Biography

Leitzell was born in McKeesport, Pennsylvania

McKeesport, Pennsylvania

McKeesport is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, in the United States; it is located at the confluence of the Monongahela and Youghiogheny rivers and is part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. The population was 19,731 at the 2010 census...

 in 1961. His father was a former member of the U.S. Air Force who worked in a steel mill

Steel mill

A steel mill or steelworks is an industrial plant for the manufacture of steel.Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon. It is produced in a two-stage process. First, iron ore is reduced or smelted with coke and limestone in a blast furnace, producing molten iron which is either cast into pig iron or...

; his mother was a British overseas bride. Leitzell moved as a child to Chippenham

Chippenham

Chippenham may be:* Chippenham, Wiltshire* Chippenham * Chippenham, Cambridgeshire-See also:* Virginia State Route 150, also known as Chippenham Parkway, USA* Cippenham, Berkshire, UK...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 in 1970, where he attended a public grammar school

Grammar school

A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...

. Leitzell graduated from the University of London

University of London

-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...

 with a bachelor's degree

Bachelor's degree

A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...

 in geology

Geology

Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...

 in 1982 and returned to the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 to reacquaint himself with a father whom he had not seen in twelve years. Leitzell then worked in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...

 area in several sales

Sales

A sale is the act of selling a product or service in return for money or other compensation. It is an act of completion of a commercial activity....

 and sales management

Sales management

Sales management is a business discipline which is focused on the practical application of sales techniques and the management of a firm's sales operations. It is an important business function as net sales through the sale of products and servicess and resulting profit drive most commercial...

 positions until 1994. After two layoffs and one merger within the first ten years of his entering the corporate workforce, he made the decision to pursue a hobby

Hobby

A hobby is a regular activity or interest that is undertaken for pleasure, typically done during one's leisure time.- Etymology :A hobby horse is a wooden or wickerwork toy made to be ridden just like a real horse...

-related business (miniature painting) in 1994, a decision that allowed him the opportunity to travel throughout the United States. In late 1994, he moved to Dayton, Ohio.

Political career

In Dayton Leitzell became involved with the Southeast Priority board in 1999. He was elected to chair the board in 2008 and 2009 and was the president of his neighborhood association

Neighborhood association

A neighborhood association is a group of residents or property owners who advocate for or organize activities within a neighborhood. An association may have elected leaders and voluntary dues....

 for six terms.

Leitzell ran for mayor of Dayton, Ohio

Dayton, Ohio

Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...

 as an independent candidate in 2009 and upset Rhine McLin

Rhine McLin

Rhine Lana McLin is an American Democratic politician from Ohio. McLin received her Bachelor of Arts in sociology and secondary education from Parsons College and her Master of Education in guidance counseling from Xavier University...

, the incumbent Democrat. He won on a $17,600 budget and was outspent by the incumbent (approx. $160,000). His term as mayor began on January 4, 2010.