Kettering mayor Lehner to end nearly three decades of elected office

Peggy Lehner says she will still serve where she can ‘make a difference’
Kettering Mayor Peggy Lehner

Credit: Contributed

Credit: Contributed

Kettering Mayor Peggy Lehner
Local News
By Jen Balduf – Staff Writer
18 hours ago
X

After nearly three decades in elected office at the municipal and state level, Kettering Mayor Peggy Lehner will not seek another term.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed serving in the city, both as mayor and previously as council member and certainly as a state legislator. I’ve enjoyed every minute of it,” said Lehner, 75, who said it’s time to give younger people a chance to step up.

ExploreKettering 2025 state of the city address: ‘Progress illuminates every quarter’

Lehner was elected mayor in November 2021, returning to the Kettering City Council where she was an at-large councilwoman from 1998 to 2008. She served for 12 years in Ohio House of Representatives and the Ohio Senate, where she led the education committee.

As a state senator, the Republican in 2015 unveiled a bipartisan bill to overhaul Ohio’s charter school system to bring more oversight. She also co-sponsored a bill requiring schools to notify parents within two hours if a child doesn’t show up for school, according to Dayton Daily News archives.

ExploreTougher charter rules proposed

There are still a lot of issues and needs in the greater community, including those affecting children and the poor, she said.

“I don’t think any of us can afford to walk away from some of these public issues, and I don’t intend to. I just won’t do it as mayor, but I will serve as called and where I think I can make a difference,” Lehner said.

State Sen. Peggy Lehner, R-Kettering, third from left, is co-sponsor of a bill that would require schools to notify parents within two hours if a child doesn’t show up for school. BEN McLAUGHLIN / STAFF

icon to expand image

In Other News
1
Montgomery County commission ‘cannot legally’ create civilian jail...
2
Acton far behind Ramaswamy in governor race funding despite record haul
3
Dayton schools staff to be paid Aug. 15 following court injunction
4
Housing developer to use explosives, blasting techniques in...
5
Gionino’s Pizzeria opens Monday on Wilmington Avenue in Dayton with new...

About the Author

Follow Jen Balduf on twitter

Jen Roppel Balduf covers the communities of Kettering, Oakwood and northern Warren County, including Springboro and Franklin. She earned a bachelor of science in journalism degree from Ohio University.