Tumeo resigns from Cleveland Heights City Council

Cleveland Heights Council Member Mark Tumeo

Council Member Mark Tumeo announced his resignation from Cleveland Heights City Council at the March 21 council meeting. Tumeo is vacating his seat for a job that will take him out of state. He has accepted the position of Dean of the College of Computing, Engineering and Construction for the University of North Florida, in Jacksonville. His resignation is effective May 17.

Mark Tumeo was the first openly gay member to serve on the city council. In the 2005 municipal election, he defeated incumbent Jimmie Hicks Jr., who had opposed the city’s domestic partner registry. Tumeo was a cofounder of Heights Families for Equality, the organization that pushed for the registry. He was reelected for a second term in 2009.

Tumeo was known for the innovative ideas he brought to council. As chair of the council’s Administrative Services Committee in 2009, he caused an uproar among University Heights residents and then-Mayor Beryl Rothschild when he suggested that the city consider merging with Cleveland Heights to create a single, larger city that could make more efficient use of scarce resources.

Although Tumeo said modestly that everything the council does is the result of working together as a team, he was instrumental in changing the way the city budgeted and planned its finances. Under his leadership as chair of the Finance Committee, the city maintained a balanced budget as well as its bond rating. "We had to make hard decisions," he said, "and ask hard questions. We worked with council and staff to ensure that every program and city function was evaluated for efficiency."

Tumeo is justly proud of his work in raising the level of community policing in Cleveland Heights. As chair of the Public Health and Safety Committee, he began a pilot project that promoted direct weekly communication between Oxford neighborhood residents and the police force. He is excited about the return of bicycle cops to the force and the new Meet the Police initiative that Police Chief Jeff Robertson has instituted.

"Of all the things I have ever done, I am most honored that the people of Cleveland Heights elected me to represent them--not once, but twice--and I hope that they feel I have served them well and made them proud," said Tumeo.

According to the city charter, Cleveland Heights City Council will appoint someone to serve in Tumeo’s place through Dec. 31, 2011. Because there will be a municipal election this fall, voters will have the opportunity then to elect someone to serve the remaining two years of his term, from Jan. 1, 2012 to Dec. 31, 2013.

Mayor Ed Kelley said that in early April, the city will announce how residents can apply for the interim position. The goal is to have someone in place by the first council meeting in June.

Kelley stated that he would miss Mark Tumeo. "It’s been a pleasure to serve with him. He’s brought energy, creativity and talent to the position. He’s a dedicated council member and good friend."

The last time a council seat was vacated before the expiration of a term was in 1993, when Ohio Representative Barbara Boyd left for the statehouse.

Three council terms will expire at the end of this year—those of council members Phyllis Evans, Dennis Wilcox and Kenneth Montlack. Voters will choose candidates to fill these seats, as well as the one vacated by Tumeo, in this fall’s municipal election.