New Perrysburg Mayor sworn in

12/29/2017

Tom Mackin is sworn in as the new mayor of Perrysburg by retired Perrysburg Municipal Court Judge S. Dwight Osterud Friday in Perrysburg.

THE BLADE/JEREMY WADSWORTH
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New Perrysburg Mayor Tom Mackin made it through thanking his family, his campaign staff, and his fellow elected officials before getting to answering the big question — what’s next?  

“I’ve been thinking about that a lot, and I think it misses the very clear message voters of Perrysburg delivered this fall,” he said just after being sworn into office. “They want elected officials who are going to listen and build community . My administration is committing to serving Perrysburg by working to achieve those goals.”

Mr. Mackin, 53, began his four-year term as mayor after a Friday afternoon ceremony.  Since the election, he said he has been busy with transition work that was intentionally under the radar. 

“I don't know that you're ever ready, but I think I'm as ready as you can be,” the former Perrysburg councilman said prior to the ceremony. 

Mr. Mackin will be paid $28,000 per year for the part-time job. He will continue to work as general counsel for the Lucas Metropolitan Housing Authority, a position he has held since 2015.

He plans to start his administration with a full review of the city’s operations, although there are no staffing changes immediately planned. 

“We're going to give everybody an opportunity to perform, we're going to evaluate them on objective criteria, and we're going to work with council to make decisions that are in the best interest of the city,” Mr. Mackin said, adding that changes would come only if city officials fail to meet new expectations. 

“There's lots of people who are frustrated with how the city was running the last couple of years but my opinion is I'm going to give everyone an opportunity, as a leader, as the new mayor, to succeed,” he said.

Tim McCarthy, who has been a city councilman for 30 years and is the current council president, expects a smooth transition.

“It’s usually pretty seamless,” he said. “I think that will be true here.”

The most immediate issue waiting for Mr. Mackin will be funding for the city’s planned second fire station. The 2018 budget already has funding set aside for the project, and has been setting money aside since Mr. Mackin was on city council, Mr. McCarthy said. 

“We have money budgeted for it but we don’t have any firm cost plans yet,” Mr. McCarthy said. 

Another looming issue for the city of Perrysburg is the ongoing regional water discussions. Mr. Mackin said he is still getting up to speed on the discussions. During the campaign, his opponent Michael Olmstead claimed Mr. Mackin’s full-time work would inhibit his ability to negotiate for the city, an accusation Mr. Mackin categorically denied. 

“We work with the city on a regular basis but the mayor of Toledo has no control over, and has no authority over, LMHA,” he said.

Contact Zack Lemon at zlemon@theblade.com, 419-724-6282 or on Twitter @zack_lemon.