The Politics of Style: Erie's 2025 Mayoral Race

Contributed

Incumbent Mayor Joe Schember will be running for his third and final term in November. He will face a Democratic primary challenger in Daria Devlin, UPMC Hamot's Director of social impact. Jeff Bloodworth takes a look at both Schember's and Devlin's experience and leadership style as they head towards May's primary.

"Politics," Pat Cuneo told me, "Is the damnedest thing." If anyone should know, it's Pat Cuneo. The retired Erie Times-News journalist covered Erie and Pennsylvania state politics for decades. But this May's mayoral race has left the veteran journalist befuddled.

Cuneo says of Mayor Joe Schember's tenure, "The city is far better off than it was 10 years ago." At the same time, he senses a "vibe change." To Cuneo, many voters think "there isn't as much progress as there should be. There is grumbling about the city being stuck in the status quo."

Joe Schember, the two-term Democratic incumbent, is the betting favorite. Homicides are down. Jobs are up. Taxes are steady. And the mayor can point to a series of important-sounding acronyms — EDDC, LERTA, and CRIZ, that he helped champion. Through the Erie Downtown Development Corporation (EDDC), a more upscale aesthetic has rallied Erie's downtown. The Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance Act (LERTA) is a tax abatement program for home and business improvements that spurred hundreds of millions in investments. And the City Revitalization and Improvement Zone (CRIZ) is a tax increment financing district (i.e. a designated geographic area in which property tax rates are "frozen" for a set period — usually decades — to encourage development) that will, as Schember told me, "Result in more businesses and more people moving into the City of Erie."

Yet, Schember faces a serious primary challenger from fellow Democrat Daria Devlin. The 47-year-old Erie native and UPMC Hamot's director of social impact has the resume. On the boards of Erie Schools, the Port Authority, and the Erie Land Bank, she possesses knowledge of city government and executive experience in directing nonprofits. Joe Morris, a political scientist and dean of Mercyhurst University's School of Intelligence said, "Devlin has solid credentials. She's a high-quality challenger." Adding to her aptitude are the vibes. Echoing Cuneo, Morris told me, "I'm of the belief this is a 'time for a change' moment. Mayors come to office with energy that they pursue effectively [for a while] but at some point, the energy [dwindles]."

Schember is anything but complacent. In my sit-down with the mayor he credited "his great team" for hundreds of new jobs, millions in federal grants, cost-cutting, and a balanced budget. His chief of staff, Renee Lamis, said of the 74-year-old mayor, "he's the Energizer bunny. He goes and goes and goes from one meeting to the next from early morning until late at night. We [the staff] are all amazed by his workload and level of commitment." The mayor may be a septuagenarian, but Cuneo observes, "He's everywhere all at once."

Mention the mayor to most anyone in Erie and you'll soon hear, "Joe's a good guy." In politics, likability is usually synonymous with electability. Yet, the mayor has his critics — and they claim his "good guy" leadership style holds the city back.

Daria Devlin is taking direct aim at this vulnerability — that the mayor is likable and visible but not deeply engaged. She warns the city is facing a $12 to 15 million structural deficit that could invoke an Act 47 state takeover of the city. Ultimately, she told me, "If we are fine with things being 'fine,' that's one thing — but Erie is at a pivotal moment. If city hall is not engaged, then our success is not what it could be. We need real problem-solving and energy. We are 75 percent of the way there, but to get to the next level, we need more."

Devlin has deep Erie roots. The daughter of the Holy Nativity Church's parish rector, Devlin grew up calling the rectory and the lower east side home. Cuneo told me that these roots mean, "Devlin is a good Erie name." What she lacks, according to him, is an issue. Or as he explained, "Finance? Debt? Not sexy. It sounds like a superhuman effort to make this into a race. Are there really edgy issues? There are issues — but are they edgy?" Devlin admitted that her top issues — education, housing, and public safety — "ain't sexy," but these matters revolve around a common theme, which are, in her words, to "make Erie a place where young people want to be." And for that, she claims Erie needs engaged leadership.

A century ago, Erie was a veritable boomtown. Industrial jobs attracted immigrants. Between 1910 and 1940, the city's population nearly doubled. Like so many Rust Belt cities, Erie reached a demographic peak — 140,000 in the 1960s. At that time, Erie was roughly the same size as Nashville, Tennessee. Sixty years later, Nashville is the boomtown. Automation, deindustrialization, and suburbanization, meanwhile, have cut Erie's population down to below 100,000. When people leave or die, their tax payments go with them. What is left behind is a smaller population charged with maintaining the same physically sized city. Urban decline ensues, which only exacerbates further decay, and yet more brain drain. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. This is the Rust Belt doom loop. These issues pre-dated Schember's tenure who, to his credit, stabilized the patient. But Devlin believes the patient needs heroic medicine — not just palliative care.

