March 18, 2024 • 17 mins
Rollie Harper, who is Mansfield's new law director, was elected in November of 2023 and took office in January of 2024. Rollie was born in Mansfield, went to Senior High and graduate from Ohio University. Harper knew from a young age he was going to pursue a law degree, which is something he promised his mother. Listen to Rollie's incredible story and learn more about Mansfield's law director on the podcast.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
The CEO you should know, broughtto you by Roby Foster Miller Eric Insurance.
This week's CEO Roleigh Harper, Mansfield'slaw Director. Good morning, It
is great to see you. Goodmorning, and it's also great to see
you right well. As I beginwith you, congratulations on being elected law
(00:20):
director. Thank you, thank you. All right, so let's officially begin.
When did you officially take over therole as law director January two,
this past year. All right,So as we dive in, I think
it's great to, you know,we get to chat with local people and
kind of find out about what theydo. So somebody here's you're the law
director in the City of Mansfield.Could you kind of give us an overview
(00:41):
of kind of job duties? Whatall does a law director do? Well?
Generally speaking, a law director isin control of both the civil division
of the Law Director's office and thecriminal division of the law Director's office.
And in addition to those duties,you basically are the advisor for city council.
(01:02):
This year and every four years,the Charter Review Commission meets. I'm
of the advisor for the Charter ReviewCommission, and anything that walks through the
door basically that has any kind ofa legal perspective comes to my office.
So in terms of a day today thing, I assume it would change
(01:22):
them because you said anything that hasto do you know, legally would be
in front of you. So thingswould definitely change on a day to day
basis, and right, it makesit interesting. I'm never going to be
bored. Now, maybe somebody doesn'trealize talk about a term for a law
director because we know we hear ajudge or somebody like that that can talk
about the term for you. Theterm limits are you can be elected three
(01:48):
times and it's for a period offour years each. So if I'm blessed
and fortunate and NF I'll be therefor twelve years. Roleigh Harper the voice
you hear this morning this week,see oh, you should know he's Mansfield's
law director. So in terms ofI mentioned you know, day to day,
if somebody within the City of Mansfield, you mentioned council whoever, they
(02:09):
need legal advice, those kind ofthings would come before you. Just talk
about that a little bit, andthose things get posed in the form of
a question, which in my officethen researches and provides an answer. Now
for you in terms of being lawdirectors. And we're going to get your
background in a bit. Something youalways, you know, wanted to be
(02:29):
a law director, that kind ofthing, you know, attorney, all
those kind of things growing up.We'll get the background in a bit,
but something you've always kind of wantedto do. Well, what I've always
wanted to do was have the privilegeof being assistance to people in my hometown
on a grand scale. And thishappens to be the job that, in
(02:51):
hindsight, which is twenty twenty,that the Lord decided was mine. All
right, Well, we are learningabout Raleigh Harper this morning. So if
somebody is not a where where isthe law director's office located at? In
Mansfield? Civil Division is on theeighth floor of the city building and Criminal
Division is on the second floor ofthe city building. Now, in terms
(03:12):
of you, is there a busiertime of the year, because I know
certain departments may say, hey,when it's you know, it's tax season,
you know this is busier or Iknow, you know, gearing up
for the budget. I had KellyBlanken Chip and who you know, finance
director. Is there a busier timeof the week, month, year for
the law director's office. Now it'sbusy typically around when people pose a question
(03:35):
and rather than you know, makea mistake, we want them to be
safe as opposed to sorry, andso they pose legal questions to us in
hypothetical mode all the time. Yeah, So for you, they would say,
hey, Riley, I have aquestion. As you mentioned, you
want to you know, just makesure everything's okay. They kind of put
it in front of you to haveyou look at it, make sure everything's
(03:55):
okay. Then first and foremost,I want the question in writing at the
background for the reason for the question, and then we go from there.
