Duties Of The Office Of Mayor

The mayor is the chief executive officer of Parma government who has been duly elected by a majority of eligible voters. Each term of office is four years and without term limits.

The Office of Mayor is responsible for the following municipal services and departments:

• Safety (police, fire and EMS)
• Service (street repairs, rubbish removal, tree trimming, street cleaning, etc.)
• Buildings & Engineering (residential and commercial building code enforcement)
• Community Services & Economic Development (enhancing the city's residential and commercial market values)
• Senior Center (oversees activities for the area's elderly to include “Meals on Wheels” and transportation for medical-dental-pharmacy visits)
• Parks and Recreation (responsible for the upkeep of municipal parks and recreation facilities to include Ridgewood Golf Course)
• Public Housing Authority (management of government funded and affordable housing for those who qualify)
• Human Resources and Purchasing (responsible for purchasing of goods and services required by various municipal departments and oversight of municipal hiring practices and policies)
• Communications and Community Relations (responsible for media relations and other functions involving the press; disseminates information for the mayor's office both to internal and external audiences; serves as a liaison between the mayor and various community organizations throughout Greater Cleveland)

In addition, the Mayor's Office includes a Chief of Staff and Executive Secretary to the Mayor.

Mayor Dean DePiero

Contact Information
Office: (440) 885-8001
Fax: 440-885-8012
Email: mayorsoffice@cityofparma-oh.gov

Dean DePiero is the 13th and youngest mayor elected to serve as the City of Parma, Ohio’s chief executive officer. The municipality is Ohio’s seventh largest city with a population of over 85,000.

Among the other fine businesses throughout Parma, we are proud to be home to General Motors Metal Fabrication Division and Graftech – an international leader in graphite technology.

Prior to taking office on January 1, 2004, DePiero represented the 15th Ohio House District for five years. At the time, the district included Parma, Brooklyn, Linndale and Middleburg Heights. He served as House Democratic leader – the highest ranking party member in the legislative body. DePiero also represented the residents of the City of Parma, Ward 4, as their council representative from 1995 - 1998.

After being elected mayor, DePiero made across-the-board reforms and cost-cutting initiatives.

He has implemented major programs such as police accountability, far-ranging streets and road improvements, spurred economic development and new housing construction, improved parks and recreational activities, boosted programs for seniors and sparked an overall resurgence for the municipality.

A key component to DePiero’s vision is an intense focus on improving the local economy through growth of our medical facilities. The City of Parma is proud to be home to Parma Community General Hospital, one of the areas only remaining independent, not-for-profit hospitals, as well as Kaiser Permanente – the largest Kaiser facility east of the Mississippi. Next year, the Veterans Administration is expected to break ground for a state-of-the-art outpatient facility.

Additionally, Cuyahoga Community College Western Campus – which is located in the city – will soon open a Health Technology Center to train future health care workers.

DePiero is the youngest of four children born to Jerry and Roberta. He was born at Parma Hospital in 1968 and grew up in the city. DePiero’s father is a retired Parma fire fighter and owns and operates a realty company in Parma with his wife.

DePiero attended Holy Name High School, graduated from Ashland (OH) University in 1990 and earned a law degree from Cleveland Marshall College of Law in 1994.

He began his political career in 1995 as a councilman for the City of Parma. During the same time, he served as an assistant law director and prosecutor for the City of Berea – also a Cleveland suburb. DePiero was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives in 1997 and took office in January 1998.

A staunch proponent of regionalism, DePiero is second vice president of the Ohio Municipal League, serves on the executive committee of the Cuyahoga County Mayors and Managers Association and is a past board member of the Northeast Ohio Area Coordinating Agency.

He was also asked to serve on the Governor Strickland’s transition team as an advisor as well as to review Ohio’s Lottery Commission.

He was admitted to the Ohio Bar in 1994. DePiero is also a member of the Parma, Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, and Ohio Bar Associations and is a practicing attorney with an office in Parma. He specializes in business and contract law, criminal law, real estate law and probate law and also serves as “Of Counsel” for McDonald Hopkins attorneys at law located in Cleveland, Ohio.

