Don Plusquellic

Don Plusquellic
57th Mayor of Akron, Ohio
Incumbent
Assumed office 1987
Preceded by	Thomas C. Sawyer
Personal details
Born	July 3, 1949 (1949-07-03) (age 62)
Political party	Democratic
Alma mater	Bowling Green University
Profession	Management

Donald L. Plusquellic (born July 3, 1949) is the current mayor of Akron, Ohio. First elected in 1987, he became the 59th Mayor of Akron after previously serving 13 years on Akron City Council. Plusquellic is currently serving his sixth term, making him the longest-serving mayor of the city.

Personal life and early career

He graduated from Akron's Kenmore High School, studied at the University of Pittsburgh's Swanson School of Engineering, and graduated from Bowling Green State University School of Business.^[1]

He later received his JD from the University of Akron School of Law, and went into private practice until he was elected Mayor in 1987.^[2]

He has a son named David, a daughter Michelle, as well as four grandchildren.

Mayor of Akron

He was the President of the United States Conference of Mayors during 2004. Plusquellic currently serves as vice president of the International Mayors for Peace organization. He is well known as an architect of the Joint Economic Development District (JEDD) program in Ohio, and he is a member of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition,^[3] a bi-partisan group with a stated goal of "making the public safer by getting illegal guns off the streets." The Coalition is co-chaired by Boston, Massachusetts Mayor Thomas Menino, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and Columbus, Ohio Mayor Michael B. Coleman.

Critics have also accused Plusquellic of abusing his power; in July 2005, he argued with a downtown Akron parking attendant, and threatened to revoke the business license of the attendant's employer if the attendant was not fired (the company complied).^[4][5][6]

President Barack Obama selected Plusquellic to work with a team of Mayors from across America to work on solving the Global financial crisis of 2008–2009 at the local level. In February 2009, Plusquellic was one of 20 mayors sent to DC to discuss committing stimulus money to go directly to city governments to fund infrastructure.^[7]

A campaign to recall the mayor was initiated in March 2009. Akron attorney Warner Mendenhall argued that Plusquellic had "dramatically misdirected the city in the last decade," indebted Akron to "an extent it cannot afford," and called his personal behavior "appalling." According to Mendenhall, the mayor was abusive to city employees, his opponents and others.^[8] In a special election in June 2009, Plusquellic was kept by a vote of 20,500 to 7,200.^[9]

Plusquellic's term is set to expire at the end of 2011.

References

1. ^ "City Mayors.com: Mayor of Akron (Ohio)". http://www.citymayors.com/mayors/akron_mayor.html. Retrieved 2009-02-02. 
2. ^ "Akron: Office of the Mayor (Bio)". http://www.ci.akron.oh.us/mayor/bio.htm. Retrieved 2009-02-02. 
3. ^ "Mayors Against Illegal Guns: Coalition Members". Archived from the original on 2007-03-06. http://web.archive.org/web/20070306180747/http://www.mayorsagainstillegalguns.org/html/about/members.shtml. Retrieved 2007-06-12. 
4. ^ PARKING LOT WORKER ENRAGES PLUSQUELLIC, Akron Beacon Journal, July 25, 2005, p. B1
5. ^ VALET FIRED AFTER ROW WITH MAYOR, Akron Beacon Journal, July 27, 2005, p. B1
6. ^ Akron: News Releases 2005: An Open Letter to the Public From Mayor Don Plusquellic
7. ^ http://www.ohio.com/news/39127177.html
8. ^ "Ohio.com Attorney launching effort to recall Akron mayor". http://www.ohio.com/news/break_news/34610924.html. Retrieved 2009-02-02. 
9. ^ "Akron voters decide to keep longtime Mayor Don Plusquellic". WKYC-TV. 2009-06-23. http://www.wkyc.com/news/local/news_article.aspx?storyid=116394&catid=45. Retrieved 2009-06-23. 

External links

• Mayor's Biography at Official Akron Website

Persondata
Name	Plusquellic, Don
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1949-07-03
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death