Marco Sommerville
Effective at the end of June 2018, City of Akron Mayor Daniel Horrigan appointed Marco Sommerville to fill the vacancy on the AMHA Board left by the retirement of Leonard Foster. AMHA welcomes Marco to the board and is grateful to have his extensive experience, advocacy and long-term commitment to the Akron community as part of the housing authority’s governing body.
Marco Sommerville has been a public servant and business owner for more than a quarter of a century. His first political experience was to work on Jesse Jackson's 1984 presidential campaign. Three years later, in 1987, he ran for his first political office and was elected to serve as the Council Representative for Ward 3. In 2000, his peers elected him as Akron City Council President. He served as both President and Ward 3 Council Representative until the end of 2012, when he resigned to accept his appointment as Akron's Planning Director.
Notable accomplishments as Council President and Ward Councilman include a $60 million neighborhood redevelopment in his ward that encompassed Edgewood Homes, Helen Arnold Community Learning Center and the Akron Urban League; establishment of the Akron Criminal Expungement Program; youth anti-violence initiatives; legislative support for community policing; legislative support to retain Goodyear and Firestone; international recruitment of foreign businesses; and legislative support for local businesses and first- time homebuyers.
Throughout his political career, Sommerville also owned and operated Sommerville Funeral Services, which he founded in 1982. He turned the business over to his daughter, Margo, when he accepted the Planning Director's position. His daughter also was appointed by City council to complete his term as Ward 3 Council Representative.
Marco Sommerville's contributions to the Greater Akron community also include Chairmanship of the Joint Board of Review, the oversight committee for Akron's $900 million school rebuilding project; Board of Trustees of the Akron Summit Convention and Visitors Bureau; President of the Downtown Akron Partnership; Akron Branch NAACP; and Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity.
