Kettering’s longest serving mayor reflects on tenure as final term ends

His first mayoral election was a three-way race, but Patterson gained more than half the votes. Since then, he’s either run unopposed or won at least 74% of the vote, including defeating two other candidates in 2017 by collecting 76%, election records show.

As his final days in office approach, Patterson has been “a dogged, determined force for our city,” said Republican state Rep. Andrea White, former Kettering clerk of courts.

White said the business experience from his real estate background “has made a tremendous impact in so many ways.”

But as so many others have for 30-plus years, White referred to Patterson as “Maureen’s husband,” speaking of his spouse. The retired Dayton Development Coalition executive has been called a key asset in the mayor’s voter-approval ratings.

Kettering Vice Mayor Tony Klepacz said the city “has experienced tremendous growth” with Patterson as mayor. But he noted “we know his successful tenure would not have been possible without the support and grace” of his wife, for whom the development coalition’s highest award is named.

White and Klepacz spoke of the improvements to the city’s safety forces under Don Patterson, as well as his community work, and push to improve the Wilmington Pike corridor and the city’s business parks.

Patterson is quick to credit a unified approach during his terms, led by City Manager Mark Schwieterman, whom he called “an integral part of this team and a friend.”

“Without Mark, I don’t think we could have gotten things done and made the city better because Mark was that consummate partner,” he said. “And I will tell you, Mark and I didn’t always agree. We had some pretty get-up-and-close-the-door-type of discussions ... but he has been such a tremendous asset to this community.”

“And if the city manager and the mayor don’t get along, that’s a problem,” Patterson said.

Patterson’s 2022 successor as mayor, Peggy Lehner, served on city council with Patterson years ago.

The 67-year-old Patterson pointed to the Wilmington Pike project, improving parks, Kettering’s new fire stations, neighborhood revitalization work, street upgrades and the city’s efforts to comply with the American Disabilities Act as some the highlights during his time as mayor.

“A lot of these things aren’t sexy,” he said.

City records show more than $10 million has been invested in Wilmington Pike’s revitalization, a project approved in 2013.

The corridor “looked long in the tooth and tired,” Patterson said. “And that was a gateway into our community from the south suburbs” and from the city of Dayton on the north end.

“We always knew that it was never going to be the type of corridor it was back in the days when Wilmington Pike was the buzz” of growth, he said.

But it now has more new restaurants and other small businesses — including a brewery — along with new lighting and sidewalks, Patterson said.

The city’s buying more than 300 acres at Miami Valley Research Park four years ago was “something I was adamant (about) if we had that opportunity to do that,” he said, adding that it could help expand Kettering’s income tax base.

Kettering has sold several parcels, including to the Community Tissue Services Center — which added about 200 jobs with a $50 million expansion — and more recently to Life Connection of Ohio.

Life Connection, which works with the tissue center, bought about 8 acres in a plan to move its Dayton region headquarters to MVRP and increase its workforce from 58 to about 100 within five years, Chief Executive Officer Matthew Wadsworth has said.

Kettering recently approved changes to expand research park land uses, including restaurants and housing.

“This has been a team thing,” Patterson said of his four terms. “And that was the reason why we were able to achieve the successes that we were able to achieve. We were all pulling on the same end of the rope.”