So for you, a lot ofresearch, I would assume, I mean,
you know, you're probably talking toa lot of people making sure you
get a lot of questions. Iwould assume I like it, and we
well to expound. I suppose I'mnot that kind of guy that can do
(04:17):
the same thing every day and considerit meaningful. Number One, I have
to have interesting questions and interesting thingsto do, and to be of assistance
is frankly why I came back toMansfield and I get that opportunity. So
before we get your background, howhave you liked working you know, you
know here you know in the cityof Mansfoot in terms of there's a new
(04:41):
mayor, a new finance director,there's going to be a new police chief,
fire a chief, all those kindof things. How have you liked
working? I enjoy it. Ienjoy it. Everybody's cooperative, everybody seems
to be and therefore, from myperspective, is concerned about growth, stability,
and thriving. In Mansfield, Ohio. Seems to be a lot of
positive energy. I had the mayorJody Perry, and recently this seems to
(05:04):
be a lot of positive energy inMansfield right now? I agree, Well,
Roley, let's find out a bitmore about you, and we had
you in for a conversation leading upto you being named or actually being elected
law director. But if people arenot aware, let's step back to the
very beginning. And if you wouldtell us where was Raleigh Harper born right
(05:25):
here in Mansfield, Ohio? Allright, born in Mansfield. Next,
if you would tell uspot high school? Where you go to high school?
Mansfield Senior High? All right,t y tiger, Yeah, we were
red and white. All right,so Senior High. Graduate. Next,
if you would where'd you go tocollege? Fire University? All right?
A bobcat correct, Yeah, okay, all right, Now, tell us
after college in terms of you know, getting into you know, going to
(05:49):
law school, you know, allthose kind of things. Tell us kind
of the path after college then ifyou would, Well, I went to
college on a music scholarship because blessedwith the gift of music, it was
easy for me. But I alwaysknew that I was going to be a
lawyer, because I told my momI was when I was real small.
(06:10):
The mom was born on a plantationoutside of Clarksdale, Mississippi, to a
midwife in bondage. And it's kindof unfathomable to me to know that I'm
one generation removed from having a benat slave. That's just the way it
(06:30):
was down that way. My brotherand I were. We lived on Mulberry
Street, and I'd jump on mybike and ride down to Mom's best friend
was Lois Hafford, and Vincent andVan Haffert were close in age to my
brother and I and Reggie and Iare four years apart, but we'd go
(06:50):
down there and we'd play four squareout in the middle of the street,
dodging cars, you know, geta little piece of chalk and do it
all, you know. I rememberhaving to go in and go to the
bathroom, and when I came out, Mom was saying to her best friend
Lois that she bunker my dad.That was his nickname, Lawrence Harper.
(07:12):
They wouldn't be able to leave thecountry because Mom wouldn't be able to get
back in because she didn't have abirth certificate. And I heard that and
she sounded sad. So I camearound the corner and I said, Mom,
one day, I'm going to bea lawyer, and I'm going to
get that birth certificate for you.And she smiled, you know, she
thought that was just really stinking cute. And she said, oh, that's
nice, boy. Go back outsideand play, you know. And so
(07:34):
of course I did that. ButI never forgot that. And I knew
I was going to be a lawyerbecause I made my mom a promise,
and promises are never broken in myfamily ever. So I did that.
I went to law school, Igraduated, passed the bar. The first
thing I did as a lawyer wascalled down to the county seat Clarksdale,
(07:55):
Clarksdale, Mississippi, and I saidthat my mom was born on a plantation
there, and they interrupted me andsaid, we know the one, and
I'm looking for a birth certificate forher. And she goes, we know
the place. What does she sayis her birth date? And what does
she call herself? And I toldthem and they sent me a birth certificate
(08:15):
in the mail and I took itover to mom and handed it to her.
Man, it almost makes me cry, now, you know. And
I said, hey, this isfor you, and I turned around and
walked away. She opened it upand started crying. And if your mom
cries, that'll make you cry quick. It's pretty simple. So I stood
there and cried and we hugged.She goes, you remember it, I
said, I told you I would. Words are what men live by.
(08:37):
I choose mine very carefully, Mom, And she goes, you are a
man. I said, okay,yeah, that's the way that worked.
Incredible story. Hearing from Raleigh Harperthis morning. This week's CEO. You
should know Mansfield's lawn director. Youbrought up your father. Was he a
police She? I know he workedin the city of man So could you
share a little bit there. Yeah, dad was first black man to be
(09:00):
a policeman in Mansfield's history in nineteenforty eight, right out of the Marine
Corps in World War Two, wherethe armed forces of the United States were
still segregated at that time. Sodad was one of the last living Montfort
Point Marines of the all black MarineCorps. Everything was separate, everything and
everybody was treated differently, and alot of that was motivation for my dad.
