DELPHOS — Delphos will soon have a new mayor to replace the recently resigned Michael Gallmeier after an appointment Tuesday by both the Allen and Van Wert county Democratic parties.
John Parent, 39, was selected to fulfill Gallmeier’s unexpired term as mayor, meeting with Allen County Democratic Party Chairman Jeff Rex on Wednesday to file the necessary paperwork with the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office.
Born in Lima, Parent, who works as the sports editor for the Van Wert Times-Bulletin, has lived in Delphos since he married his wife, Valerie, in 2008. The couple have seven children, an inspiration for Parent to get involved in his community.
“I knew I wanted to get involved,” he said. “I want to make sure that the community is a strong and positive one for my kids growing up and their friends. That part was important to me, and I’ve always felt that if you can help, you should help.”
Parent has experienced tremendous community solidarity in his nearly 10 years in Delphos, a trend he wants to continue to encourage as mayor.
“If you spend any time in Delphos and see the support the community gives to someone in need, such as any time there’s a house fire or an illness or anything like that, the benefits and the turnout for these things is overwhelming,” he said. “We’ve got so many great people in the town that really care about their neighbors and friends.”
While Parent admits his time as mayor could potentially be limited, given that Delphos residents will be voting for their mayor in November, there are certain issues he hopes to address in the short term in that role.
“We do have a SAFER [Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response] grant that is expiring and will cost us the funding for three full-time EMS and firefighter employees that the grant has paid for the last couple of years,” he said. “When we’ve had this extra staff, we’ve seen response times for EMS cut in half, to where we’re actually having EMS there between two to four minutes after the phone call. I think that’s vital, especially in the climate we’re in with the opioid problems. I think it’s vital that we do everything we can to find the funding, either through exploring other grant options or through some other manner to raise the money to keep our EMS staff at its current levels.”
Parent anticipates being sworn in later this week or early next week.
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