West Lafayette mayor leaves behind a brighter city as he retires to face Alzheimer's

The city John Dennis inherited when he became West Lafayette mayor 16 years ago is vastly brighter today because of his leadership, even if he won't admit it.

"I generally am acutely aware of the fact that I’m generally the dumbest man in every room I go into," Dennis said before he quickly turned his joke into a serious point. "I’m dependent on a great staff and great support to be able to get whatever I’ve accomplished done.

“If I have one superpower, that’s it," he said.

“I am not a visionary. I am not magic," he said. "If you believe in something strongly enough, you can make it happen.

“I will never take credit for anything on my own. But one thing I have a bit of skill at is picking good people."

“I think John sells himself short all of the time,” chimed in Mary Dennis, the mayor's wife for more than 40 years.

Entering the political fray

Before John could try to improve his hometown, he had to step out of the role of civil servant and police officer and into the world of politics. It wasn't easy.

“It’s hard to believe how vilified he was. At the time,” Mary said. "We were very naïve.

"You wouldn’t have thought in West Lafayette how political it was," Mary said. "We thought that happens in the big cities.

“People were mad. Like, 'How dare he challenge them?'” she said.

More: John Dennis through the years

“I had no political pedigree," John said of the advantages of being the unknown Republican candidate for mayor in 2007. "I wasn’t anything. I was a civil servant all my life. It was easy to run on issues because I didn’t have political baggage.”

Before running for office, most people saw John as a likeable Lafayette deputy police chief, quick with a laugh and even quicker to quip a joke.

But on Jan. 1, 2008, he became West Lafayette Republican Mayor John Dennis.

“West Lafayette is predominately a Democrat city, and I ran as a Republican,” John said. “The presumption was, whoever the nightmare scenario Republican was, that’s who they boilerplated me as.”

A confession 16 years later

John is the most Democratic-like mayor in the Republican party.

Is that because he governed over a city of mostly Democratic citizens, modifying his stances to reflect the will of the people?

Perhaps.

“They picked me,” he said when asked about his political positions mirroring the community.

So what is he? Republican? Democrat?

“I would say I’m a Democrat,” John confesses.

"And that would be no surprise to anybody who knows John,” Mary added.

So why run as a Republican?

Because Jan Mills, the mayor before John, was a Democrat. If he ran as a Democrat, he never would have made it out of the primary, he confessed. It also is due in part to his lifelong friend, Eric Burns, persuading him to run as a Republican, John said.

"He was running for the position,” Mary explained, dismissing partisan politics.

He won the 2007 election; now what?

Collaboration. Working with other people, other departments, other agencies; that's what John brought to the city, and he credits collaboration and the people around him for the city's success for the last 16 years.

The collaboration started internally within city departments, between officials and employees. It was key to reversing morale problems that John said festered inside city hall before he first was elected. He then used collaboration to reach out to Purdue University and make it a partner in the city's future, John said.

“There were moments of kumbaya, moments of collaborative support, and more importantly, an understanding and respect,” he said of the first four years, noting it took that long to set the city on the path to prosperity.

The next four years saw noticeable changes.

“There are so many different dynamics that have happened since we were elected 16 years ago," John said. "Some of those dynamics allowed us to create partnerships that did turn into relationships that allowed us to grow strong.”

The city annexed lands west of the city and collaborated with Purdue to bring the university land into the city, John said of his rapport with former university presidents France Cordova and Mitch Daniels. Before the annexation, Purdue was an island in the middle of the city. Today, it is part of the city.

The annexation led to growing from a Class 3 city to a Class 2 city.

All of this, John notes, is from collaboration. If the citizens, Purdue and voters opposed the idea or the city acted without counsel of those governed in the city, they would have voted him out, he said.

Mother nature sent back-to-back subzero winters, causing pipes to rupture in the vintage 1970s city hall on Navajo Street. While drying out the building, it became apparent that Mother Nature also infested the building with mold, forcing a mass exodus that would have made Moses proud.

More: Employees won't return to West Lafayette City Hall

That was the inception of renovating the old Morton Elementary School into a new city hall named for former Mayor Sonya Margerum.

At the same time the city was brainstorming about converting the old elementary school into a city hall, discussions began about turning the Village into the "downtown" with the city hall as an anchor. That was the birth of the State Street reconstruction.

State Street saw the addition of high-rise apartments, along with other developments. Similarly, Northwestern Avenue saw development of new retail outlets and high-rise apartments and a community center.

Partnership between Purdue and West Lafayette

“Where we are today would not have happened without the partnership of Purdue University and the city of West Lafayette," John said. "And that partnership would not have happened without the friendship between John Dennis and Mitch Daniels.

“Mitch has been amazing for the city of West Lafayette.

“We capitalized on that. It allowed for us to have an open dialogue and understand what’s beneficial for Purdue and the city.”

The success has allowed the city and Purdue to be selective because the West Side is a desirable place for business and research.

“We said not right now to a lot of things,” John said. “I think success breeds success.”

Retirement and the future

With West Lafayette's success, it seemed like John was ready to retire and step aside. Then a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease made certain there would be no fifth term.

John went public with his malady with about 18 months left in his term. He made it clear he planned to finish his term.

More: West Lafayette Mayor John Dennis announces he has Alzheimer's

The man, who laughs a lot and maybe a little too loud, seemed to be missing a step or two as the months advanced after his announcement.

“I’m not good on my feet anymore," John confessed. "It’s like you just get pushed down.”

But he's not giving up.

“Here’s a guy who gets diagnosed with Alheimer’s, and he loves a challenge," Mary said. "His goal was to finish his term.

"He did," she said. “So impressive.”

John's no stranger to Alzheimer's disease. His mother suffered from it, but the manifestation in John seems different to him.

“Mine is harder because I know that I’m not doing what I used to do very well," John said as his voice chokes with emotion. “I know that it’s just not going to stay the same very much longer.”

“It’s just cruel. It’s a cruel disease,” Mary said choking back her emotions. “Just hope and pray for a few good years. I think it will happen.”

To lift the sudden heaviness in the room, John turned to humor, as he has so often.

“So if you see me running down the street naked, pick me up and take me home,” he joked about what his future might hold for him.

Mary is the optimist of the couple.

“I think our best years are yet to come," she said. "I truly believe that. We have time for us for the first time in a long time. I’m talking for us.

“Nothing like this disease to say, 'Enjoy that moment.' That is something we really try to do. That’s all everybody has.”

“I’m lucky to have served both sides of the river,” John reflects. “I do feel blessed.”

As for his future?

“We’ll figure something out,” he said.

Reach Ron Wilkins at rwilkins@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Alzheimer's encroaching on West Lafayette Mayor John Dennis as he retires