Dan Horrigan, Mayor, City of Akron: 2020 State of the City Address

Mayor Horrigan took office in January of 2016 and is now in his second term as Akron’s Mayor, winning over 77% of the vote in 2019. With a core focus of growing Akron’s population again, he has been laser-focused on key areas of opportunity, including jobs and economic inclusion, improving infrastructure, investing in safety equipment and programming, uplifting neighborhoods and investing in public spaces. Some of Mayor’s key accomplishments include tripling Akron’s annual repaving budget by passing a vital income tax increase, reducing the City’s financial obligation on mandated sewer projects by $158 million, passing the City’s first non-discrimination ordinance, convening annual Healthy Equity Summits to address maternal and child health, and partnering with the United Way of Summit County in opening the City’s first Financial Empowerment Center to offer free financial counseling to residents. Also, with a focus on reinvigorating business and housing development, Mayor Horrigan has also created northeast Ohio’s first open innovation hub called Bounce, commissioned and completed a Downtown Vision and Redevelopment Plan, and instituted a tax abatement program to incentivize housing renovation and construction. As Mayor continues to move Akron forward, he strongly believes the city’s future rests on engaged and servant-style leadership. WKSU article on Mayor Horrigan's speech and full text transcript here: