“I have felt for some time that this would be my final term, and the time is right to make that decision public,” Church said in a press release. “I have great respect for this office, and I want to give potential candidates plenty of time to consider a decision to run.”
Church first entered public office as a Miamisburg City Council member in 1988. A retired businessman and Democrat, he ran for mayor and defeated incumbent Don Lucas by 27 votes in 1992, according to the release.
However, before being sworn into office, the U.S. Department of Energy announced the decommission of Mound Laboratory, the city’s largest employer.
The closure was an issue for the majority of Church’s tenure, according to the release.
“The Mound issue was extremely difficult and important for Miamisburg,” Church said. “When the federal government resisted our attempt to reverse their decision, we decided we were going to make that lemon into lemonade and we did it. We created a plan for reuse, we fought to get an adequate environmental cleanup for reuse and we’ve successfully transformed the site into a business park that remains an economic asset. What this community did was unprecedented in our nation’s history.”
Church said that his most significant achievement as mayor is the rebirth of Miamisburg’s downtown district.
“The city has devoted time and energy and resources to revitalize our historic downtown area,” he said. “We’ve also had major investment by the private sector, and the public has responded positively. It has become a popular destination for shopping, dining and recreation.”
Church also said that he’s proud of the partnerships between the city and Miamisburg City Schools, Miami Twp. and the local business community.
“I have had the pleasure of working with great people in our local government, and none of these accomplishments could have happened without a strong team,” he said. “I want to thank the city council members who have been responsible and dedicated public servants, the professional city managers I’ve served with and our outstanding employees.”
Miamisburg celebrated its bicentennial this year, bringing an estimated 80,000 people to the city during the week-long celebrations in June, according to the release. Church chaired the planning committee that spent three years working on the event.
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Church served as a member of multiple local, regional and national boards as mayor. He chairs four Montgomery County committees: the Solid Waste District Policy Committee, Solid Waste Advisory Committee, Emergency Management Executive Committee and Regional Dispatch Policy Committee.
Before running for public office, Church was a firefighter for five years, a police dispatcher for a year and a member of Miamisburg’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Board for 13 years. He also served on the committee that wrote the city charter in the 1960s, according to the release.
“It was my dream at a young age to become mayor of Miamisburg, and it has been my honor to serve,” he said. “I love this community.”
Church also was a potentate of Antioch Shrine Temple and gave time to civic and charitable organizations over the years, according to the release.
Church and his wife, Dr. Judi Church, have been married for 51 years.
She has had a long career in the nursing field and spent two terms as president of the State of Ohio Board of Nursing, according to the release.
“I’m very proud of Judi’s professional accomplishments, and I’m also appreciative of her longtime support of my community service,” Church said.
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