Kent’s newly sworn-in mayor is reflecting on the path forward for the city after the death of its long-time mayor, Jerry Fiala, in September.
City Council Vice President Jack Amrhein was sworn in as mayor on Oct. 15.
For Amrhein and the rest of council, even though Fiala had been in declining health, his death was still unexpected.
“It’s certainly been stressful and sad,” he said. “But you have a job to do, so you have to do it.”
Amrhein said he’s worked to hold council together during an emotional and challenging time. He said it was reassuring to know that the council supported him.
“I’m glad they had the confidence in me knowing that I can do the job,” Amrhein said. “I didn’t get a lot of chances to practice being the mayor or even knowing what I was really doing at first, but I’m getting used to it.”
Amrhein was already on the ballot for the November ballot and running unopposed.
Fiala was a lifelong Kent resident who spent more than three decades in public service. He worked at Tree City Mold and Machine Co. as a machinist and programmer before being elected to Kent City Council in 1985. In 1997 he was appointed acting mayor by his fellow council members to serve out the remainder of the term of Mayor Kathleen Chandler who had been elected Portage County Commissioner. Fiala continued to serve on council until 1999.
Fiala's first run for mayor was in 2009, when he finished with the same number of votes as challenger Rick Hawksley. Fiala won the race, quite literally, with a flip of a coin.
“I worked with him for 14 years,” Amrhein said. “We sat next to each other [on council] and would share stories about our family and pictures of our grandchildren.”
As mayor, Fiala oversaw several major initiatives in Kent, including the creation of Acorn Alley, the redevelopment of downtown, the strengthening of ties between the city and Kent State University and the construction of city hall.
“He was very committed to the community,” Amrhein said. “That’s why he ran for mayor, because he loved this community and wanted to give back to the community.”
Kent has a city manager position, so the role of mayor is largely ceremonial.
That didn’t stop Fiala from being an active presence in the community, according to Amrhein, leaving big shoes to fill.
“Jerry was older than I am, and he had a lot more energy than I have,” he said. “They’re big shoes, and that’s pretty intimidating.”
