Twinsburg mayor offered village manager job in Florida
TWINSBURG – Mayor Ted Yates has been offered the village manager position at Islamorada: Village of Islands, Fla., according to the Florida Keys Free Press.
Yates confirmed on his Facebook page that he has been presented with the opportunity to become the manager of the village, which is in the Florida Keys southwest of Key Largo and Homestead. It has a population of about 6,400.
The Florida newspaper reported the Islamorado Council offered him the position May 6. He tentatively is expected to assume the village’s top administrative position in July after contract negotiations and stepping down as Twinsburg mayor.
He will replace Greg Oravec, who stepped down in January after serving only seven months in the post. Yates was one of four finalists for the job, which saw about 60 people apply.
“Many may think this is an easy decision, but pursuing a manager position away from Twinsburg has been extremely difficult both personally and professionally,” he said on Facebook.
“I cannot express enough how much [wife] Sharon and I love the Twinsburg community and the many people we have been so fortunate to meet and get to know over the past 30 years.
“Being your mayor the past seven years has been one of the most rewarding and yet challenging journeys of my life. As difficult as certain times have been, I would do it all over again without hesitation.”
Yates said the Florida Keys are a special place to him and his family. He said his dad retired in Key West and the Yateses kept his home for 10 years after he passed.
“Sharon and I have discussed that at some point in the distant future we would relocate, but we did not plan for it to be this soon,” he continued on Facebook.
“Twinsburg will always hold a special place in our hearts. We have spent more than half our lives here. I hope everyone understands this decision is extremely difficult, and I will make sure my transition will have Twinsburg’s best interest in mind.
“There are a lot of details to work out prior to this decision becoming final. I will make sure the community is kept informed along the way.”
Twinsburg City Council will meet May 10, when more information about the upcoming transition is likely to be divulged.
Yates, 53, has served as Twinsburg’s mayor and public safety director since January 2015. He served his first four-year term and was re-elected in November 2019. From 2009 to 2015 he was a Council member.
He practiced law with the Mansour Gavin firm in Cleveland from 2005-10 and the Reitz, Paul & Shorr firm in Aurora from 2010-19. Prior to that, he was a State Farm Insurance agent and associate accountant for the Cleveland Clinic Foundation.
A 1986 Solon High School graduate, Yates holds a bachelor of business administration degree from Kent State University, an MBA from Cleveland State University and a juris doctorate degree from CSU’s Marshall College of Law.
In his resume to Islamorada, he said he was pursuing the position “because becoming the village manager of Islamorada is a dream job opportunity.
“I have spent a great amount of time researching the village and its current issues. The further I get in the selection process, the more excited I become about possibly returning to the Keys for the final 15 years of my public service career.”
Yates’ current annual salary is $122,800.
Contact the newspaper at twinsburgbulletin@recordub.com.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Twinsburg mayor Ted Yates offered village manager job in Florida