(09:22):
A lot of that became motivation forme, because how dare you judge
me by the color of my skin? A man is judged and the immortal
words of Martin Luther King by thecontent of his character, never the color
of his skin. That's the waywe do it. And so of course,
when you're young, and I wasborn in fifty nine and there was
(09:46):
still overt even if it wasn't spokenso much, you were treated as though
you were less than And that justbasically did the same thing for me and
my brother that it did for mydad. There's this slow boil that you're
always on and it's not reactionary.It's arming yourself with knowledge instead of guns
(10:09):
and knives, because the guns andknives side of it is reactionary. You
get angry, but then you don'teven realize if you if you walk that
road is an old saying Jim Hensonused to become and please court judge,
good friend. He'd always say,boy, the bend in the road is
not the end of the road unlessyou fail to make the turn and then
(10:31):
you crash and burn. And alot of people don't realize that there is
no cage. Prison bars. Prisonbars are just prison bars. The true
caged where you can get locked inand never find your way out, is
your mind. If you believe somethingand you react to it all the time,
(10:52):
that's what you become, and societytreats you as such. You can
do anything here. Arm your selfwith knowledge. That's the way we do
it. We were chatting this morningwith Raleigh Harper, learning all about him.
He's Mansfield's new law director and thisweek's CEO. You should know that
you hear your story. You knewas a kid you wanted to be an
(11:15):
attorney. You know, you madethat promise to your mom and I'm sure
for you just you know, beingnamed law director, I'm sure that was
a nice celebration for you, thefamily, all that kind of thing,
right when you were elected. Yeah, it felt more like a privilege than
a celebration. You know, Iget the privilege of having the opportunity to
(11:35):
try to be of influence on agrand scale instead of a small scale,
just by example, it's great tohear from me this morning. Now,
Raley, before it lets you go, get a few more questions. So
don't know if you're married, kids, anything like that. So if you
would share with us a little bitabout Raleigh Harper and the family. Well,
I was married, I have onekid. Daddy's little princess and her
(11:58):
husband are in Cincinnati right now,and her husband is finishing up his residency
in pediatric dental surgery. She isteaching online at the University of Pittsburgh and
staying at home with my grandson,Benny Benjamin Lawrence Cochrane, named after his
(12:22):
dad's grandfather, my daughter's grandfather,my dad, Lawrence Edward. Everybody called
him Bunker Lawrence Edward Bunker Harper yep. And she's got one on the way.
And they made the decision that whenthey're done with doing what they're doing,
that they're going to come back toMansfield, all right. So my
(12:45):
next question was going to be whenwhen you're not working and you have some
spare time, you know, whatkind of hobbies do you have. I'm
sure, there's trips to Cincinnati thereto to see the family. But if
you will tell us what you liketo do when you're not working, what
kind of hobbies do you have?Well, let's see working not working,
that's a foreign concept, oh bunk. Harper used to say, both the
Reggie and I boys, if youlove it, you'll never work a day
(13:09):
in your life. Find something youlove, and we both did so.
I don't know that there is sucha thing as not working, and it
doesn't feel like work. We bothfound in this same concept that it's both
a blessing and a curse. Theblessing is that you love it, and
the curse is that because you loveit, you're doing it all the time,
to the detriment of most other things. All right now, before I
(13:33):
let you go, I got twomore quick questions. The voice again you're
hearing is Mansfield's new law director,Roley Harper. In terms of your office,
you know, how many staff membersdo you have? I don't know,
you know, secretary, different peoplekind of work in your office?
How many and total do you havethere? Well, don't have any?
Really taken the time to sit andcount when I was going through the maze
(13:54):
in my mind to find just theright people that had just the right make
up that they could be effective.And we're alarmingly bright and it's easy to
communicate with them. They're not goingto make you feel feel insecure in any
way, or defensive or overpowered inany way. I found those people,
(14:18):
and it's myself and Dave Madden upupstairs as the lawyers on the eighth floor,
Amy Yaqui, Tracy Connor, Davis, but everybody upstairs is exactly what
I need to have, that kindof what I believe people are supposed to
be our servants. You know,you got to have that little towel across
(14:41):
your shoulder, and so to beable to communicate in such a way that
you're connecting with everybody you meet.You meet them wherever they are, you
know, and you better be ableto be effective to communicate with them there
because if you if they if theyget the sense that you're talking down to
them or talking over them and usingwords they don't understand, they're not going
(15:01):
to connect with you, and you'renot going to be able to be of
assistance. So if you don't havethat instinct, you can't work for me.
