Zach Klein was sworn in as Columbus City Attorney on January 1, 2018, after previously serving as a member of Columbus City Council from 2011-2017, including two years as Council President from 2016-2017. He was re-elected to serve a second term as City Attorney beginning in 2022. As City Attorney, Zach is focused on how the law can be applied to promote public safety, encourage economic progress for all, defend the civil rights of all Columbus residents, and protect the most vulnerable among us. Zach is committed to using his office to better serve all who call Columbus home, and has been at the forefront of initiatives to change criminal justice policy, reform drug sentencing laws to focus on treatment instead of incarceration, hold domestic violence offenders accountable, defend the City’s ability to enact commonsense gun safety measures, and take on dangerous drug houses and hubs of violent crime that make us all less safe.
Zach grew up in Belpre, Ohio, along the Ohio River and is a proud graduate of The Ohio State University and Capital University Law School. He began his career in public service as a law clerk for the Ohio Third District Court of Appeals and the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. He has served in the White House as Deputy Director of Management and Administration in the Office of Vice President Joe Biden, and as the Deputy Chief of Legal Services in the Ohio Attorney General’s office. Zach also has worked as a Special Assistant United States Attorney and has spent time in private practice at the law firm Jones Day and the Mid-Ohio Food Bank. Zach was selected as part of the 2023 Rodel Fellowship, the nation’s premier bipartisan leadership development for elected leaders. Zach and his family live in Clintonville.
