New city mayor Ken Markward sworn in

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

The first term of Van Wert Mayor-elect Ken Markward began officially Tuesday when he took the oath of office administered by City Auditor Martha Balyeat. Once he was sworn in, Markward returned the favor, administering the oath to Balyeat, who was re-elected in November to a new four-year term.

Markward, who was joined by his wife, Marie, and other family members, said the first few weeks of his first term will be spent on the myriad details needed to transition from former mayor Jerry Mazur’s administration to his.

Also attending Tuesday’s swearing-in ceremony was City Safety-Service Director Jay Fleming, who will be assisting Markward in getting acclimated to his new job and giving him tours of the various city departments to learn how the city operates. While Markward already had a general idea of city operations from his time on Van Wert City Council, the time spent with Fleming will be to provide him with a more in-depth look at how the city works.

One early goal he already has for his first year in office is to provide city voters with detailed information on the charter government issue that is to be placed on the ballot in 2020. While he admits not everyone will likely support the charter government issue, Markward said he at least wants people to make an informed choice on the matter.

“There’s going to be people who want to vote ‘no’, but we hope that they would want to do it correctly,” he said, adding that he wants people to vote based on factual information, rather than rumors and innuendoes.

Markward said he also has to get used to the transition from being on City Council, the legislative branch of city government, to heading up the executive branch of local government.