And if you take advantage of thatinstinct. You can't work for me.
You have to be right there inthat little sweet spot. And everybody
that I've hired is there, andwe're looking forward to and starting to be
(15:22):
of assistance to Mansfield. All right, great, did you have a really
good team in place at the LawDirector's office? Great to hear. Last
thing. If somebody has a questionand they want to reach out to the
Law Director's office, what's the bestway to go about it? Is it
to go to the City of Mansfieldwebsite CEI dot Mansfield dot oh dot us.
Do they call? Do they stopin the office? How do you
(15:45):
guys prefer somebody who has a questionfor the office? Always best to call
first because you never know what dayin tails. And again, if I
had to do the same thing everyday going to work, I don't know
that would dampen my spirit as itwere. But I get to be of
assistance and every day with people,So all right, So the best way
(16:08):
is to go ahead and go tothe City of Mansfield website, grab the
phone number for the Law Director's officeand call them with with your question.
Right, Well, you'll get toyou know, there's checkpoints all along the
way to get to actually pose aquestion. If you have a legitimate question,
then it's time sensitive. What you'regoing to do is go through those
(16:30):
channels. Typically what people do thathave questions that will end up in a
litigation kind of a place. Myoffice is not going to be the place
for you to get your answer ifit's against the city and they will refer
you to either. You know,what your first step will be is to
(16:51):
get yourself a lawyer and then youknow, we go from there. But
if it's going to be a litigationthing down the road, or it could
be, then I'm not going tobe able to answer and know nobody in
my office will answer questions that can, you know, because then we're walking
into conflict area. All right,it's the best place to go again.
(17:11):
City of Mansfield website. As welearned this morning about Raleigh Harper, this
week's CEO you should know, Mansfield'sLaw Director. Well, it has been
great to have you in studio,learn your great, great story. Thank
you so much for being with us. Oh, thank you for having me
and we wish you continued success.Thank you so much. Raleigh Harper,
Mansfield's Law Director, The CEO youshould know rit A bio, see a
(17:37):
photo and here the extended interview atWMA n FM dot com. This is
John Roby of RFME Insurance. Ithas said that a good leader sets the
bar high because he or she wantsto reach goals and make the best of
their teams. We're proud to introduceyou to some of the community's leaders on
the CEO series.
The CEO you should know, broughtto you by Roby Foster Miller Eric Insurance.
This week's CEO Roleigh Harper, Mansfield'slaw Director. Good morning, It
is great to see you. Goodmorning, and it's also great to see
you right well. As I beginwith you, congratulations on being elected law
(00:20):
director. Thank you, thank you. All right, so let's officially begin.
When did you officially take over therole as law director January two,
this past year. All right,So as we dive in, I think
it's great to, you know,we get to chat with local people and
kind of find out about what theydo. So somebody here's you're the law
director in the City of Mansfield.Could you kind of give us an overview
(00:41):
of kind of job duties? Whatall does a law director do? Well?
Generally speaking, a law director isin control of both the civil division
of the Law Director's office and thecriminal division of the law Director's office.
And in addition to those duties,you basically are the advisor for city council.
(01:02):
This year and every four years,the Charter Review Commission meets. I'm
of the advisor for the Charter ReviewCommission, and anything that walks through the
door basically that has any kind ofa legal perspective comes to my office.
