Akron Councilman Bob Otterman held many titles during his more than four decades in public office: teacher, counselor, councilman and state representative.His name — both first and last — became synonymous with public service in Ellet.Some called him Akron’s “Mr. Nice Guy,” a reflection of his ability to listen and get things done, with a smile.Otterman lost only twice during his lengthy political career — in 1983, when he ran for Akron mayor, and in last month’s primary, when he was defeated in his re-election bid for Akron City Council. He has retired three times since first taking public office 41 years ago — from the Akron school district, the state legislature and Summit County, where he served as a liaison to senior citizens. His latest loss, though, will usher in his official retirement. Otterman’s name won’t appear on Tuesday’s ballot for the Ward 6 seat that launched his political career. A different Bob — this one named Hoch — assumes the Democratic slot. When Otterman’s term concludes at the end of this year, it will be the first time since 1970 that an Otterman — either Bob or his son, John, who followed in his political footsteps — hasn’t held office in Akron.Otterman, 79, admits he was outworked by Hoch, 61, a retired Acme manager who had nothing bad to say about his opponent during the primary. As he campaigned door to door, Hoch even introduced himself to voters as “the other Bob.”“I would have liked to have gone out as a winner,” Otterman said in a recent interview. “I’m blaming myself.”Though Otterman’s career might be ending on a low note, he is leaving with the respect and admiration of his colleagues and constituents. Mayor Don Plusquellic, Council President Marco Sommerville and two other council members, a former student and a long-time political volunteer helped toast and roast Otterman at a recent event sponsored by the 6th Ward Democratic Women’s Club, a group that’s been around longer than Otterman.“Thank you for showing us what public service is all about,” said Akron Councilman Jeff Fusco.The beginningOtterman ran for the Ward 6 council seat in 1969 at the urging of his students.He was teaching U.S. government at Ellet High School and was trying to get his charges interested in politics. He took them to the Akron-Canton Airport when Ted Kennedy came to town.“Why don’t you get involved?” his students asked.“If you participate, I’ll participate,” he told them.Otterman won the seat, narrowly beating an incumbent, and launched a career that involved a balancing act between his dual roles as a teacher — and later, school counselor — and politician.Otterman, who would go on to introduce thousands of ordinances, began with legislation to address a major problem facing the Ellet area: “No person shall ride, drive or lead a horse upon any of the sidewalks of the city of Akron.”“I took a ribbing on that one,” Otterman said, chuckling at the memory of the ordinance, which passed. “I was getting complaints from residents in the neighborhood who had to clean up after the horses.”His other proposals included cutting the 13-member, part-time council to seven full-timers, adding a drag-racing strip to the city airport near Derby Downs, and banning studded snow tires, an idea he dropped after representatives of Goodyear, Firestone and B.F. Goodrich came to City Hall. He floated a widely ridiculed idea in the mid-1980s to convert the Goodyear Airdock into an athletic facility.“We’re such a conservative place,” he grumbled at the time. “All we get is talk. I’d like to see some action.” Points of prideOtterman points with pride to helping Akron get a better emergency medical service, run by the city’s fire department; instituting curbside trash pickup, rather than employees fetching cans from backyards; and bringing a new community center, library and post office to Ellet while keeping out a shopping mall. Otterman kept winning elections — first for the 6th Ward seat and then for an at-large spot — in no small part thanks to a loyal cadre of volunteers. One of them, Sue
Dietrich, discussed those early campaign days during Otterman’s roast, recalling meeting for hours to address and stuff envelopes, visiting factory gates before sunrise and handing out matchbooks at bingo halls.