FINDLAY — Being Findlay’s mayor often took Lydia Mihalik far beyond northwest Ohio.
It took her to Japan to visit Findlay’s friendship city, to the White House to talk about infrastructure, and to the southern border with other U.S. mayors to condemn child separations.
These trips primed Ms. Mihalik for her latest journey: becoming director of Ohio’s Development Services Agency in Columbus.
After years of courting from the capitol, Findlay’s mayor finally made her move when Gov. Mike DeWine offered a cabinet-level position with a focus on supporting Ohio businesses and administering tax credits.
“It was a very difficult decision because I really enjoy what I do here,” said Ms. Mihalik, 39. “I’ve said several times that being mayor of Findlay is one of the best jobs you can have. It’s been fun, and I feel like I’ve been able to grow as a result of the community around me. But it was time to take the next step and contribute on a statewide level.”
A Republican, Ms. Mihalik has been a rising star in the party since taking office in 2012 when, at 32, she became the city’s first female mayor.
“My husband is the first dude, and I’ve been pregnant in office,” Ms. Mihalik told Governing magazine in 2017. “I want young professionals to see it’s possible to have a family and a rewarding career.”
During her time in office, Ms. Mihalik gained wider recognition as part of the Ohio Mayors Alliance. She helped launch the group — a bipartisan coalition of leaders from the state’s 30 largest cities — in 2016 with Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley and Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley, both Democrats.
“I had never met Lydia before and we went to dinner,” Ms. Whaley said. “[We told her] ‘This is what we want to do, we want to have this bipartisan group. We’re getting hammered by the state and it’s time the state pay attention to local communities. We’ve got to take action.’ She was like, ‘I completely agree, I’m all in.’ And I was like, ‘Who is this woman? That’s amazing.’ ”
Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz, a Democrat who also worked with Ms. Mihalik on the mayors alliance, praised her leadership.
“She’s not a zealot, and she’s not an ideologue,” he said. “She’s a pragmatic, good, serious elected official.”
Before Ms. Mihalik became mayor — a post now held by former Findlay City Council President Ron Monday until a replacement is chosen — the University of Findlay graduate was a grant administrator for the Hancock Regional Planning Commission responsible for steering millions to the county.
Her first task as Findlay’s mayor was a massive financial overhaul. Officials at the time had been unable to pass a permanent budget for the 41,000-person city.
“Things weren’t so good around Findlay, and we were ready for change,” she said. “Our expenses outpaced our revenue and we had to rightsize, which was a very painful time.”
Her administration went on to address one of the city’s most vexing issues: flooding of the Blanchard River, a shallow waterway that often spills into Findlay and has caused major damage.
“It’s a huge problem that required a dedicated effort to stay engaged with a very frustrating kind of process involving the Army Corps of Engineers and a variety of state and federal agencies,” said Lima Mayor David Berger, another Democrat. “I think they’re on their way to a solution, and her leadership helped with that.”
The city’s infrastructure challenges — and its recognition by Site Selection magazine as the nation’s top small city for industrial development — afforded Ms. Mihalik a platform at the White House where she spoke with President Trump about his call for cities to invest more in their infrastructure coupled with an infusion of federal dollars.
“In order to take advantage of new money from the federal government, the White House is proposing that we raise revenue locally to do so,” Ms. Mihalik told The Blade after her March trip to Washington. “I am unsure as to what the appetite for that will be in the Findlay community.”
Ms. Mihalik had another opportunity for a national platform when in June she visited the U.S.-Mexico border with the U.S. Conference of Mayors. The Ohio Republican and fellow leaders condemned the President and his administration for separating children and their parents caught crossing the U.S. border illegally.
“It’s something that tugged at a lot of our hearts,” she said, “so we felt it was necessary to take that stand.”
But more often, the mayors conference focuses on nuts-and-bolts issues such as tax reform, local government funding, and bonding.
Ms. Mihalik is something of a cheerleader for municipal leaders and their important role shaping communities.
“If mayors ruled the world, life would be even better than it is today — if you asked us,” she said.
While Ms. Mihalik was twice elected to local office, she has resisted becoming a partisan figure, showing no interest in an appointment to the state Senate in 2017. Her new job with the Development Services Agency, she said, is more in line with what she wants to accomplish for the state.
“It’s a very big agency, and it has a lot of responsibility,” Ms. Mihalik said. “I’m excited about the role and how it will play in Ohio’s evolution over the next four years with this administration.”
With three children and a husband in Findlay, Ms. Mihalik said she isn’t planning a move to Columbus, opting instead for the nearly 100-mile commute.
Leaving a post she’s held for seven years, she shared advice for other women following in her footsteps:
“If you can be your genuine self, there’s a lot of advantage to that,” she said. “If you think you’re what someone else wants to see, you’re not going to be successful.
“We certainly need more women in elected office, although there were some great strides made depending upon which side of the aisle you support. And we need more of that, not only at the congressional level but at the state and local level too.”
First Published February 4, 2019, 12:00 p.m.
