(700 WLW)- During a special City Council meeting Monday evening at City Hall, Mark Fitzgerald resigned his position as mayor. Shortly after the meeting ended, Fitzgerald then resigned from his Council seat. In a letter given to Council Clerk Misty Cheshire after the meeting, Fitzgerald cited the 22nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, creating term limits for the President and similar provisions in the Ohio Constitution, as his reasons for quitting. “Ten years is a long time to serve in an elected position,” Fitzgerald said. “If it is good policy for the country and the state, it should be applied to Loveland Council as well.”
Council then elected Angie Settell as mayor and Pam Gross as vice mayor. Fitzgerald administered the oath of office to both. This marks the first time both mayoral positions were held by women. “Hopefully this closes a sad and devastating chapter in Loveland. What happened to Mark was nothing short of a travesty and miscarriage of precisely why recalls are allowed in Loveland,” said Mayor Settell. “Now it is time to turn the page, move forward and continue Loveland’s amazing upward momentum.”
Council now has 30 days to agree upon a candidate or the appointment will go to newly chosen mayor, Angie Settell. The new Council member will then finish out the term of Mark Fitzgerald, which ends on December 1, 2019.