So in terms of a day today thing, I assume it would change
(01:22):
them because you said anything that hasto do you know, legally would be
in front of you. So thingswould definitely change on a day to day
basis, and right, it makesit interesting. I'm never going to be
bored. Now, maybe somebody doesn'trealize talk about a term for a law
director because we know we hear ajudge or somebody like that that can talk
about the term for you. Theterm limits are you can be elected three
(01:48):
times and it's for a period offour years each. So if I'm blessed
and fortunate and NF I'll be therefor twelve years. Roleigh Harper the voice
you hear this morning this week,see oh, you should know he's Mansfield's
law director. So in terms ofI mentioned you know, day to day,
if somebody within the City of Mansfield, you mentioned council whoever, they
(02:09):
need legal advice, those kind ofthings would come before you. Just talk
about that a little bit, andthose things get posed in the form of
a question, which in my officethen researches and provides an answer. Now
for you in terms of being lawdirectors. And we're going to get your
background in a bit. Something youalways, you know, wanted to be
(02:29):
a law director, that kind ofthing, you know, attorney, all
those kind of things growing up.We'll get the background in a bit,
but something you've always kind of wantedto do. Well, what I've always
wanted to do was have the privilegeof being assistance to people in my hometown
on a grand scale. And thishappens to be the job that, in
(02:51):
hindsight, which is twenty twenty,that the Lord decided was mine. All
right, Well, we are learningabout Raleigh Harper this morning. So if
somebody is not a where where isthe law director's office located at? In
Mansfield? Civil Division is on theeighth floor of the city building and Criminal
Division is on the second floor ofthe city building. Now, in terms
(03:12):
of you, is there a busiertime of the year, because I know
certain departments may say, hey,when it's you know, it's tax season,
you know this is busier or Iknow, you know, gearing up
for the budget. I had KellyBlanken Chip and who you know, finance
director. Is there a busier timeof the week, month, year for
the law director's office. Now it'sbusy typically around when people pose a question
(03:35):
and rather than you know, makea mistake, we want them to be
safe as opposed to sorry, andso they pose legal questions to us in
hypothetical mode all the time. Yeah, So for you, they would say,
hey, Riley, I have aquestion. As you mentioned, you
want to you know, just makesure everything's okay. They kind of put
it in front of you to haveyou look at it, make sure everything's
(03:55):
okay. Then first and foremost,I want the question in writing at the
background for the reason for the question, and then we go from there.
So for you, a lot ofresearch, I would assume, I mean,
you know, you're probably talking toa lot of people making sure you
get a lot of questions. Iwould assume I like it, and we
well to expound. I suppose I'mnot that kind of guy that can do
(04:17):
the same thing every day and considerit meaningful. Number One, I have
to have interesting questions and interesting thingsto do, and to be of assistance
is frankly why I came back toMansfield and I get that opportunity. So
before we get your background, howhave you liked working you know, you
know here you know in the cityof Mansfoot in terms of there's a new
(04:41):
mayor, a new finance director,there's going to be a new police chief,
fire a chief, all those kindof things. How have you liked
working? I enjoy it. Ienjoy it. Everybody's cooperative, everybody seems
to be and therefore, from myperspective, is concerned about growth, stability,
and thriving. In Mansfield, Ohio. Seems to be a lot of
positive energy. I had the mayorJody Perry, and recently this seems to
(05:04):
be a lot of positive energy inMansfield right now? I agree, Well,
Roley, let's find out a bitmore about you, and we had
you in for a conversation leading upto you being named or actually being elected
law director. But if people arenot aware, let's step back to the
very beginning. And if you wouldtell us where was Raleigh Harper born right
(05:25):
here in Mansfield, Ohio? Allright, born in Mansfield. Next,
if you would tell uspot high school? Where you go to high school?
Mansfield Senior High? All right,t y tiger, Yeah, we were
red and white. All right,so Senior High. Graduate. Next,
if you would where'd you go tocollege? Fire University? All right?
A bobcat correct, Yeah, okay, all right, Now, tell us
after college in terms of you know, getting into you know, going to
(05:49):
law school, you know, allthose kind of things. Tell us kind
of the path after college then ifyou would, Well, I went to
college on a music scholarship because blessedwith the gift of music, it was
easy for me. But I alwaysknew that I was going to be a
lawyer, because I told my momI was when I was real small.
(06:10):
The mom was born on a plantationoutside of Clarksdale, Mississippi, to a
midwife in bondage. And it's kindof unfathomable to me to know that I'm
one generation removed from having a benat slave. That's just the way it
(06:30):
was down that way. My brotherand I were. We lived on Mulberry
Street, and I'd jump on mybike and ride down to Mom's best friend
was Lois Hafford, and Vincent andVan Haffert were close in age to my
brother and I and Reggie and Iare four years apart, but we'd go
(06:50):
down there and we'd play four squareout in the middle of the street,
dodging cars, you know, geta little piece of chalk and do it
all, you know. I rememberhaving to go in and go to the
bathroom, and when I came out, Mom was saying to her best friend
Lois that she bunker my dad.That was his nickname, Lawrence Harper.