In 2001, Crain’s Cleveland Business named DePiero one if its “40 under 40”, which spotlights 40 Greater Clevelanders under the age of 40 who have made an impact on northeast Ohio.

Chief of Staff

Meghann E. McCall

Contact Information
Office: (440) 885-8001
Email: mmccall@cityofparma-oh.gov

Ms. McCall was appointed by Mayor DePiero as “executive assistant to the mayor” in February 2006.

Recently, she was named the Mayor’s “Chief of Staff”. In that capacity, she serves as the mayor's liaison between department heads, other branches of municipal government, the general public and other governmental agencies, when and where needed.

Ms. McCall joined the Administration after having served as a legislative aide in the Ohio Senate where she assisted the Minority Whip to implement policy issues and legislation. While there, she also staffed the Senate Education Committee. Before working in the Ohio Senate she served as an administrative aide to Mayor DePiero when he, as a state representative, was the Ohio House Minority Leader. In that capacity she assisted in constituent matters involving myriad of state agencies.

A creative thinker, administrator and strategist with an interest in primary, secondary and higher education, Ms. McCall holds a bachelors degree in political science and psychology from The Ohio State University and a Masters Degree in Public Administration from Ohio University. She also is president of the Ohio University Society of Advocates - a group consisting of alumni who are interested in government and in promoting the importance of higher education to government officials.

Director of Communications and Community Relations

Jack P. Marschall

Contact Information
Office: (440) 885-8181
Fax: 440-885-8187
Email: jmarschall@cityofparma-oh.gov

Jack Marschall and his family have lived in Parma for over twenty years. Prior to joining Mayor Dean DePiero’s administration, Marschall worked at NewsChannel5 as a reporter for "Good Morning Cleveland."

"Air Marschall" reported from NewsChopper5. A veteran newsman, Marschall also could be seen reporting in other newscasts, keeping viewers up-to-date on his hometown.

A graduate of Benedictine High School and Kent State University, Marschall served as weekend news producer, reporter and anchor at WEWS from 1982 until 1987.

Marschall has won many awards for journalism and community service, and is an inductee in the Ohio Broadcasters Hall of Fame. He won his first Emmy award while at WEWS for a series on homelessness. Marschall also altruistically donated a kidney at the Cleveland Clinic on September 11, 2007 and is involved with many area causes such as Shoes & Clothes for Kids, Providence House and LifeBanc.

Jack and his wife, Sharon, have four children and three grandchildren.

Executive Secretary to the Mayor

Michelle Blair

Contact Information
Office: (440) 885-8001
Fax: 440-885-8012
Email: mblair@cityofparma-oh.gov

Michelle moved to the City of Parma approximately ten years ago when she took a job as a legal secretary for then-attorney Dean DePiero. Nine years later she is still working for Dean DePiero, now as the Secretary to the Mayor. Michelle has followed DePiero through his climb up the political ladder. From councilman to state representative and now as mayor.

Michelle and her husband Jim still reside in Parma with their two children.

Community Liaison

Powell W. Caesar, III

Contact Information
Email: pcaesar@cityofparma-oh.gov

Mr. Caesar joined the DePiero Administration in 2004 to become director of communications and community relations after having served as the chief executive officer of Combined Communications & Filmworks, Inc. – a Cleveland area public relations firm. Caesar was appointed to the position of Community Liaison in 2007 and continues to serve the administration and the citizens of Parma.

Caesar began his journalism career as a reporter for The Call & Post—Ohio’s oldest and largest black newspaper—and later at the now defunct Cleveland Press. He left newspaper reporting to begin a career in public relations with the Ohio Bell Telephone Company now SBC.

Caesar also wrote a weekly column (Perspectives) for the Sun Newspaper chain and by serving as an on-air analyst for Fox8 Cleveland prior to joining the DePiero administration.

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