On Wednesday council members adjourned behind closed doors with
Acting Mayor Chuck Brunello to
discuss, for a second time, which candidate should fill Brunello’s recently vacated
Council-at-Large seat.
Fifty minutes later they slowly ambled back into the Council
Chamber.
A decision had been reached. The choice?
A decision had been reached. The choice?
Frank DiLalla of West Legend Court
DiLalla was the
first to submit an application for the position and the first to present at last
week’s special council meeting.
DiLalla should be a familiar name to some Highland Heights
residents. He was appointed, and has been serving, as a member of the city’s Park
& Recreation Commission since 2012.
It also appears DiLalla and Brunello might be pals….they served
together as coach and assistant coach of the Bulls, a Mayfield Heights basketball
team, in 2015.
When he appeared before Council on March 14th,
DiLalla said his four strengths as a candidate were: his personal integrity,
his passion for the community, his strong business acumen (he works as the
Steris Corporation’s North American Director of Marketing and Product
Management) and the collaborative approach he takes to the first 3 things.
The city’s biggest challenge? DiLalla told Council:
“We are a destination city. Our biggest challenge is to sustain and improve our community plus maintain the city’s infrastructure… We need to uphold and not erode what we have.”
With those concerns in mind, DiLalla offered to help the
city develop a five year masterplan.
Last week DiLalla assured council members that he was not looking
to simply keep the Council-at-Large seat warm for a couple of months. He told
them that he had pulled papers to run for Council in the fall:
“I view this (the Council-at-Large appointment) as a long term commitment, not just a short term hobby.”
So there you have it.
Welcome to Council, Frank DiLalla.
Council President Lisa Marie Sticken seemed relieved that Council
had reached a decision, but didn’t regret the time (and 2 special meetings) it
took to get there. She said:
“We had a lot of good candidates. It wasn’t an easy decision.”
So a choice from a plethora of riches…..
And a tip of my hat to the 15 other residents who cared enough about the city to throw their hats in the ring
