Glenn excited to see diversity in new city leadership

Lima 6th Ward Councilman Derry Glenn sat down with The Lima News recently in recognition of Black History Month.

What motivated you to run for public office at a time when there were not a lot of black public officials here in Lima?

I really became interested in public office at a very young age and a lot of people do not know this but I ran for mayor at the age of 21.

But, to answer your question of my motivation for running for office, that is a great question and it really boiled down to wanting to help people. I graduated from Lima Central Catholic and when I came back to the city after leaving for college I started looking around at things and saying to myself, “that doesn’t look right.”

Minorities weren’t getting hired for city positions, they weren’t getting opportunities to teach in our schools and there wasn’t enough representation in local government to really advocate for change. I wanted to make a difference and so I decided to run and have been blessed to be able to help make things better for the past 27 years.

How much social change have you seen in Lima and nationally since you were first elected?

Things have definitely gotten better here in the city for sure. Now don’t get me wrong, that is not to say there still isn’t a lot more things that need to happen to keep everything moving, but I am seeing brothers and sisters out there having more opportunities than there used to be for people like them.

I have played a big role in making some of those changes. Especially early on when there weren’t a lot of people willing to run for office or speak out when they saw things happening that they knew wasn’t right, because they were worried about what might happen to them and their families if they did.

I wasn’t scared to speak out and I continue to this day to speak out against any injustice that I see no matter where it comes from. I just want to help the community and make things better for everyone. I love Lima and this is where I plan to live the rest of my life. It’s where my nieces, nephews and grandchildren are and I want them all to have the best opportunity to succeed, so that’s another reason why I will always try to use my platform to speak against things that are wrong.

How proud of the city are you to see four people of color in council?

It’s what I have hoped for since I started. I have prayed for that for a long time and now it is time to get to work. But, it’s more than having four black councilors, we are blessed to have an entire council that works together, gets along well and likes each other. That’s great to have because now we can all just sit down together, talk things out and get to work making things better for the city and we are doing that every day.

Don’t forget we also have an African American mayor in Sharetta Smith, too. Mayor Smith is doing such a great job, people don’t see it but she is working on the weekends, coming in on holidays and working late at night so she can continue to make Lima a better place to live. I am excited to see all of the things we will be able to get done with this group.

What would you like to see change in Lima that maybe you can’t help through council, but would advocate as a resident?

I would like to see more Black educators in our school system because from where I sit, it doesn’t seem right. There aren’t many in the school system and I know they are getting applicants, so how can we help the Black educators prepare to be hired in our school systems? Many Blacks who want to come home and teach at home are having to go to Cincinnati, Dayton or other school districts in other large cities.

Glenn

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