The Sandusky Register reports that Ohio University alum Eric Wobser ’02 is the new City Manager of Sandusky, OH.
Wobser earned a B.A. in Political Science Pre-Law from the College of Arts & Sciences at Ohio University, followed by a law degree from the University of Michigan Law School.
Eric Wobser is coming back home. Sandusky city commissioners voted 7-0 Monday night to hire the Ohio City Inc. executive director as the new city manager.
Wobser could start as soon as next month. The hiring announcement came after commissioners interviewed all five finalists during a five-hour private session Monday afternoon. Each candidate interviewed for about an hour in City Hall.
“I believe in myself, and I believe in this city,” Wobser said. “This city has an amazing collection of assets: the historic architecture, the lake, how walkable it is, the (proximity) to metropolitan areas, the schools.”
Commissioners selected Wobser, a 1997 Edison High School graduate who grew up in Sandusky and Perkins Township, based on his extensive and impressive resume….
Since 2009, Wobser spearheaded Ohio City Inc., a nonprofit organization overseeing community and economic development along with neighborhood revitalization in Ohio City, just outside Cleveland.
Read more of Andy Ouriel’s May 13 report in the Sandusky Register.
City Manager Wobser Predicts Big Things
“Look no further than the names of Eric Wobser’s children to measure his affinity for Sandusky and the surrounding greater area,” writes Andy Ouriel in the May 19 Sandusky Register.
With wife, Jen, he has two sons:
- •Perry, 2, named after Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, who captained a monumental American naval victory during the War of 1812 on Lake Erie, just off South Bass Island’s shore.
- •Hayes, 5 months, named after Rutherford B. Hayes, the 19th U.S. president, who was born in Fremont.
Ouriel also asked Wobser about his career path from law school to economic development.
Q: Why would a person with a law degree choose a career path based on economic development and neighborhood revitalization?
EW: After I graduated from Ohio University, I knew I wanted to go to law school, but I didn’t want to go right away. So I was able to enlist with AmeriCorps in Cleveland for a year. I had friends in Cleveland, and we had five guys move into a three-bedroom house in Lakewood.
It was at this time that I fell in love with cities and neighborhoods. I always had an admiration for Cleveland, making trips to games, museums and events. When I went away to law school, it was at this time I really wanted to live in a place like Cleveland. By my second year of law school, I realized that the practice of law might not be my long-term goal.
Q: So then what happened?
EW: When I realized that I was more interested in the revitalization of the cities than the practice of law, I started to look at other options, and The Cleveland Foundation created a program for people that wanted to transition into careers of public service.
I did a yearlong fellowship with the foundation, and from there found an opportunity to work in the Cleveland mayor’s office on infrastructure and economic development initiatives.
Read more of the interview in the Register.
Editorial Notes Sandusky ‘Has Wind at its Back’
“Sandusky city commissioner Naomi Twine is sure about one thing,” says an editorial in the Sandusky Register.
“We’re moving in the right direction and we’re going to keep that momentum,” she said, a day after city commission voted 7-0 to hire Ohio City economic development director Eric Wobser to serve as city manager.
City Commissioner Dick Brady echoed Twin’e sentiment. The city has “the wind at its back and it’s going to keep charging forward.”
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