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Dayton mayor lightens schedule in September to fix the roof on his home

Dayton Mayor Gary Leitzell presides over the city council meeting Wednesday, Aug. 18, at Dayton city hall. Staff photo by Jim Noelker

JIM NOELKER/Gary Leitzell Dayton Mayor Gary Leitzell presides over the city council meeting Wednesday, Aug. 18, at Dayton city hall. Staff photo by Jim Noelker

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By Lucas Sullivan, Staff Writer Updated 6:45 AM Monday, August 23, 2010

DAYTON — Mayor Gary Leitzell plans to significantly reduce his duties as the city’s elected leader the entire month of September in order to fix the slate roof and gutters on his Victorian house in Walnut Hills.

Leitzell, nearly nine months into his term as mayor, said he is not taking a vacation, but will not be holding regular office hours the entire month. Leitzell said he will run the City Commission meetings as required by charter and attend other functions while away.

“It’s not a vacation, though I do have a week’s vacation scheduled that month,” Leitzell said last week. “I will attend school board meetings, make television appearances and meet with the city manager, but I will have a light schedule.”

How Leitzell approaches the position seems to be a departure from his recent predecessors.

Leitzell said he spends about 36 hours a week serving as mayor and feels that is what is required. He plans to make roughly $10,000 in repairs to his home, a do-it-yourself project he estimates will save him $33,000.

“This city’s mayor is a part-time job. We have a city manager, he’s the full-time guy, he runs the city,” Leitzell said.

Myron Levine, a professor of Urban Affairs at Wright State University, said it’s unfair for voters to hold a part-time mayor to the same standards as a full-time city manager.

“Mayors have a hard time in a city manager system because the mayor isn’t given the staff or resources to do the detailed work,” Levine said. “The mayor doesn’t have the authority or the staff to even prepare the budget, which sets forth the city’s spending priorities in all areas. The city manager has the resources to do that, but then we blame the mayor whether it’s the mayor’s fault or not.”

Former Mayor Rhine McLin, a Democrat known for logging long hours in the office and at events, said last week she spent between 45 and 60 hours a week while earning $45,000 a year as mayor.

“I took the job serious. I didn’t even have the opportunity to have another job,” she said.

Former Republican Mayor Mike Turner could not be reached for comment.

Paul Leonard, also a Democrat who served as Dayton’s mayor from 1982-86, said he quit his full-time job once elected.

He said treating the mayor’s office as a part-time job devalues its importance.

“The mayor is the one who is held accountable whether the mayor made the decision or not,” said Leonard, now a political science professor at Wright State. “If you create the perception you are not a hard worker by the people who elected you, you are running into some big trouble.”