CH City Administrator to retire at end of 2024

Danny Williams

Cleveland Heights City Administrator Danny Williams announced at the Sept. 3 meeting of CH City Council that he plans to retire at the end of this year. He said he was making his plans known now “to give the mayor ample time to find a suitable replacement.”

Williams cited personal and professional reasons for his decision.

“At the end of this year,” said Williams, “I will have outlived my father by a decade.” That realization, he said, coupled with losses he has experienced over the past year, prompted him to think about where he wants to spend the rest of his life.

Prior to becoming city administrator, Williams said, he was teaching at Case and substitute teaching in the Heights system. “I miss teaching,” he explained.

Professionally, said Williams, he sees himself as a “teacher, coach, facilitator,” adding, “my goal is to help build camaraderie . . . and good will.”

Williams stated that the mayor is “firmly engaged” in the effort to improve delivery of services. In doing so, said Williams, the mayor is using a management philosophy—Lean Six Sigma—that seeks to get rid of waste and find efficient ways to get things done.

Williams said, “I told the mayor I just didn’t feel I was adding sufficient value that I was capable of in this management scheme.”

“I think I can be of greater value to my community, to my family, to my church, and to my school system doing something different,” explained Williams.

Mayor Seren announced on Aug. 4, 2023, that he had selected Danny Williams as Cleveland Heights' second city administrator. The former city administrator, Joseph Sinnott, was appointed by the mayor in March 2022 and resigned in March 2023.