Mayor Dave Berger's Biography

Dave, a native of Mansfield, Ohio, moved to Lima in 1977 to become the Executive Director of Rehab Project. The non-profit community development agency renovated several hundred houses, and achieved national prominence for training programs for male and female prisoners who renovated single-family homes. He worked in that position until August 31, 1989 when he resigned to campaign in the City of Lima’s General Election for the position of Mayor.

He was elected in the November 7, 1989 balloting, and was sworn into office on December 5, 1989 for his first term. During that term, the Berger Administration successfully managed the City's financial difficulties created by the national recession, brought the Police Department to its highest level of staffing in over 2 decades, effectively challenged onerous OEPA and USEPA environmental regulations, launched a new Department of Community Development with a focus on neighborhood and housing revitalization, and through a public and private partnership created the Central Point Industrial Park. Additionally, the Berger Administration began in 1992 to facilitate positive community dialogues on race and diversity, entitled Study Circles.

In early 1993, Dave declared himself a candidate for re-election, and successfully ran in both primary and general elections. He was sworn into office for a second 4-year term as Lima's Mayor on December 1, 1993. During his second term, the Berger Administration expanded a city-wide strategic planning process, positioned the Police Department to implement aggressive community oriented policing, continued proactive approaches to neighborhood support, code enforcement, and housing rehabilitation, energetically partnered to begin the Ottawa River Bikepath Project, and worked continuously on economic development challenges facing the community, (e.g., obtained federal resources to deal with defense downsizing, created the vision for the Liberty Commons Industrial Park, and secured federal and state brownfield redevelopment funding).

During 1997, Dave successfully competed in both primary and general elections. On December 1, 1997, he was sworn into office for his third term as Lima's Mayor. Economic development, downtown revitalization, neighborhood renewal, and ongoing support of community policing and Study Circles dialogues continued to be priorities for the Berger Administration. During 1997-2000, more than 25 projects involving more than $50 million in investments occurred in the revitalization of Lima's downtown. In 1999, along with 15 other Ohio mayors, Dave served on Ohio Governor Bob Taft’s Urban Revitalization Task Force, whose recommendations laid the foundation for the state’s Clean Ohio programs. A high priority of this term was Dave's work to prevent the closure and destruction of the Lima refinery. In July, 1998, his efforts led to the sale of the refinery from BP to Clark Oil and thereby saved hundreds of local jobs and a very large industrial base. The Lima Refinery sale was showcased in the nationally broadcast PBS documentary Lost In Middle America: And What Happened Next.

In 2001, Dave was unopposed in that year’s election, and on December 1, 2001 he began a 4th term as Mayor, thereby becoming the longest serving Mayor in Lima’s history. A major project of this term involved active partnering with the Lima City Schools for the replacement and renovation of all the district’s school facilities, at a cost in excess of $110 million. The City’s direct involvement led to the relocation of the Lima Senior High School to a primary entrance corridor for the community, thus spectacularly showcasing the new facilities. In conjunction with the new Lima Senior High School, the City implemented the second phase of the Ottawa River Bikepath project, which now traverses more than 6 miles of the community. Throughout this term, the Berger administration continued its work developing the Liberty Commons Industrial Park. On another industrial front, Dave was appointed in early 2004 by Ohio Governor Bob Taft to serve on the All-Ohio Save Defense Jobs Task Force. In this capacity and through Task Force L.I.M.A., Dave and a broad community coalition worked to save and expand military production at the Joint Systems Manufacturing Center (formerly the Lima Army Tank Plant), where the M1 Abrams main battle tank is built, along with the Army’s Stryker vehicle, the Marine Corps’ EFV, and other armored vehicles.

Following success in both primary and general elections, Dave began a fifth term as Lima’s Mayor on December 1, 2005. His focus remains on creating positive community change, on completing several significant economic development initiatives and on growing the community through annexation and community development. Global Energy’s gasification and electricity production project has grown in size and scale, and at a cost approaching $1 billion is the largest capital investment in the history of the City. With the award of a $3.2 million grant from the Ohio Department of Development, the City is creating a research and development center focused on the use of synthetic gas. This project is leading to exciting opportunities in nanotechnology, alternative fuels, and advanced materials. While undertaking related projects with American Trim, Dave’s team work and vision qualified Lima for its first Ohio Third Frontier grants, thus moving the community into the ranks of those directly involved in expanding high-tech manufacturing in the region. Further, having secured federal and state resources, Dave has led a team working with Greater Ohio Ethanol which became the first large scale ethanol production facility under development in Ohio. Other significant public works projects, involving a new reservoir, grade separations, expanded bike paths, and street improvements are also underway.

In 1988, Dave was awarded the Distinguished Citizen Award by the National Association of Realtors. And in January, 1990, he was honored by Ohio's Governor Richard F. Celeste with the Ohio Humanitarian Award through the Ohio Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Commission. In early 1994, Dave's work to improve community race relations through Study Circle dialogues earned him the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drum Major Award from the Catholic Diocese of Toledo's Office of Black Catholic Ministries and the official recognition of the State of Ohio and Governor George V. Voinovich. Further, his leadership on local, state-wide and regional water quality issues prompted the Ohio Water Environment Association to grant Dave its inaugural Water Environment Public Service Award in September, 1994. Also, in 1999, Dave received the Alumni Community Service Award from the Catholic University of America. Late in 2006, the Mercy Club of St. Rita’s Medical Center surprised Dave with its prestigious Mercy Club award.

Dave currently serves on the Energy Committee of the United States Conference of Mayors, and is a member of the Board of Trustees for the Ohio Municipal League.

Dave earned both a M.A. and a B.A. in Philosophy from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. Additionally, he attended St. Meinrad College in St. Meinrad, Indiana. Further, Dave received certification in Community Economic Development from the Development Training Institute in Baltimore, Maryland.

Dave and his wife, Linda, have 4 children, Karmin, Jennifer, Monica, and Michael. Karmin and her husband, Andrew, have presented the family with two grandchildren, Nina Marie and Jayden Joseph. Karmin is a 6th grade teacher in the Athens, Ohio area. Jennifer, a 2002 graduate of the United States Air Force Academy, achieved the rank of Captain and served as a project engineer working on the next generation of GPS satellites at the Los Angeles Air Force Base. Jennifer and her husband, Brian, are relocating to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where she is enrolled at the University of Michigan’s Ross School pursuing an MBA. Monica, a 2004 graduate of Ohio University, is teaching 1st grade at the Shawnee Elmwood elementary school. And Michael is a junior at the University of Cincinnati where he is studying computer engineering and business.

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