Levo to run for Hillsboro mayor

A former member of the Hillsboro City Council who worked for 40 years in the banking industry is in the process of taking out petitions to run for the office of mayor of Hillsboro. 

John Levo told The Highland County Press Wednesday that he intends to run for the office as an Independent candidate. 

Levo served on council as a Democrat for 13 years, and said Wednesday that, "the person to lead Hillsboro during the next four years should be decided by all voters and not by the outcome of the May primary."

There are three Republican candidates running for the office - Rod Daniels, Drew Hastings and Terry Mikkelsen. The winner of the May 3 primary race will face Levo in the November general election. Independent candidates have until May 2 to file. The filing date for Republican and Democratic candidates was in early February. 

Levo said his approach to public service has always been based on something his father, P.J. Levo, used to tell him: "A person should put as much into the community as they take out."

On his decision to run as an Independent candidate, Levo said he wanted the electorate to be able to, "voice an opinion as to who should be the leader. To have that decided by one party in a primary is unfair, and frankly it sounds almost communistic."

"Bring Pride and Prosperity Back To Hillsboro" will be Levo's campaign theme, he said in a press release. "Through the overall downturn of the nation's economy and the loss of a major regional employer, the City may be down, but it is not out. We will have to start thinking outside of the box to address issues and challenges and will look to our residents for their thoughts."

His time serving as an elected official, Levo said, is crucial experience that needs to be in the mayor's office. 

"I served on council under three different mayors, who had three different ways of running things," Levo said. "I have had a much more in-depth look the way government is run and have an insight as to how it works that perhaps your average citizens might not have."

That experience, he said, will enable him to "hit the ground running and there maybe won't be so many things that fall through the cracks. I think it would be a smooth transition." 

He says citizens expect to be safe, to be provided water and sewer services, and to have decent streets to travel on. New facilities for the police and fire departments and the water department have been constructed in the recent past. The wastewater treatment plant is currently being updated, and some sewer and water lines are being rebuilt. All of these facilities and lines should, with proper care, be able to serve the community for decades. The volume of traffic moving through the City on any given day, along with the effects of weather-caused damage, has put quite a strain upon our streets. Therefore, finding funds to redo or prolong the life our streets will be most important.

Levo believes all City government must take a look at itself to regain the confidence of its citizens. One way is through open communication. Levo plans to start a program similar to Volunteers In Service To America. This program will be composed of Hillsboro city residents, past City officials, educators, ministers, and professionals who have a vested interest in the success of the City. He will encourage each of the four City wards to establish a Ward Council that will meet frequently to discuss issues and concerns affecting their neighborhoods. And since many Hillsboro matters affect other political subdivisions, he proposes frequent round-table meetings with the County Commissioners, township trustees, the Board of Education, and the county sheriff and engineer. Findings, ideas, and suggestions arising from all of these groups will be forwarded to the appropriate city departments, the safety service director, and City Council for evaluation and possible action. He will consider evening and Saturday office hours for better public access.

He also proposes all current Hillsboro City Ordinances be evaluated by a committee of elected officials, department heads and citizens during the next four years with the intent to bring them up-to-date and make them more business and citizen-friendly.

During the past few years, the City experienced well-known financial problems. However, collections of the City Income Tax have increased, so he is cautiously optimistic "the corner has been turned." Levo feels his 40-year banking career, retail experience in the family-owned business, present ownership of an 130-acre farm, and his accounting and business administration college major has prepared him to work with the City Auditor and Safety Service Director on City finances and budget preparation.

His years serving the former Hillsboro Chamber of Commerce and the Highland County Chamber of Commerce as president, interim president and as a board member gives him insight into business development, retention, and expansion and the promotion of the community as a destination. Realizing that job creation in neighboring communities can provide job opportunities to Hillsboro residents, he will work within limits to assist those communities in creating jobs.

Levo is a former president of the Hillsboro Jaycees, to whom he attributes the start of his love of community service. He later served two terms as a vice president of the Ohio Jaycees and in 1976 was nominated by that organization as one of the Outstanding Young Men In America. It was Levo who took an idea based on a former Jaycee project and a suggestion from newspaper editor Jim Hardin and turned it into Hillsboro's annual Festival of the Bells.

Levo's wife Kathy is a retired Hillsboro High School teacher. They have two children, David, an architect in New York City, and Jennifer, a graphic designer living in Portland, Ore. Levo is a member of several local organizations and attends the Hillsboro First United Methodist Church. He and his wife are currently developing a blueberry-growing operation on their 100-year-old family farm.