The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Mayor, wife welcome new addition
Daughter Quinn Addison adds joy to household, says wife, Lisa, who says on Twitter: #Chasemightbescared
The city of Lorain has a new first baby.
Lorain Mayor Chase Ritenauer and his wife, Lisa, announced the arrival of their daughter, Quinn Addison, who was born Feb. 4.
Ritenauer used Twitter to publish a photo of the sleeping baby girl at 4:11 p.m. Feb. 10.
In his Twitter message, he included a reference to the Feb. 6 deadline for candidates to file their petitions to appear on the ballot in the May primary election.
“With last week as filing deadline week, some people have been awaiting some kind of announcement from me,” Ritenauer said. “Well, here you go!”
Less than 24 hours later, the Tweet had 150 likes and 25 comments of congratulations.
“We’re ecstatic,” Ritenauer said Feb. 11. “Lisa and I are a week in and are really just happy new parents.”
Incidentally, Ritenauer on Feb. 4, also filed his petitions to run for a third term as Lorain’s chief executive.
The same day, Ritenauer missed Lorain City Council’s Feb. 4 meeting.
Council generally deals with the public laws and issues of Lorain.
But the meeting included a personal reference when Safety-Service Director Dan Given announced the mayor was sorry he had to miss the meeting because “hopefully, he’s picking up his new baby girl.”
The news prompted applause and cheers.
On Nov. 22, 2018, Ritenauer also used his mayoral Twitter feed to share a note from his wife that the couple planned to adopt a child to start their family.
Lisa Ritenauer noted the couple shared the news “with so much excitement, love and joy.”
But to be fair, she said they would share the bad news with the good because they “struggled with infertility for about two years.”
They “have come out of this stronger and more appreciative of one another than ever,” Lisa Ritenauer said.
Starting a family would be “our next new adventure,” she said.
Lisa Ritenauer concluded the note with two hashtags: #BringingHomeBabyR and #Chasemightbescared.
Since announcing their intention, the process has moved more quickly than
expected, Ritenauer said.
“It’s a lot of adjustment, but a lot of good adjustment,” he said. “I think as any parent would say, it changes your life in a positive way.”
Infants often sleep at different times than adults, Ritenauer said, so the family’s sleep patterns are disjointed,
but not necessarily lacking.
He also credited his wife and said working with her has been a joy.
“Lisa pulls a big portion of the load,” Ritenauer said. “She’s a great mother already.”