| Director of Planning and Urban Development  Marco S. Sommerville
Director of Planning and Urban Development
166 South High Street Akron, OH 44308
330-375-2770 or MSommerville@akronohio.gov
Marco Sommerville has been a public servant and business
owner for more than a quarter of a century. His first political experience was to work on
Jesse Jackson's 1984 presidential campaign. Three years later, in 1987, he ran for his
first political office and was elected to serve as the Council Representative for Ward 3.
In 2000, his peers elected him as Akron City Council President. He served as both
President and Ward 3 Council Representative until the end of 2012, when he resigned to
accept his appointment as Akron's Planning Director.
Notable accomplishments as Council President and Ward
Councilman include a $60 million neighborhood redevelopment in his ward that encompassed
Edgewood Homes, Helen Arnold Community Learning Center and the Akron Urban League;
establishment of the Akron Criminal Expungement Program; youth anti-violence initiatives;
legislative support for community policing; legislative support to retain Goodyear and
Firestone; international recruitment of foreign businesses; and legislative support for
local businesses and first- time homebuyers.
Throughout his political career, Sommerville also owned and
operated Sommerville Funeral Services, which he founded in 1982. He turned the business
over to his daughter, Margo, when he accepted the Planning Director's position. His
daughter also was appointed by City council to complete his term as Ward 3 Council
Representative.
Marco Sommerville's contributions to the Greater Akron
community also include Chairmanship of the Joint Board of Review, the oversight committee
for Akron's $900 million school rebuilding project; Board of Trustees of the Akron Summit
Convention and Visitors Bureau; President of the Downtown Akron Partnership; Akron Branch
NAACP; and Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity. |
