MANSFIELD — A new attorney will represent the City of Mansfield in January for the first time in more than a decade.
That new law director, however, will be decided May 2 in a Democratic Party primary that features two veteran barristers. No local Republicans filed to run for the seat.
Party voters will choose either Christopher Brown or Roeliff “Rollie” Harper to replace John Spon, who is in the last year of his third and final four-year term of office.
Spon, first elected in 2011, is prevented by city charter term limits from seeking re-election.
The Mansfield Law Director is paid $85,651 annually, according to the city’s finance department.
Here is the law director’s role:
— The Director of Law shall be an attorney-at-law duly authorized to practice law in the State of Ohio. The Director of Law shall not serve as legal counsel to any school district, county, township, other municipality, or other political subdivision, district or unit of the State or local governments; except that he or Assistant Directors of Law may represent the Mansfield City School District, or any successor district, pursuant to a contract approved by such School District and the City’s Council, with any compensation under such contract for such services being paid into the City’s treasury.
— The Director of Law shall be the legal advisor, prosecuting attorney and counsel for the City and, subject to the direction of Council, shall represent the City in all proceedings in court or before any administrative board or body. To the extent consistent with this Charter, the Director of Law shall perform all other powers, duties and functions now or hereafter imposed on City Directors of Law under the laws of Ohio, and shall perform other duties as required by this Charter, by ordinance or resolution, or as directed by the Mayor.
— The Council may provide for assistants and special counsel to the Director of Law. All assistants shall be appointed by the Director of Law. The assistants shall be responsible to the Director of Law and when authorized, may exercise all or any part of the powers, duties and functions granted to the Director of Law under this section. Special counsel may be employed by the Director of Law or by the Council to perform powers, duties and functions authorized by and in the manner provided by the Director of Law or the Council, as appropriate to their engagement.
Source: City of Mansfield charter
Here is a look at the two candidates seeking to be Mansfield’s new legal leader:
Christopher Brown
The 36-year-old resident of 586 Glendale Blvd. has worked in Spon’s office since 2011 and has been the deputy law director since 2013. He is making his first run for public office.
“My family has been in Mansfield for generations and I am devoted to public service,” said Brown, who earned a bachelor’s degree in English from The Ohio State University in 2008 and a law degree in 2011 from the University of Cincinnati College of Law.
“My career at the law director’s office started as an intern in 2007. I fell in love with the office because I saw what an impact it had on the community,” said Brown, who has been the office’s representative at City Council meetings since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020.
Mansfield will have a new law director, finance director and mayor in 2014 due to term limits.
“We are going to have all new city leadership next year and the city needs a law director who is ready to go on day one,” he said. “I believe in good government, one that serves the people and is run by honest and well-qualified public servants.
“Our new leadership will have several operations questions from (America Rescue Plan Act) regulations to labor and employment disputes and everything in between. I will be ready for that demand,” Brown said.
The office handles civil and criminal matters for the city. Brown said he would like to make improvements in the criminal area.
“There is an old saying, ‘If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.’ In the law director’s office, we have a lot of tools at our disposal, and we should use them accordingly,” Brown said.
He said that may mean focusing on rehabilitation, including “trying to get more drivers valid and back on the road legally.”
“Sometimes that means taking more cases to trial when we think it’s important to hold people accountable. I plan to make sure the criminal division is ready to put people first and I hope to expand our victim advocate services,” he said.
Brown said the law director also has a role to play in economic development.
“Whether it’s leveraging intergovernmental partnerships to benefit the city, stepping up code enforcement, or exploring new programs like Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing through the creation of an energy special improvement district (ESID), I am both excited and prepared to get to work on these issues,” he said.
Brown said he is a “well-respected authority on local government law” who regularly teaches other law directors around the state at the Ohio Municipal Attorneys Association.
Roeliff “Rollie” Harper
A 64-year-old resident of 624 Overlook Road, Harper ran unsuccessfully for Richland County Juvenile Court judge in 2019 against Republican Steve McKinley.
The son of former longtime Mansfield police chief Lawrence “Bunk” Harper, he served as a juvenile court magistrate for nine years and was a mayoral appointee to the Civil Service Commission for six years.
“I want to be Mansfield’s law director because I want to make a difference in the lives of everyone in the community, but especially our youth,” Harper said.
“I want to be instrumental in developing a combination of knowledge and skills engagement opportunities that will encourage their success in schools, workforce and the community,” he said.
Harper said he has “significantly more legal experience than my opponent” with 32 years as a practicing attorney in both criminal and civil cases throughout Ohio.
Harper, a Mansfield Senior graduate, earned a bachelor’s degree from Ohio University in 1987 and his law degree from the University of Toledo College of Law in 1990.
He said he is a life-long Mansfield resident who considers “the city’s social problems to be my own.”
“I know this city well, and the community knows me. I see the moral and civic dimensions of our local issues and I want to be a part of the solution. I plan to do that putting forward informed and moral civic judgements, and then taking actions to create solutions,” Harper said.
He said he would take a proactive approach to issues “to avoid the reactive consequences of Mansfield Municipal Court involvement.”
Harper said there also needs to be community education on “Mansfield-specific issues” that would require all parts of the city working together to “protect public values and make sustainable change.”
“The city needs more comprehensive systems to better support at-risk youth. I am deeply concerned about the loss of young lives. Again, this is must be a proactive community approach,” he said.
As a community development group committed to growing Mansfield, NECIC sees civic engagement as vital for a healthy community. Rooted in the North End, their efforts benefit North Central Ohio and beyond. They promote informed voter turnout for a thriving society. Explore at www.necic-ohio.org.