With 51.98 percent of the vote in the November 2017 elections, William J. Herald narrowly won the 4th Ward seat for Bowling Green City Council, previously held by Scott Seeliger. Herald had served on Council between 1984 and 1991, and has made a return to fulfill one of his most prominent values: public service.
Herald’s victory came as a surprise; Seeliger, who is a retired University football coach, was unanimously approved by City Council to be Theresa Gavarone’s replacement on 4th Ward after she was elected to be Ohio’s representative for 3rd District. Herald’s success stems from his extensive campaign, in which he knocked on over 3,000 doors in the Bowling Green community and talked with most of the residents west of North Main Street and north of West Wooster Street.
He joins Greg Robinette as a new Council member, and they both represent the Republican Party. There are now two Republicans and five Democrats who compose the political makeup of City Council.
He has made altering the roll call order on City Council his first initiative and improvement to the city. While he acknowledges it is a minor matter, he is addressing it exactly because it is a minor issue and because he views the change as an improvement to audiences viewing the meetings.
What do we know about Mr. Herald? Here is a list of facts that highlights all the key information about who he is, why he wants to lead and what he has in store for City Council.
1.) He is a long-time Bowling Green resident and community member
Herald has been a resident of Bowling Green for over 40 years. He lives here with his wife, Karen, and has three children, Jonathan, Joel and Amy. He also has a daughter and son-in-law, Lesley and Jeff, and four grandchildren named Kaitlyn, Ellie, Brooke and Zachary.
In the community, he is a former youth baseball coach and former fourth to fifth-grade Sunday school teacher. He is also a member of the Bowling Green Covenant Church.
2.) He has an extensive education background
Herald achieved not one, but three degrees, all from the University. He started with his Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics and computer science. At the time he earned it, computer science was a new and growing program, and the University was one of the only schools with a computer science program. He also obtained his Master of Arts degree in public administration/policy, and a Master of Science degree in applied statistics. He asked the Council president in 1984 if a master’s in public administration would help him in Council, and the president replied that it would be “overkill.”
He topped off his education background with a doctorate in public administration from The Ohio State University.
3.) He has a long history of teaching and work experience
Here is a complete list of all his work experience:
• More than 18 years in research-related jobs. He is currently lead data scientist with IBM Watson Health (formerly Truven Health Analytics).
• More than five years with Owens Corning, as senior systems analyst.
• More than two years with Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, as corporate statistician.
• Five years as a full-time instructor at Bowling Green State University.
• Six years as a full-time instructor at the University of Toledo.
• Former part-time instructor at Owens, BGSU, UT and other colleges.
4.) He made significant contributions while on Council
While previously on Council, Herald served as president pro tempore, sat on every single committee at least once and chaired over half of the committees. He recalls a major project he accomplished when he served: a jog in the road at the intersection Poe road and Main street was cumbersome to drive through, so Herald found a way to remove the jog by expanding the intersection. He also is the founder of the city’s sidewalk commission that still operates today. Many of the sidewalks neighboring Bowling Green schools can be attributed to the actions of the sidewalk committee.
5.) He sets goals for the current Council
When Herald went door-to-door, a lot of people complained about drainage issues in his ward. Resolving some of the city’s sewage and drainage issues are a top priority for him. Neighborhood revitalization is also at the top of his list. There have been updates to the city’s master plan, and there has been a lot of progress on the Community Action Plan. As a Council member, he wants to refine that plan and come up with one to improve the neighborhoods. The end result will be a community that is even more appealing. Herald is also concerned over food truck regulations; he would like to use Council ordinances to see change in how food trucks are regulated in the city.
6.) He holds an altruistic attitude and a love of limited government as core values
“True happiness … is not attained through self-gratification, but through fidelity to a worthy purpose,” Helen Keller said, which Herald referenced; he said her quote is one that holds true to how he thinks people should carry out their lives. He also believes city government has an important role to play in the community, but that it should be limited and within appropriate levels of taxation and spending.
Herald is also passionate about the free market of spreading ideas and sharing knowledge. “I not only use all the brains that I have, but all that I can borrow,” former President Woodrow Wilson said, a quote which Herald said by he lives by when collaborating with others to make decisions.
7.) He lives to serve
“When I was on Council ages ago, for eight years, it was a very fulfilling job,” Herald said. “It was perhaps the best job I have ever had because I was able to positively affect the community, and more importantly serve its citizens. A very important part of being on Council is constituent service, acting liaison between citizens and their local government, and I was able to do that.”
The number one aspect of his role as a public servant is actively listening to his constituents, accurately representing them and actively trying to improve their lives, he said.
WILLIAM HERALD
1030 Conneaut Ave
Home phone: 419-352-6644
