Sebring Mayor James Harp retires after 21 years of public service

SEBRING − After 21 years of public service, James J. Harp is saying goodbye.

Harp, 69, who served the past five years a the village's mayor, did not seek re-election in November. His final day as a public servant is Sunday.

His successor is David Wright, a village councilman.

"It's been rewarding," Harp said earlier this month. "We work as a body and it's not all about the mayor. I'm more or less the figurehead, you know, and they're the legislators. I only break ties."

For Harp, village politics runs in the blood.

His father, Joseph R. Harp, served as village mayor in the 1960s, and was on council, too. Harp's brother, David Harp, served as Minerva's village manager for decades before retiring. "I grew up in a political atmosphere," James Harp said.

Harp said he got involved in public service in 2001 after several friends approached him. There was a spot on council. Harp won. He served on Sebring Village Council from 2002 until July 2018, when he replaced the late Michael Pinkerton as mayor.

At that time, Pinkerton and his family moved to Stark County. Pinkerton died in August.

In 2018, "Mr. Pinkerton approached me and said, 'Jim, I'm going to resign. It's yours if you want it,'" Harp said. "I thought about it. I thought, 'You know, I'll try it.' I tried to see what my dad went through. I'll miss it."

Harp, a retired chips salesman, and his wife, Debra, have three adult daughters and eight grandchildren.

"It was time," he said about his departure.

As mayor, Harp helped guide the village through COVID-19 and guided the later stages of the cleanup after the high-profile lead contamination of the village's water system. He also played a role in the continuing efforts to clean up the former Royal China property, a 20-acre brownfield site.

There were a lot of issues his father never faced.

"(The position is) not all bells and whistles," he said. "I'm retired, and I've probably put in more time as mayor than I should've for a village our size. We're a charter government and it's run by the village manager. But I was devoted."

Tim Gabrelcik has been the village manager since February. Prior to that, Gabrelick served as mayor of Beloit, and a member of Beloit Village's Board of Public Affairs. He has known Harp for many years, and described Harp as a "positive strength" for Sebring.

"He has always advocated for improving the community, whether it was cleaning up nuisance properties or trying to help businesses," Gabrelcik said. "He has always been very diplomatic with surrounding communities, knowing that we are a larger community as a whole and need to work together."

Gabrelcik said Harp is going to stay on the Mahoning County Land Bank's board, representing Sebring and small communities.

Reach Benjamin Duer at 330-580-8567 or ben.duer@cantonrep.com. On X (formerly Twitter): @bduerREP

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Sebring Mayor James Harp retires after 21 years of public service