(07:12):
They wouldn't be able to leave thecountry because Mom wouldn't be able to get
back in because she didn't have abirth certificate. And I heard that and
she sounded sad. So I camearound the corner and I said, Mom,
one day, I'm going to bea lawyer, and I'm going to
get that birth certificate for you.And she smiled, you know, she
thought that was just really stinking cute. And she said, oh, that's
nice, boy. Go back outsideand play, you know. And so
(07:34):
of course I did that. ButI never forgot that. And I knew
I was going to be a lawyerbecause I made my mom a promise,
and promises are never broken in myfamily ever. So I did that.
I went to law school, Igraduated, passed the bar. The first
thing I did as a lawyer wascalled down to the county seat Clarksdale,
(07:55):
Clarksdale, Mississippi, and I saidthat my mom was born on a plantation
there, and they interrupted me andsaid, we know the one, and
I'm looking for a birth certificate forher. And she goes, we know
the place. What does she sayis her birth date? And what does
she call herself? And I toldthem and they sent me a birth certificate
(08:15):
in the mail and I took itover to mom and handed it to her.
Man, it almost makes me cry, now, you know. And
I said, hey, this isfor you, and I turned around and
walked away. She opened it upand started crying. And if your mom
cries, that'll make you cry quick. It's pretty simple. So I stood
there and cried and we hugged.She goes, you remember it, I
said, I told you I would. Words are what men live by.
(08:37):
I choose mine very carefully, Mom, And she goes, you are a
man. I said, okay,yeah, that's the way that worked.
Incredible story. Hearing from Raleigh Harperthis morning. This week's CEO. You
should know Mansfield's lawn director. Youbrought up your father. Was he a
police She? I know he workedin the city of man So could you
share a little bit there. Yeah, dad was first black man to be
(09:00):
a policeman in Mansfield's history in nineteenforty eight, right out of the Marine
Corps in World War Two, wherethe armed forces of the United States were
still segregated at that time. Sodad was one of the last living Montfort
Point Marines of the all black MarineCorps. Everything was separate, everything and
everybody was treated differently, and alot of that was motivation for my dad.
(09:22):
A lot of that became motivation forme, because how dare you judge
me by the color of my skin? A man is judged and the immortal
words of Martin Luther King by thecontent of his character, never the color
of his skin. That's the waywe do it. And so of course,
when you're young, and I wasborn in fifty nine and there was
(09:46):
still overt even if it wasn't spokenso much, you were treated as though
you were less than And that justbasically did the same thing for me and
my brother that it did for mydad. There's this slow boil that you're
always on and it's not reactionary.It's arming yourself with knowledge instead of guns
(10:09):
and knives, because the guns andknives side of it is reactionary. You
get angry, but then you don'teven realize if you if you walk that
road is an old saying Jim Hensonused to become and please court judge,
good friend. He'd always say,boy, the bend in the road is
not the end of the road unlessyou fail to make the turn and then
(10:31):
you crash and burn. And alot of people don't realize that there is
no cage. Prison bars. Prisonbars are just prison bars. The true
caged where you can get locked inand never find your way out, is
your mind. If you believe somethingand you react to it all the time,
(10:52):
that's what you become, and societytreats you as such. You can
do anything here. Arm your selfwith knowledge. That's the way we do
it. We were chatting this morningwith Raleigh Harper, learning all about him.
He's Mansfield's new law director and thisweek's CEO. You should know that
you hear your story. You knewas a kid you wanted to be an
(11:15):
attorney. You know, you madethat promise to your mom and I'm sure
for you just you know, beingnamed law director, I'm sure that was
a nice celebration for you, thefamily, all that kind of thing,
right when you were elected. Yeah, it felt more like a privilege than
a celebration. You know, Iget the privilege of having the opportunity to
(11:35):
try to be of influence on agrand scale instead of a small scale,
just by example, it's great tohear from me this morning. Now,
Raley, before it lets you go, get a few more questions. So
don't know if you're married, kids, anything like that. So if you
would share with us a little bitabout Raleigh Harper and the family. Well,
I was married, I have onekid. Daddy's little princess and her
(11:58):
husband are in Cincinnati right now,and her husband is finishing up his residency
in pediatric dental surgery. She isteaching online at the University of Pittsburgh and
staying at home with my grandson,Benny Benjamin Lawrence Cochrane, named after his
(12:22):
dad's grandfather, my daughter's grandfather,my dad, Lawrence Edward. Everybody called
him Bunker Lawrence Edward Bunker Harper yep. And she's got one on the way.
