SHELBY, Ohio–The city of Shelby has a new mayor. Councilmember-at-large Steve Schag will step into the mayor position after the resignation of Mayor Marilyn John.
John’s term as mayor will end on Wednesday, Dec. 31 at noon. She will take office as Richland County Commissioner effective Thursday, Jan. 1, 2015 at 12 a.m.
“I am honored to continue serving our community as a county commissioner and will work with the same passion and dedication,” said John during Shelby City Council on Dec. 1.
The city of Shelby’s charter states that upon the mayor’s resignation the position of mayor would first be offered to the Law Director, Gordon Eyster. If Eyster declined the position it would then be offered to the Finance Director, Bob Lafferty. If Lafferty declined it would then be offered to Councilmember-at-large Steve Schag.
Lafferty stated he passed up the opportunity to become mayor because he would prefer to focus on the city’s finances.
“The two positions in the city of Shelby are of equal grounds – one handles the finances and the other handles personnel,” said Lafferty. “I had no desire to take over mayoral duties. I need to continue with the finances and we have enough issues with finances that I need to keep us on the right track the next couple years.”
Lafferty added he has worked well with Schag over the past eight years, and believes he will be an excellent mayor.
“Steve is well qualified, level-headed, makes good decisions and thinks well,” said Lafferty. “He’ll make a good mayor and I have all the confidence in the world in Steve.”
Eyster was unavailable for comment on Thursday evening. If Schag had declined, the position would then have been offered to the council member with the most years of experience.
Schag stated during Shelby City Council on Dec. 1 that he looks forward to what lies ahead for John during her time as a county commissioner.
“I think all of us when we take a position we like to think we leave the place in a better position once we move on, and you certainly have in the city of Shelby,” he said. “We still have a good number of team members in place, but you’ve brought a unique perspective to city leadership and we certainly appreciate that.”
Schag, who was born in Mansfield and has lived in Shelby since 1981, serves as pastor at Calvary Baptist Church in Shelby. He was first elected to city council in 2013. Schag was unavailable for comment on Thursday evening.
