William Grace, candidate for City of Elyria Mayor

Name: William Grace

Political party: Democrat

Office sought: Mayor, City of Elyria

Age: 51

Place of birth: Cleveland

Address: 618 Calann Drive; Elyria, Ohio

Length of residence in that community: 51 years


Twitter: @WilliamMGrace


Facebook: Grace for Elyria


Website: www.graceforelyria.com


Occupation: Self-Employed


Elected office experience:

• Elyria City Council, Ward 3 – elected, 1989 – 1991
• Elyria City Council, At-Large – elected, 1993 – 1995
• Elyria City Council, At-Large – elected, 1997 – 1999
• Mayor, City of Elyria – elected, 1999 – 2011

Non-elected office experience:

• Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council, Governing Board Member 2001 – 2009
• Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency, Board Member 2000 – 2011
• Board President, 2009; Executive Board Member 2008 – 2010
• Lorain County Chamber of Commerce, Board Member 2000 – 2011
• Team Lorain County, Board Member 2008 – 2011
• Northeast Ohio Sustainable Communities Consortium, Board Member 2011 – 2011
• Elyria Kiwanis Club, 1982 – 1999, President, 1990
• United Way of Lorain County, Account Executive, 1988
• Leadership Lorain County, 1990
• United Way of Lorain County, Board Member, 2000 – 2008

Education:

• Lorain County Community College, 1982 – 1985, Associate Degree
• Tiffin University, 2012 – present, Bachelor in Business Administration, fall of 2015

Marital status: Single

Children: None

Organizations: n/a

Should you be elected, what are three specific areas you’d like to change, address, improve or further research, and how specifically would you go about it?:

Many roadway projects need to be addressed. Highest on the priority list is the reconstruction of Broad Street. There are millions of dollars of federal funds available for the project and it must be pursued immediately before we are forced to spend money simply for resurfacing. Elyria has recently entered a period of decline beyond the deindustrialization that has challenged us in recent decades. As a community, we must determine what kind of Elyria we want to be and then make a financial plan and financial commitment to carry it out.

Last year, the first since 2009, the height of the Great Recession, Elyria’s economy started to decline. What makes this particularly alarming is that this is a time when Ohio’s and the nation’s economy is improving. The city needs to get its spending priorities in order to fund the types of investments that will keep and attract businesses. Mayor Brinda demonstrates an attitude of indifference to supporting economic development when she said, “It’s not the city’s job to make jobs” in response to claims that no new jobs have come into the city while she has been mayor.

Whether for past accomplishments or future goals, why should voters elect you?

My tenure as mayor was characterized by high achievement that resulted in completing one major project after the other. This was accomplished by hard work, building important collaborative relationships, and acquiring over $65 million in grants. The current mayor has accomplished very little, by comparison. In fact, all of the many infrastructure projects in her term were put in place before I left office and no projects have been placed in the pipeline for the next four years. My priorities centered on improving the city’s infrastructure, particularly streets; police protection; and economic development. Mayor Brinda’s priority has centered on increasing funding to firefighters at the expense of other important city needs. I believe the city needs to get back on the successful path that I led us on and that Brinda is taking us away.