And they made the decision that whenthey're done with doing what they're doing,
that they're going to come back toMansfield, all right. So my
(12:45):
next question was going to be whenwhen you're not working and you have some
spare time, you know, whatkind of hobbies do you have. I'm
sure, there's trips to Cincinnati thereto to see the family. But if
you will tell us what you liketo do when you're not working, what
kind of hobbies do you have?Well, let's see working not working,
that's a foreign concept, oh bunk. Harper used to say, both the
Reggie and I boys, if youlove it, you'll never work a day
(13:09):
in your life. Find something youlove, and we both did so.
I don't know that there is sucha thing as not working, and it
doesn't feel like work. We bothfound in this same concept that it's both
a blessing and a curse. Theblessing is that you love it, and
the curse is that because you loveit, you're doing it all the time,
to the detriment of most other things. All right now, before I
(13:33):
let you go, I got twomore quick questions. The voice again you're
hearing is Mansfield's new law director,Roley Harper. In terms of your office,
you know, how many staff membersdo you have? I don't know,
you know, secretary, different peoplekind of work in your office?
How many and total do you havethere? Well, don't have any?
Really taken the time to sit andcount when I was going through the maze
(13:54):
in my mind to find just theright people that had just the right make
up that they could be effective.And we're alarmingly bright and it's easy to
communicate with them. They're not goingto make you feel feel insecure in any
way, or defensive or overpowered inany way. I found those people,
(14:18):
and it's myself and Dave Madden upupstairs as the lawyers on the eighth floor,
Amy Yaqui, Tracy Connor, Davis, but everybody upstairs is exactly what
I need to have, that kindof what I believe people are supposed to
be our servants. You know,you got to have that little towel across
(14:41):
your shoulder, and so to beable to communicate in such a way that
you're connecting with everybody you meet.You meet them wherever they are, you
know, and you better be ableto be effective to communicate with them there
because if you if they if theyget the sense that you're talking down to
them or talking over them and usingwords they don't understand, they're not going
(15:01):
to connect with you, and you'renot going to be able to be of
assistance. So if you don't havethat instinct, you can't work for me.
And if you take advantage of thatinstinct. You can't work for me.
You have to be right there inthat little sweet spot. And everybody
that I've hired is there, andwe're looking forward to and starting to be
(15:22):
of assistance to Mansfield. All right, great, did you have a really
good team in place at the LawDirector's office? Great to hear. Last
thing. If somebody has a questionand they want to reach out to the
Law Director's office, what's the bestway to go about it? Is it
to go to the City of Mansfieldwebsite CEI dot Mansfield dot oh dot us.
Do they call? Do they stopin the office? How do you
(15:45):
guys prefer somebody who has a questionfor the office? Always best to call
first because you never know what dayin tails. And again, if I
had to do the same thing everyday going to work, I don't know
that would dampen my spirit as itwere. But I get to be of
assistance and every day with people,So all right, So the best way
(16:08):
is to go ahead and go tothe City of Mansfield website, grab the
phone number for the Law Director's officeand call them with with your question.
Right, Well, you'll get toyou know, there's checkpoints all along the
way to get to actually pose aquestion. If you have a legitimate question,
then it's time sensitive. What you'regoing to do is go through those
(16:30):
channels. Typically what people do thathave questions that will end up in a
litigation kind of a place. Myoffice is not going to be the place
for you to get your answer ifit's against the city and they will refer
you to either. You know,what your first step will be is to
(16:51):
get yourself a lawyer and then youknow, we go from there. But
if it's going to be a litigationthing down the road, or it could
be, then I'm not going tobe able to answer and know nobody in
my office will answer questions that can, you know, because then we're walking
into conflict area. All right,it's the best place to go again.
(17:11):
City of Mansfield website. As welearned this morning about Raleigh Harper, this
week's CEO you should know, Mansfield'sLaw Director. Well, it has been
great to have you in studio,learn your great, great story. Thank
you so much for being with us. Oh, thank you for having me
and we wish you continued success.Thank you so much. Raleigh Harper,
Mansfield's Law Director, The CEO youshould know rit A bio, see a
(17:37):
photo and here the extended interview atWMA n FM dot com. This is
John Roby of RFME Insurance. Ithas said that a good leader sets the
bar high because he or she wantsto reach goals and make the best of
their teams. We're proud to introduceyou to some of the community's leaders on
the CEO series.
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