Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan reflected on his two-term tenure as mayor and gave parting advice to his eventual successor during his final 鈥淪tate of the City鈥� address Wednesday.
鈥淚t has been an honor of my professional lifetime to serve as your mayor,鈥� Horrigan said in the speech, which was held at 7:30 a.m. at the John S. Knight Center in downtown Akron.
The event was originally scheduled for August 2022 but was postponed in the aftermath of the fatal police shooting of Jayland Walker, a 25-year-old Black man. Eight Akron Police officers shot Walker after a car and foot chase June 27. The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is reviewing the incident and expected to complete the investigation in the coming months, if not sooner.
The attorney general鈥檚 office will turn the finished investigation over to a Summit County grand jury, which will then decide whether to indict the eight officers involved in the shooting.
City officials are preparing for the impending completion of the investigation and subsequent grand jury decision, Horrigan said during the address.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no doubt, in the days and weeks ahead, this community will need to trust each other more than they ever have as the independent investigations into the death of Jayland Walker become public and the grand jury makes its decision,鈥� he said.
Horrigan鈥檚 staff has been speaking to various community groups to educate them about the grand jury process and what to expect when the decision is released, he said.
鈥淚 think we can all agree on 2 key points,鈥� he said. 鈥淣umber one: We want peace here in Akron. Number two: We want to make sure we have the infrastructure in place to deal with both trauma and healing.鈥�
鈥淧illars鈥� for next mayor to consider
Horrigan encouraged the city鈥檚 next mayor to focus on 鈥渇oundational pillars鈥� of good governance, financial stability and equity.
Good governance, Horrigan said, isn鈥檛 always about agreeing.
鈥淭his role is not pleasing the loudest voices in the room. It鈥檚 about doing the right thing for all of Akron,鈥� Horrigan said.
The speech comes as some residents have expressed frustrations at the administration for not listening to their opposition of projects such as White Pond Reserve, a controversial housing development on an area near wetlands on the city鈥檚 West Side.
Horrigan already endorsed Marco Sommerville, a deputy mayor in his administration, several days after he announced he would not seek reelection.
Horrigan told 91福利 he鈥檚 paying 鈥渮ero attention鈥� to how the seven mayoral candidates are campaigning.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a difference between running for office and running the office,鈥� Horrigan said. 鈥淚 was a candidate once and I said 鈥榯his,鈥� you know what I mean, but getting the information about what really is going on is different than saying, 鈥榳e should be doing this.鈥欌��
Takeaways and lessons learned
Rather than give a 鈥渓aundry list鈥� of his administration鈥檚 accomplishments, Horrigan said, he wanted to focus his last address on what he learned as the city鈥檚 top official and give takeaways to his successor.
Still, he touted his administration鈥檚 efforts to stabilize finances and prioritize equity across the city. The city is in a much better position financially than when he first took office in 2016, partially due to the $145 million of federal COVID relief it received, Horrigan said.
There is still much room for improvement, he added. He encouraged the city鈥檚 next leader to always put citizens first.
鈥淭he outsiders don鈥檛 get to tell our story. We do. We鈥檙e telling the story of a community who shows up, does the work, puts in the time, and again most importantly, cares,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t is the people of Akron who matter most.鈥�
Horrigan ended the speech by unveiling a new city logo that features a rubber worker holding a tire, calling back to the city鈥檚 rubber industry roots.
He also announced a community parade to celebrate the Buchtel Community Learning Center and Archbishop Hoban boys鈥� basketball teams for winning the division II and division I state championships last weekend. The parade is Sunday at 2 p.m. starting at the intersection of Main and Cedar downtown.