On the surface the Schember-Devlin race is a generational divide pitting a Boomer against a Gen Xer. But it is, more deeply, a contest of leadership philosophy. Devlin told me, "This is about leadership. Change is hard. Change is difficult. This race is a moment of choice between the way we have always done things and how we can find a new way forward." Schember responded to these critiques, "That's totally unfounded. I'm totally involved. I have a great team. They do the work, and I direct them." Lamis added, the "[mayor's] leadership is misunderstood. He listens. He won't dictate. Once he hears everything, he will make a decision. Then everyone implements it. He's not a micro-manager."

The nearest hint of a scandal is the location of Daria Devlin's campaign office. Located at 3208 Peach St., the building was used by State Senator Dan Laughlin as his 2024 reelection headquarters. Lori Radder, Devlin's campaign manager, brushed aside rumors of a Laughlin-Devlin alliance. She laughed and told me, "It is there [the Devlin office] because the location was great and the owner gave us a great rate because he supports the campaign. We were lucky to get it."

Without a scandal or a polarizing personality — Erie's mayoral race will be decidedly old-fashioned. Voters will cast a ballot on an actual issue, "leadership style."

The mayor's critics charge he is too hands-off and delegates far too much authority to his chief of staff, Renee Lamis. A former city hall staffer told me, "It is common knowledge that Renee sells and drives the agenda." But then this person paused and wondered, "What's wrong with that?" If the results are good, isn't that a sign of solid leadership?

Dave Forrest, Erie's former city planner, has a different theory. The 63-year-old Philadelphia native has spent his entire career in municipal management. He told me, "I'm hoping Joe loses, we need better leadership. Schember, he's not active. The chief of staff really runs the town." Forrest's concerns are focused on a lack of "code enforcement." Forrest explained that code enforcement pushes property owners to maintain their homes and rentals. This not only drives investment, but it is utterly essential in maintaining affordable, quality housing, of which Erie lacks.

Forrest told me, "Look around the city, rental properties aren't up to code. The city won't provide any notices of violations." In Forrest's observation, the mayor's office "gets along with everyone. They never cross swords. They never say no." Forrest reports that early in Schember's tenure, property owners complained about code violations. City hall stopped issuing substantive code violations. Ultimately, Forrest charged, "If you are going to be in leadership, you will possibly piss people off — that's the price of leadership."

David Schleicher tells me this is normal. The Walter E. Meyer Professor of Property and Urban Law at Yale Law School reports that in every American city, "local institutions…are responsive to folks who show up, homeowners and interest groups." Chuck Nelson, a city councilman, has a front row seat for the show that is city government. He told me, "Renee Lamis has a huge role. That's the team he has built. Trust the team he has built." Nelson also sees a mayor who delegates and lets council play its role. But he also stressed, "His team has executed the [policies]. In the last eight years, you can see great improvements in the city. Just look downtown — drive down State Street. Maintain the momentum."

Leadership style may be the issue, but the election will be decided by organization and the Democratic primary. No Republican has even bothered to file. Devlin admits, "He [Schember] has a huge advantage in name recognition." And Schember has promised a robust door-to-door operation. Observers expect a meager turnout, 10,000 or so voters. Nelson told me, "Low turnout is not a change electorate." But such small numbers can also mean opportunity. A scant few thousand votes can change the nameplate on the fifth floor of city hall.

Historically, Erie's mayoral races are decided in the populous and ethnically diverse Fifth Ward. And Devlin has deep roots on the city's east side. Cuneo told me, "Devlin has an advantage in the Fifth Ward but to win she will need organization and money — enough to literally drive voters to the polls."

The 2025 race comes down to the leadership style that Erie voters want in a mayor. Devlin promises action. She told me, "The mayor needs to go to Harrisburg and Washington, D.C. often. Our mayor should meet regularly with business leaders and city council. We need to bring in new businesses and opportunities, which means the mayor needs to go out and advocate. The mayor needs to be Erie's biggest cheerleader."

Schember told me, "I've never enjoyed a job so much. We've had a great seven years. I have a great team. I enjoy knowing the city's 700 employees and getting to know the people of Erie. I want to hear people. I want input from people."

Erie, this is your choice.

Jeff Bloodworth is a professor of American political history at Gannon University. You can follow him on Twitter/X @jhueybloodworth or reach him at bloodwor003@gannon.edu