Mayor’s chief of staff to leave for Rittman position

Feuerstein in Ritenauer’s administration from day one

Lorain Mayor Chase Ritenauer’s chief of staff will leave the post to become city manager of Rittman.

Derek Feuerstein, who is deputy safety-service director and chief of staff for the mayor, will leave his City Hall post Aug. 4 and begin his duties in Rittman on Aug. 7.

Feuerstein, 32, will work with City Manager Larry A. Boggs, a former Rittman police chief who was appointed to the city manager in 2006.

Boggs will work for a month for Feuerstein’s transition before he retires.

Feuerstein has been in Ritenauer’s administration since the mayor took office in January 2012.

A Lorain native, Feuerstein is an alumnus of Amherst Steele High School. He earned his associate degree at Lorain County Community College and his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in political science at the University of Akron.

Before coming to Lorain City Hall, Feuerstein worked in the government relations department of the Cleveland Clinic.

The city of Rittman, located in Wayne County, posted the job and Feuerstein said he thought his qualifications might match up, so he applied.

He said he wanted to continue his career in city management in applying for the job.

Founded in 1815, Rittman is the only community with that name in the United States, according to the city’s official history. The population of the city is about 6,400 people, Feuerstein said.

The city also is known among northern Ohio’s veteran community for the Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery for members of the armed forces and their spouses. It is the second national cemetery built in Ohio and the 119th in the national cemetery system.

As chief of staff in Lorain, Feuerstein reported to Ritenauer and the safety-service director. He said his job included working on a number of projects inside and outside City Hall, including Lorain’s Pride Day community cleanup, and he served as city liaison for community groups including Eastside Block Watch.

Feuerstein frequently stood in for Ritenauer at public events when the mayor was unable to attend.

In recent months, Feuerstein represented the city in meetings with groups such as the Black River Area of Concern advisory group, Lorain County Metro Parks and the Lorain Active Transportation Plan Committee.

Feuerstein