BUCYRUS — A familiar local politician will not be on the primary ballot on May 7. Current Bucyrus City Council President Garnet “Sis” Love will not be seeking reelection.
Love became interested in city government after speaking to council in 2002 about a paving issue on her street.
“My neighbors and I had been waiting patiently for a long time for South East Street to be paved under the street levy that began in the early 1990’s,” Love said. “The city service safety director at the time, Campbell, said the city did not have enough money to do our street, it would be mill and pave only.”
Love said she took a petition around to her neighbors to sign and presented it to council.
“I was nervous to speak at council because it can be a little intimidating,” she said. “I told them we would wait one more year to get the street paved properly and that is exactly what ended up happening.”
Love said to do the project, a tree was cut down in front of her house.
“I thought there must be a better way. I decided to run for council and my friends were shocked,” Love said.
While collecting signatures for her petition to run as a council member in 2003, Love ran into an old friend.
“When I was collecting signatures for my petition to run, I was at the Moose one Wednesday evening for the regular weekly drawing. I went over and asked Roger Moore for his signature. He asked what I was doing and why wasn’t he doing it. He said he would run too,” Love said.
Love said she had known Roger for many, many years.
“I had taught him how to bowl. Thank God he gave the sport up, he was terrible at it,” she said with a laugh.
Love, who earned a degree in computer programming from North Central State College and later, a bachelor’s degree from Ashland University, was elected and as a council-at-large member from 2004 to 2012 while Moore became council president until he ran for mayor in 2012.
“I then ran for council president and was elected to that position. I was a council member for eight years and have been council president for eight years,” Love said.
Love also was the first female interim mayor when Moore suddenly died of a heart attack in 2014.
Love credits former mayor Dan Ross for her knowledge of the city’s finances.
“Even though we are of different parties, he is a Democrat and I am a Republican, he invited me to sit in while he showed his service-safety director, Sid Seevers, how the finances of the city work. It really helped me, and I appreciate it,” Love said.
Love also credits former council clerk Regina Zornes for helping her obtain necessary information for council.
“I asked a lot of questions,” Love said. “Regina Zornes was such a big help in getting me specific information rules at other cities and things like that. We became friends and still are friends. She retired about five years ago.”
Love said her years owning and operating a local bowling alley, Crawford Lanes, and her job at the at Gorman Rupp Company, helped prepare her for her role as council president.
The council is set up to be a matter of checks and balances within the operations of the city,” Love said. “One person or one small group can’t do something that everyone else is opposed to and there is more scrutiny by more people. Council is the legislative branch. Administration puts together the program and project lists. They have to come to council then Rob (Ratliff) makes sure everything is legal as the judicial branch.”
She said the council president ensures council members have all information needed to make a decision.
“They get their packets on Monday, so they have 24 hours or more to read over it,” Love said. “Committee meetings are the time that council hashes out the details for legislation. It’s up to the council president and clerk to make sure all information is available to the committees. Current council clerk Todd (Hill) is excellent at researching and providing that info so that council can make knowledgeable decisions.”
Love said she has made some lifelong friends during her 16 years of service to the city of Bucyrus.
“Norma Hill, Rocky (Rockwell) and Ken Emerson, just to name a few. There are many more but those three stand out,” Love said.
Love said her greatest accomplishments while on city council came at the state level.
“I started taking classes at the Ohio Municipal League, such as Sunshine laws. They had an opening on the board and I was put on. I eventually was elected second vice president,” Love said.
Love said the director of the Ohio Municipal League retired after 20 plus years so the board decided to do a major makeover of the league in 2016.
“That was a big undertaking but very interesting, I learned a lot and met some very interesting people. I was also nominated to the PUCO (Public Utilities Commission of Ohio) committee and sat through two terms,” she said.
Love said she also enjoyed working with the Ohio EPA’s education foundation.
“They give out grants two times per year through money that is collected through fines,” she said. “We awarded $350,000 in grants twice a year to do things like set up wetland areas, provide educational materials for school districts and for research.”
Love, who retired from Gorman-Rupp in 2016, said she will be spending a lot of time at sporting events when her term as council president ends at the end of the year.
“My granddaughter, Taylor Pearson, plays basketball for Marshall University, and I have a grandson, Ethan Love, who will be playing college soccer,” she said. “I want to spend time with all of my grandchildren. I can’t wait.”