Donald Culliver was sworn to office on December 1 2007 after being elected to serve by the people of Mansfield, Ohio

Mansfield, Ohio

Mansfield is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Richland County. The municipality is located in north-central Ohio in the western foothills of the Allegheny Plateau, approximately southwest of Cleveland and northeast of Columbus....

 on November 6 2007. He is the first African-American in history to be elected Mayor of Mansfield.

Political life

His 2007 run for mayor was his first run for public office. He won the Mansfield mayoral election with 41% of votes with a margin of 4,862, defeating at large city council

City council

A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...

 Doug Versaw (R

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

) who received 32% of votes with a margin of 3,820 and William Anliker (Unindorsed R

Independent (politician)

In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...

) who received 27% of votes with a margin of 3,159.

On February 25, 2008, Culliver endorsed Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

 Senator Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

 for president

President of the United States

The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

, saying, "If we are going to make a better future for America, we need a leader who isn't invested in the political food fights of the past."

Community & Education

Mayor Culliver is well known around the community for his work in education and as a mentor to the youth of Mansfield. While campaigning for office in 2007, Mayor Culliver set a clear goal to get the community involved in our education system to help create a positive and progressive learning environment.

In 2008, Mayor Culliver helped build bridges between the government, education community and business community by forming several partnerships with local community members to help advance Mansfield to the next level together. Out of those partnerships, education has been a key focus to the Mayor and in November 2008, he created the Mayor's Education Task Force, a volunteer community organization dedicated towards getting the community involved in our local education system. The Mayor's influence in the community has reached incredible numbers with his initiative gaining 57 volunteers in five months by August 25 2009 and community partners nation-wide.

Economic Management

While the economic recession was officially declared in December 2007, it didn't stop the freshman Mayor from doing whatever it took to gain opportunity for his city. Mayor Culliver has been committed towards building partnerships throughout the state and nation and already includes the Ohio General Assembly, Governors Office and the United States Congress. Early 2009, Mayor Culliver and members of his administration traveled to Washington to work with several members of the United States House of Representatives, Senate and the Executive Office to work on funding opportunities for the City of Mansfield. Mayor Culliver was able to generate more than 3 million dollars in funding for Mansfield that helped save several safety service positions.However, because of the global economic shift, he was not able to secure positions for everyone who lost employment.

In 2009, Mayor Culliver partnered with local manufacturers,the business community, State Representative and House Majority Whip Jay Goyal

Jay Goyal

Jay Goyal is a member of the Ohio House of Representatives. He is a Democrat representing the 73rd District, which includes the city of Mansfield and other parts of Richland County. Prior to 2011, Goyal served as the Majority Whip.-Life and career:...

, Commissioner Gary Utt, Governor Ted Strickland

Ted Strickland

Theodore "Ted" Strickland was the 68th Governor of Ohio, serving from 2007 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the United States House of Representatives, representing ....

 and Senator Sherrod Brown

Sherrod Brown

Sherrod Campbell Brown is the senior United States Senator from Ohio and a member of the Democratic Party. Before his election to the U.S. Senate, he was a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Ohio's 13th congressional district from 1993 to 2007...

in the Mansfield Makes Sense for the New GM campaign towards keeping the local General Motors plant open. However, efforts were unsuccessful as the community received the final plan to close from GM Headquarters on July 31 2009.

Family and Personal Life

Mayor Culliver is a proud graduate of Malabar High School and a longtime resident and dedicated member of the Mansfield community, where he is also a loving husband, father and grandfather
Mayor Culliver has been active in the community of Mansfield for many years with a 20 year public service record as a city councilman and 35 years experience as a licensed journeyman at PPG Industries.

External links

• Cumberland Mayor official government website