To my Pepper Pike Friends and Neighbors,

For the past 12 years it has been my great honor to serve as one of your representatives to City Council.  Local government should be, and can be, democracy at its best – local issues addressed by local officials. 

Pepper Pike is a wonderful place to live. Our City is safe, green, quiet, family friendly and neighborly. To maintain these qualities, here are my key priorities as a member of Council:
 
My first priority is fiscal responsibility.  During the past 12 years Pepper Pike has gone from near insolvency to financial health and done so without new taxes. This was accomplished with long range planning and budgeting, careful spending, prudent investments to maintain services and infrastructure, and creative partnering with other communities.  As Chair of the Finance Committee, I am committed to strong financial oversight and fiscal responsibility so that the City never again faces a financial crisis. 
 
My next priority is preserving the quality of life we enjoy today in Pepper Pike.  Preserving our quality of life in Pepper Pike requires, first, balanced judgment about how and where we invest our financial resources to sustain and improve City services and infrastructure, and, second, effective laws that protect our safety, our homes and the green and quiet character of our City. I am committed to exercising vigilance to preserve our quality of life while also being open minded to making changes that can make that quality of life even better.   
 
As we consider changes to our City, my priority is fully informed decision making that fairly considers all points of view. Such decision making requires City government to use public processes that are transparent, deliberative, open minded and inclusive. Public processes take time and effort, but done right, they improve decision making and prevent mistakes.  
 
Finally, effective government requires civility. Our discussions should always be respectful, open minded and willing to consider other points of view. Civility fosters collaboration and collaboration results in a sense of community and better outcomes.   At least during my tenure, the debates at Council have always been about what’s best for the City, not about personality or party politics.  I will always do my best to comport myself with civility and expect the same from others. 
 
Sincerely, 

Jim LeMay 
 3272 Oak Knoll Drive
 330-256-2009 

Biography:

Pepper Pike 

• 30 year resident of Pepper Pike
• Member of City Council for 12 years.
• Chair of the Pepper Pike Finance Committee for 12 years
• Member, Citizens Financial Review Committee (2011) 
• Member, Committee for a Fiscally Responsible Pepper Pike (2010)

Professional

• Senior Vice President, Corporate Development, and General Counsel of Omnova Solutions, a Beachwood Ohio global manufacturer of specialty materials (1999 -2020). My responsibilities included strategic planning, growth strategy, acquisitions, and worldwide legal and regulatory affairs. 
• Assistant General Counsel, GenCorp Inc., a Fairlawn, Ohio manufacturer (1990 -1999)
• Associate, Baker Hostetler, a Cleveland, Ohio law firm (1982 -1990) 

Community, Nonprofit and Volunteer

• Entrepreneurship Mentor, Jumpstart Inc, Cleveland, Ohio. - Jumpstart Inc is an economic development nonprofit that provides funding, mentorship and networking for entrepreneurs and small businesses looking to start and scale their business. 
• Entrepreneurship Mentor, Business Advisors of Cleveland, Cleveland Ohio.  Business Advisers of Cleveland is an economic development nonprofit that provides free business counseling to entrepreneurs and small businesses. 
• Investment Committee, Hawken School Endowment, Coeducational private day school of 1,300+ students and multiple campuses.
• Investment Committee and Board Member, Friends of Breakthrough Schools, a Cleveland Ohio Nonprofit supporting the highest performing network of nine K-8 public charter schools in Cleveland’s most challenged neighborhoods. 
• Adjunct Instructor, John Carroll University, University Heights Ohio, Boler College of Business - Strategic Management (undergraduates and MBA students) (2017-2020)

Education

• The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, Juris Doctor, with honors, 1982
• Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, 1979

Personal  

• Married to Abigail for 33 years.
• Four children -- Ian, Brendan, Jack, and Maggie -- all of whom attended Orange Schools. 
• Interests: Hiking; History; Tennis; Travel