ELYRIA, Ohio — Back in November, Frank Whitfield made history becoming the city’s first "elected" black mayor.

  • Born and raised in Elyria, the 32-year old is the former president and CEO of the Lorain County Urban League
  • Whitfield's priorities center around bringing more resources to schools and neighborhoods
  • He wants to build better relationships between law enforcement and residents

“I don’t come from a political family, and so I’m hoping that it also inspires folks who aren’t a part of the status quo or systems that be that will really be inspired and say, ‘hey maybe I can make a difference and disrupt the status quo’ and I’m hoping it inspires a new generation of young people to get involved in politics,” said Whitfield.

Born and raised in Elyria, the 32-year old Whitfield is the former president and CEO of Lorain County Urban League.

The husband and father served as a member of the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency, which is the region's transportation and environmental planning agency.

As an Elyrian, his priorities center around seeking collaboration to help reinvent his hometown by bringing more resources to schools and neighborhoods.

He also wants to facilitate better relationships between law enforcement and residents.

“I feel like my skill set is one that’s able to really address the needs that we have for today and a lot of it is around the divisions and us not working together, and that’s pretty much one of my strongest skill sets, is bringing people together and bringing the best out of people,” said Whitfield.

The city is working on its infrastructure and Whitfield made a pledge during his campaign to add more than 2,000 jobs by 2025. 

“Elyria is a legacy city with a lot of older infrastructure, and trying to rebuild itself for the 21st century, so we set out on a 100-day plan, that aligns with goals we set out to transform our economy into the 21st century, transform this culture to be one that’s more inclusive and that all rise and transform our neighborhoods, so that we are breaking the cycles of property,” said Whitfield.