UH's Rothschild reflects on a lifetime of service
After Dec. 31, Beryl Rothschild's last day as mayor of University Heights, she's going to begin working on her first book.
“I haven’t started it, but I have many things to convey to readers,” she says.
Rothschild’s 42-year legacy of public service to University Heights –10 years on City Council and 32 as mayor (making her Cuyahoga County's longest-serving female mayor)– will undoubtedly take reams of paper to record. One idea she wants to discuss is her admiration for the thousands of local governments across the United States that manage thriving small towns and cities.
“We’re the engine that makes everything successful, because if we ever stopped giving the services, the whole country could collapse,” she says. “I think that in this country we are more successful as a whole on a local level than they are in Congress. I think that they often are so detached, even though they go back to their states and everything. How often can you get together with your Congressman?”
Among her highlights as mayor, Rothschild points to the development of Purvis Park and its pool, the Series of Discoveries diversity program, the City Beautiful Commission and the Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) program. She is particularly proud of the diversity program, which aimed to help the multicultural populations of University Heights understand one another and work together cohesively.
“There were 39 different cultures here and 11 languages spoken in the homes,” Rothschild explains. The program lasted for 10 years and helped the community come together.
Shopping districts on South Taylor, South Green and Cedar roads, and Fairmount Circle were in need of revitalization. Rothschild says they got the attention they deserved and are in better shape today than when her tenure began.
But Rothschild concedes it hasn’t all been good news. She calls the foreclosure crisis –and the bonuses bankers gave themselves with taxpayer dollars– “outrageous.”
“My heart goes out to all the people who didn’t have to lose their home if the money had been forthcoming immediately, if the middle class that everybody is trying to save had been serviced immediately,” Rothschild says.
The recession has taken a toll on University Heights, but Rothschild says she is thankful and proud that the city didn’t have to cut staff, as others did.
“I think people can learn from us a little bit. You have to learn to operate on a lower budget and you have to be aware of what’s coming,” she says. “We never felt overstaffed. We were always at what we could handle staffwise, and most of the people who work with us do more than one job."
As a final salute to Rothschild’s service, University Heights officials paid tribute to her at a Civic Awards Program and Retirement Gala in October, naming her the 2009 Citizen of the Year.
“I’d like to thank all of my supporters for all these years for the faith that they’ve put in me. I really love this city. I gave it my all, and I know that (incoming mayor) Susan Infeld will do the same,” Rothschild says. “I just want to say thank you. It was a wonderful journey, and I loved every minute of it.”
Kelli Fontenot is a journalist living in Cleveland Heights.