“You always called and asked about my family,” she said to Otterman. “I valued your friendship so much.”Juggling his two jobs wasn’t always easy, with the school district docking his pay by 20 percent for the time he was spending on city business and rearranging his schedule, forcing him to resign from council’s Health Committee. He was determined, however, to continue both careers.Otterman and his wife, Barb, now seldom go anywhere without running into his former students. One of them, Valerie Owens, gave Otterman a teary salute during his roast. She credited Otterman with helping her get the job she held at the Summit County elections board for 30 years.Owens said Otterman taught her, “No matter what you do, no matter where you’re from, if you believe in it and have faith, you can do it.” “Mr. Otterman, I have a wonderful husband, two houses, two cars in the driveway. So, thanks for being my Joe Clark,” she said, fighting tears and referring to the much-lauded New Jersey educator.Other officesOtterman’s only political defeat — until the most recent election — came when he ran for Akron mayor in 1983 against Tom Sawyer, who was then a state representative.“I felt strongly somebody from the city [government] should be running,” he said.Sawyer and Otterman, who made a pledge to remain civil during the campaign and support the winner, debated, and Gov. Richard Celeste came to town to support Sawyer. Otterman lost by about 1,000 votes.Otterman was gracious about the loss, donning a “Sawyer for Mayor” button during his opponent’s victory party.“We had promised we would each support whoever won in the primary,” Sawyer, now a state senator, recalled. “I was more than prepared to do that and he was as well. He was good to his word.”Otterman was successful when he later pursued a higher office, this time running for the state legislature in 2001. He served for seven years, but was in the minority and found he didn’t enjoy the experience as much as being on council.“I think it was too political,” he said. “You couldn’t get things done. Sometimes, you couldn’t get a hearing.”John Otterman, Bob’s son, who had already served as a Ward 6 and at-large Akron council member, took over Otterman’s seat when his father stepped down in 2007 to take a job with Summit County, serving as a senior liaison.Otterman was proud that his son decided to follow him into politics. John called his father “Mr. Otterman” when they served together on council.John Otterman’s political tenure wasn’t without its struggles. He was charged in 2001 with five felony counts of deception to obtain a dangerous drug. A conviction on any of the charges would have forced him to step down from council, but he was acquitted.Otterman stood by his son throughout the ordeal.“I always told him that, if you work hard and you’re a decent person, everything will work out for the best,” he said at the time.John Otterman lost the legislative seat he took over for his father in 2010 to Zack Milkovich, a first-time candidate who campaigned hard. He returned to his previous job at Lockheed Martin Corp. and hasn’t been active in politics since, aside from helping his father campaign for council.Back to beginningOtterman decided to return to the Ward 6 council seat that launched his political career in 2009, when Councilwoman Terry Albanese opted to run for an at-large spot.“I thought it would be a good place to get back to,” he said. “I’ve got to keep busy. I can’t just sit around.”Otterman served during a tumultuous time for Akron that saw the city’s first employee layoffs in 27 years. He questioned the administration about spending money on the arts when firefighters and police were facing the loss of their jobs.Otterman, who chaired the Health Committee, also distinguished himself during the negotiations on the merger of the city’s health department with the Summit County Health District. After learning about concerns by the two city unions — the nurses union and the Civil Service Personnel Association (CSPA) — that were affected by the merger, he announced he would hold committee meetings every week until all of their questions were answered. “I thought the nurses were kind of being picked on and weren’t getting a fair shake," Otterman said.Chuck Victor, the retired president of CSPA, said the unions appreciated Otterman’s advocacy and willingness to listen.“Without Bob’s input, it would have been a lot worse,” he said.Victor said he was sorry to see Otterman lose, though he thinks new representation on council could be a good thing.Otterman thinks his age and health problems probably hurt his chances, as did concern that he wouldn’t serve out his term and John might take over the seat.Otterman called Hoch on election night to congratulate him and said he hopes Hoch does a good job representing Ward 6 and keeping up with residents’ concerns. He said he’s willing to help in any way he can. He said he’d like to be remembered as an “officeholder” — not a politician — who worked “with the community to make things better.”“I’ve been very happy,” he said. “If I had it to do over again, I would do the exact same thing. … I feel very good about my career.”Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at 330-996-3705 or swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com.