Don Plusquellic
Donald L. "Don" Plusquellic ( born 1949 in Akron, Ohio ) is an American politician ( Democratic Party). He is since 1987 the Mayor of Akron, Ohio, and from 2004 to 2005, President of the United States Conference of Mayors.
Plusquellic grew up in Akron. After high school he first attended the Pittsburgh School of Engineering and graduated from Bowling Green State University with a college degree. Later, he earned the Juris Doctor at the University of Akron.
In 1973, he was first elected to the City Council of Akron and had been a member for 13 years, in the years 1984 to 1987 as Chairman. In November 1987 he was elected the 59th Mayor of Akron and has since been re-elected five times. He is so far the longest-serving mayor of the city. From 2004 to 2005 he was also President of the United States Conference of Mayors, the American Association of Cities. Plusquellic is also vice president of the international peacekeeping organization Mayors for Peace.
Plusquellic is a can-do, stubborn, albeit contentious nature attributed and is considered the most capable mayor of a large city in Ohio. He also is one of the advocates of comprehensive education. So he sat by high interest loans and tax increases to expand the schools in the poorer neighborhoods and let rehabilitate with high financial expenditure the drawn by industrial decline downtown. In contrast, failed his plan to free up funds for college scholarships by leasing the urban sewer network.
Especially Plusquellic is to certify a successful economic policy, as regards its efforts to keep the tire manufacturer Goodyear in the city and expand the polymer research. He gained national prominence mainly through its commitment to inter-municipal business parks, the Joint Economic Development Districts ( JEDDs ). In 2000 he was featured on the front page of the Wall Street Journal.
However, the municipal debt load in his tenure grew strongly on the now 1.6 times the annual tax revenue. Critics consider him therefore claim to have " economically senseless " produces debt. That in June 2009 initiated dismissal proceedings against him but failed.
Plusquellic is divorced and has two children.