Katrina Keith was sworn in as the first female mayor of Ironton, Ohio in December 2015. She overcame difficulties as a young divorced mother on public assistance to get an education and build a career serving her community. As mayor, she aims to restructure city services, focus on downtown development, and bring the community together through shared cultural experiences and communication. Her story inspires others by showing that with hard work and sacrifice, you can achieve your dreams.

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Taking the Oath
BY JULIE S. TERRY
PHOTOS ASHLEY GALLAHER QUINN
Katrina Keith was sworn in as the new
mayor of Ironton Dec. 1, 2015. Born
and raised in Ironton, Keith holds the
distinction of being its first female mayor.
She graduated from Ironton High School and
attained a degree in business administration
from Ohio University Southern. Her life story
includes a time when she was divorced and
raising a young son on her own, when she
had to receive public assistance to make ends
meet. She turned her life around with a good
education, hard work, an unshakable faith,
a winning personality and a commitment to
serving her community.
About getting into politics:
“I had no interest in politics. But about five
years ago, I got a strong feeling about running
for office, and there was a group encouraging
me. In the midst of this five-year period, my
husband’s job was relocated to Columbus,
Ohio, so I traveled on the weekends for three
years. My daughter was in middle school at
that time. I had every intention of landing a
job in Columbus and relocating, but then my
mom was diagnosed with cancer, so I also was
concerned about her. I put my job search on
hold. In the meantime, my mother-in-law
was diagnosed with cancer, so I also took
care of her. I juggled basketball, volleyball, my
job, and caregiving while volunteering in the
community and at church. It was crazy. But
you know, I wouldn’t give it up for anything.
I was involved in everything coming and going
around Ironton. I had a platform and a base to
run. When my husband said, ‘It’s OK, go for it,’
that’s when I decided to campaign for mayor. I
would never have done it without his support.
Family first.”
On being Ironton’s first female mayor:
“I didn’t even think about that until later
when people brought it up. It is an honor
to offer something to my community and
be among a group of great women leaders
working and volunteering here. Look at
the young women behind us. It’s a huge
responsibility. There are girls looking up and
thinking, ‘If she can do it, I can do it, too.’
And here’s someone like me, who was really
down on her luck at one time, collecting
government benefits just to survive. To be at
that point, and then to claw my way up, and
now to be able to hold this position, it means
everything to me.”
From Public Assistance
to Public Service:
The Unexpected Life of
Ironton Mayor Katrina Keith
About Katrina:
• Married young, moved with her husband
to Athens, Ohio, where he had a football
scholarship with Ohio University
• Divorced, returned home to Ironton as a
single mother of a 2-year-old son
• First job out of college was with the
Ashland Alliance
• Remarried in 1996 to Tony Keith. They
have a blended family that includes his
sons T.J. and Teran, her son Major, and
their child together D’Laynie.
• Worked at Ashland Main Street from
2000 to 2003, Junior Achievement from
2003 to 2006 and Hospice of Huntington
from 2006 to 2008
• Joined the City of Ironton in 2008 as a
benefits specialist
• Co-chairs Ironton aLive
• Very involved in her church, Church of
the King, where she occasionally teaches
Bible study classes and assists with the
women’s group
• Has been reading “The Leadership Style
of Jesus” by Michael Youssef

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On leadership:
“I’m a firm believer that if you’re going to
complain about something, you should bring
a solution to it. Get involved and help make a
difference.
“I consider myself a strong leader and
a coach. I want my department heads to
have the information and tools they need,
but I want them to do their jobs and grow
professionally. Everybody has gifts and talents.
Everybody has a purpose.”
Making changes in Ironton:
“We’re restructuring to make services flow
more efficiently and effectively. We want to
use taxpayer dollars wisely. We’re going to
implement the ‘Lean’ process. We’re getting
rid of waste and learning to operate better.
We’re looking to save time and resources, to
leverage technology and get more done.
“We’re establishing one- and four-year
goals and making a wish list for long term. You
have to have a plan to stay on track.
“We’re focusing on downtown renovation.
We’ll help property owners with façade
improvements and try to recruit businesses
to set up in empty buildings. We’re looking at
the possibility of upper-story housing units
downtown – encouraging young professionals
to move downtown where you can live, work
and play.
“We want to focus on events and tourism.
We have the new farmers market downtown
and the summer concert series, the annual
Memorial Day Parade, the Gus Macker
basketball tournament, Rally on the River, and
last year we hosted the Taste of Ironton event.
We had a tent and booths for local restaurants
to sell their foods. We planned for 300 and
1,500 people showed up!”
On diversity:
“The African American population is only
about 2 percent in Lawrence County, but it’s
important. I’ve worked with a diversity group
in the city. We need to come together and
show the positives of each other’s culture. We
need to communicate better.
“My husband Tony is African American.
We’ve had totally different life experiences.
Being able to keep a relationship like that
together and raise four kids (laughs) has been
interesting. It’s made me who I am, developed
my character. When we see things going on
in the nation today, Tony and I have our own
opinions about it, and we try to understand
each other.”
Advice to others:
“If you want something bad enough, and
you’re willing to work for it and sacrifice for it,
you can make it. That’s what America is about.
That’s the American dream.”
If you want something
bad enough, and you’re
willing to work for it
and sacrifice for it, you
can make it. That’s what
America is about. That’s
the American dream.
– Katrina Keith
“
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