LORAIN, Ohio — Lorain Mayor Chase Ritenauer surprised many people this week with an unexpected decision to resign.
He had been serving as mayor for the past eight years, after winning the job at age 26.
Ritenauer says his family will move to Chicago, where he will work as a director at Republic Services, a waste management company.
On Friday, he spoke with WKYC’s Andrew Horansky about his decision.
“When looking at what’s best for our family, this is it,” Ritenauer said. “As mayor, my time is not my own. My privacy is not my own.”
And popularity has not come easy.
In a community that lost a shipyard, a Ford plant, and thousands of jobs in steel, voters have-long wanted a leader who could turn back time.
Ritenauer, however, remained a realist.
“I think it’s disingenuous to tell the citizenry that those days are coming,” he said. “I think the future to Lorain is really what we have started to do and are trying to do.”
His efforts included turning downtown into an entertainment destination, where plans are underway on a new hotel.
Ritenauer also believed in building on what business they had.
“That’s where we’re seeing our growth,” he said, adding the days of attracting a new “1000-person company” are over.
“You saw the Amazon chase, I mean, you know we took part of it too knowing full-well ‘look hey if we get some publicity, great.’ But let’s be honest. I mean Amazon, where they landed, is where I expected them to go,” he said.
He wishes he could have stayed long enough in office to see an end to House Bill 70. It allowed the state to take over Lorain Schools, which received a failing grade from the state and put Ritenauer at odds with the appointed CEO.
“I wanted to be there for the day it changed,” he said. “We’ve pushed it to a point where it’s going to change, so I do take some solace in that.”
He said he is now looking forward to more time with his wife and young daughter.
He has not endorsed a replacement, just as he has not given up on returning to politics one day.
Ritenaur’s last day in office will be May 31st.
Lorain’s Democratic party will then decide on his replacement as well as who should appear on the November ballot.