My First Nine Months

by Lorain Mayor Jack W. Bradley

In July of 2019, I received a call from my cousin, Commissioner Sharon Sweda, suggesting I should run for mayor of Lorain. Honestly, the thought had never crossed my mind. My wife Debora and daughter Jaclyn encouraged me to run, and here I am today, the mayor of Lorain.

I have been in Lorain my entire life, and I am happy I am in a position to give back to the city that has given so much to me. I was a practicing attorney for over 42 years and never held a political office before. To say the least, I had no idea what I was getting into.

On January 1, 2020, I met the police chief at Lorain City Hall, and he showed me to my office on the seventh floor. I was amazed at the view of Lake Erie and overwhelmed by everything that sat on my desk before me. I thought to myself, is it too late to quit?

But like everything in life, I knew I had to get motivated and learn the job quickly. It happened when I started as a teacher in Lorain in 1972, and it happened again when I started as an attorney in 1979.

I knew better days were ahead.

During the campaign, the number one issue from citizens was the cost of water and wastewater in our city. That became my first priority from day one in the mayor's office.

I went back to 2017 when fixed costs were increased and determined that these fixed costs had to be reduced. The fixed cost for water was determined by law by the Safety Service Director, and the fixed cost for wastewater was determined by City Council.

I am happy to say that both fixed costs were reduced back to 2017 levels, and an audit of our Utilities Department is now being conducted by the State Auditor's Office. Hopefully, the audit will make our Utilities Department more efficient, and that will result in cost savings to our citizens.

Then, COVID-19 hit and changed everything.

We all had to deal with a pandemic that had not hit the United States for over 100 years. I had to have meetings with the governor, the director of Lorain County Public Health, as well as mayors and city managers throughout Ohio, and mayors throughout the entire United States.

I had to declare a state of emergency in the city of Lorain and close City Hall to the public. Employees entering were given temperature screens, and every effort was made to make sure people were not bringing the virus into the building. As of this writing, these measures resulted in no new cases in City Hall, and our workforce remained virus-free.

An issue did come up with our trash hauling company, Republic Services. They informed cities they served that bulk pickup would not continue during the public health crisis. I decided to review the city's contract with Republic and see if the citizens had any protection from the unilateral determination by Republic. I also contacted Lorain's Health Commissioner, Dave Covell, for his opinion. I then threatened to terminate the contract with Republic if they did not comply with their contractual obligations. As a result, not only citizens in Lorain, but also citizens throughout Lorain County had their bulk waste picked up.

To say the least, it has been an unexpected and yet exciting time to be the mayor of Lorain. We have all learned to live with face masks, Zoom calls, and social distancing. It has shown all of us that we can change and that some changes may also be beneficial in the future.

I still believe it is a great day in the city of Lorain, and I continue to be Lorain Proud and proud of our city workers, first responders, and especially proud of the citizens of Lorain.

Lorain City Hall—Lorain, Ohio

photo by Jen Navarro