By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
In many ways, Bowling Green’s new mayor is the opposite of the man he is replacing.
Mike Aspacher is a Democratic blue collar tradesman, born and raised in Bowling Green, who doesn’t exactly relish public speaking.
He is filling the seat of retiring Dick Edwards, a Republican white collar academic, whose work led him to many cities, and who can eloquently speak on practically any topic.
But both men share a deep love for Bowling Green and a desire to make it a place where people can enjoy living, learning and working.
“Dick has been an outstanding public servant,” who has mentored the City Council president for his new job as mayor, Aspacher said.
Aspacher now must take the lessons learned from his predecessor and put them to work in his own style.
“I’ve just decided I’m going to be myself,” Aspacher said.
He has promised to continue the open, honest, accessible role set by Edwards – with perhaps a little more casual style.
That’s likely to mean shorter mayoral reports at City Council meetings.
“Less can be more,” Aspacher said with a grin.
And he has vowed to continue the practice of not letting political party affiliations get in the way.
“We don’t follow the norm in terms of partisan politics,” he said. “Once we’re elected and seated at the table, the emphasis has always been on common goals and working on what’s best for the city.”
Aspacher, 59, has a history of looking out for the community he has always called home. The son of Tony and Sandy Aspacher, he grew up on North Prospect Street.
“Ridge School was in my backyard. That was my playground,” he said.
He took on his first public service role as student council president at Ridge Elementary. After graduating from Bowling Green High School, Aspacher went to Bowling Green State University, majoring in education and political science. His goal was to become a history teacher and coach. At least that was the plan for his three years of college.
Then in the summer after his junior year, his dad mentioned that his union – Local 50 plumbers and pipefitters – was accepting applications for apprenticeships. Aspacher applied.
He never intended to pursue the trade work past the summer, but the economy tanked, and he was genuinely intrigued by the construction industry. He ended up staying with Local 50, often managing job sites, for 35 years until recently retiring.
“I have very few regrets in my life. But that’s one – that I never finished my degree,” he said. His sons, Alex and Patrick, have both graduated from BGSU.
But he has no regrets about dedicating his work life to a unionized industrial trade.
“There are so many things that we take for granted in the workplace,” he said, listing off safety conditions, 40-hour work weeks, and overtime pay.
“There’s a lesson to be learned by the sacrifices of people who founded the unions,” he said. “Business works best when it’s a fair relationship between business and labor.”
Aspacher also believes in family. He remains very close with his parents, who still live in town.
For more than 30 years, he has had coffee with his dad every weekday at 5:30 a.m. In early years, they met at Corner Grill until it had too much “spillover from the night before” of bar patrons who had not yet made it home. Then the father and son shifted to Burger King, and most recently to Biggby Coffee.
Aspacher’s mom, who was born on Dec. 7, still receives a birthday call from her son reminding her that she came into the world on “a day that will live in infamy.”
Aspacher met his wife, Toni, on a blind date in February of 1982. It was a “quick, whirlwind romance” for the two, who were BGSU students at the time. Since then, Toni has lent her support as her husband added community service roles.
“Toni has been extremely supportive, extremely patient,” Aspacher said. “She’s a tremendous sounding board,” with solid common sense.
First his roles were typical parental volunteerism. He coached basketball and soccer, served on the Pee Wee League baseball board, and helped lead the Cub Scout pack.
“I was the dad that coached everything,” Aspacher said. “I just always wanted to be that dad.”
This was a natural for Aspacher, with his dad coaching the same team for 29 years and his mom working in the concession stand for many of those years, serving up homemade sloppy joes and other treats.
“My parents set an example for public service,” he said.
Aspacher’s first step into bigger public service came when he was approached to run for school board.
“It felt like an opportunity to continue giving back to the community,” he said. “I believe if you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.”
He served on the school board for eight years – four as president.
Then he shifted his sights to city government. He was elected as Third Ward council representative, and just completed this fifth term.
So the next natural moved seemed to be for mayor of his city – fulfilling a prediction made by another blue collar mayor of Bowling Green – Alvie Perkins. Perkins was also a member of Local 50, and a plainspoken mayor of the community.
“Alvie used to tell me when I first ran for the school board, ‘You’re going to have my job someday.’”
After being sworn into the job on Tuesday, Aspacher has plans to continue the momentum set by his predecessor. And that means acting on many of the plans devised to help the city grow in a healthy manner.
“The city has done a tremendous amount of planning,” he said. “We’ve identified a roadmap for community improvement that could change the face of Bowling Green in a very positive way.”
The two biggest challenges facing the city are housing and schools, Aspacher said.
“The housing stock is really limited,” he said. Many young professionals can’t find suitable housing that is affordable, he added. That has led many people employed in Bowling Green to live elsewhere – in Perrysburg, Findlay, or the Otsego and Eastwood school districts.
That same loss of potential city residents can be attributed to the lack of new facilities for the city school district, he said. Aspacher believes people have an obligation to provide suitable modern school facilities.
“Bowling Green has a long history of supporting our school facilities,” he said. “It’s time for the next generation to step up.”
“It’s become much bigger than just a school facility issue,” and is also a community and economic development issue, he said.
In addition to these difficult dilemmas is the challenge to continue providing quality city services, Aspacher said.
“My top priority is to ensure we keep providing dependable, consistent, high quality services,” he said. For example, the police and fire divisions must continue to be filled with “highly dedicated, well-trained professionals,” and the parks and public works must keep offering quality services.
The municipal utilities are a “tremendous asset” for the city, he said. “We annually win awards for our reliability.” Aspacher vowed to continue investing in reliable sources of power when efficient for the city.
Planning will be a big issue for the city, with the zoning code currently being reviewed for updates. Zoning must welcome development at the same time that it makes sure it’s the right type of growth for the community, he said.
While the city has done well at attracting commercial and industrial development, efforts must be made to widen the scope to more retail options. Many residents spend their disposable dollars on dining, entertainment and recreational opportunities outside the city, Aspacher said.
“They are going to other communities,” he said.
The city may want to consider ways to support the downtown businesses. “The downtown is one of our greatest community assets,” he said.
The new mayor would like to have a “community conversation” to find out what citizens want in the way of development. Identifying shared goals and values will be helpful.
“I think that’s how we function best,” he said.
Aspacher said the city must look at itself critically
“I’m a big believer in continuous improvement,” he said. “I always want to be better tomorrow than I am today.”
The new mayor is most looking forward to going to the local schools and talking with kids about the city or their future careers.
“That’s been one of my favorite days as a member of city council,” he said. “I want to be a good ambassador of the city.”
Aspacher said he is grateful for the opportunity to serve in another role the city that he has always called home.
“I really think it’s a great community. I’m thrilled for the opportunity to help lead.”
