Youngstown native to serve as public service director

He begins the new job next month.
COLUMBUS -- Mayor Michael B. Coleman appointed a former Youngstown resident the city's public service department director.
Henry Guzman, 56, begins his new job Jan. 5. Guzman's salary hasn't been determined.
"I am looking forward to joining Mayor Coleman's leadership team and to continue his vision of providing efficient, high-quality services to the neighborhoods," Guzman said.
Guzman will oversee 972 employees in the city's transportation, refuse collection, fleet management and facilities management departments, and an annual budget of about $97 million. He will also help guide the city's $75 million neighborhood capital-improvement program.
Public-service roles
Guzman was born in Villiaba, Puerto Rico, and raised in Youngstown. He received a bachelor of science degree in criminal justice from Youngstown State University.
In 1972, he was named the first director of the Civil and Cultural Hispanic American Organization in Youngstown. The organization is a social-service agency that addresses the needs of Hispanics in the Mahoning Valley.
Guzman was elected in 1975 to a seat on the Youngstown Board of Education, and served until he resigned in 1986, about two years after he moved to Columbus to become Ohio's State and Local Government Commission director.
In 1987, Guzman was appointed deputy director of the state Department of Liquor Control. He also served as director of development at the Ohio Attorney General's Office, and director of Cleveland's Public Service and Public Safety Departments.
He is currently employed as director of the Cleveland Office of Equal Opportunity.
"His career in a variety of public-service roles is impressive, and we have the highest expectations for his future in Columbus as he turns his focus to continued delivery of excellent services to our residents and neighborhoods," Coleman said.