field in the May primary with nearly 45% of the vote.

The only Black person to hold the office before him was A.J. McClung, who served briefly as acting mayor in 1973. McClung was never elected to the job, which makes Hugley's win a first for Columbus voters.

He will succeed Mayor Skip Henderson, who is term-limited after two terms.

Growing up in Columbus public housing

Hugley was born in 1958 in Crawford, in Russell County, Alabama, the second of four children. His mother, Rozell Hugley Wilborn, was a domestic worker and church leader who raised the family in public housing, first at the Frederick Douglass complex in Phenix City, then at Farley Homes and Baker Village in Columbus.

He graduated from Spencer High School in 1975, then left for Talladega College, the historically Black college in Alabama, where he earned a history and pre-law degree in 1979. A year later he finished a master's degree in public policy and administration at Mississippi State University. That's also where he met his wife, Carolyn.

Hugley credits his HBCU education with changing the direction of his life. Speaking in August, he recalled being "a poor black boy from 196-E Baker Village" who rode the Metra bus, and said college showed him he could "do more than just ride the metro bus."

He went on to run the whole system.

Four decades in city government

After early jobs in Mississippi state government, Hugley came home in 1984 as assistant director of Metra, the Columbus transit system. He became its director in 1988. In 1998 he moved to City Hall as deputy city manager, and in 2005 he was named city manager, the first Black person to hold the city's top appointed job.

He held it for 20 years, longer than anyone in Columbus history, serving under five mayors. As city manager, he ran day-to-day city operations, a workforce of more than 3,300 employees and annual operating budgets of more than $360 million, and oversaw about $1.2 billion in capital projects, according to his campaign. The Georgia Municipal Association inducted him into its Hall of Fame in 2021.

A firing, then a comeback

His long tenure ended abruptly. On May 27, 2025, seven months before his planned retirement, the Columbus Council voted 7-3 to fire him. Council members cited a loss of confidence in his leadership after problems in departments he oversaw, including investigations of the finance department and animal control that led to criminal charges against city employees. Councilors had also questioned a $29,000 federal pandemic-relief grant awarded to the insurance agency of his wife, state Rep. Carolyn Hugley. Hugley said he had disclosed the application and handed it to his deputy on the city attorney's advice.

Hugley was not charged with any crime. In August 2025, he filed a discrimination complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, alleging his firing was retaliation. Under his contract, the city paid his salary through his scheduled Dec. 31, 2025, retirement date.

"You haven't seen the last of me," he said after the vote.

Five months later, on Oct. 13, 2025, he announced his run for mayor.

What he says comes next

Hugley campaigned on what he called "Hope, Unity, Accountability, Opportunity," and promised to bring a divided city together.

"Our goal is to bring our people together, to unite the city," he said after the runoff. "Citizens of Columbus can expect from me to move forward with civility, dignity, respect."

He has named poverty, youth violence and affordable housing among his top concerns. His 13-member transition team, led by former state Rep. Calvin Smyre and retired attorney Trip Tomlinson, is drafting a 180-day action plan. According to the team, it covers South and East Columbus revitalization, jail needs, public safety, roads, parks, housing and economic development.

Out of respect for Mayor Henderson and the current council, Hugley has said he will hold off on detailed plans until he takes office.

A family of public servants

Public service runs through the Hugley family. Carolyn Hugley, his wife of more than 40 years, represents Columbus in the Georgia House and serves as House Minority Leader. His sister, Pat Hugley Green, chairs the Muscogee County School Board. The Hugleys have two children, Kimberly and Isaiah Jr., and two grandchildren.

For Hugley, the story he tells most often is the one that starts in Baker Village.

"We've got a lot of work to do all over this city," he said, "and I'm ready to get that work done."