Staff photo / R. Michael Semple Warren Mayor Doug Franklin, first elected 11 years ago, is the city’s first black mayor. He previously served as the safety service director under former Mayor Michael J. O’Brien. Franklin said he always strives to be a role model.

Youngstown’s Jamael Tito Brown and Warren’s Doug Franklin, the African-American mayors of the two most-populous cities in the Mahoning Valley, say they want their leadership and accomplishments to be positive examples to minorities.

“We aspire to let young men and women know it can be done,” Franklin said. “The two of us being mayors has opened up those possibilities and opportunities to others. We hopefully allow people to see themselves in these positions that have not been held by people of color or women.”

Brown said: “Any time I get an audience and a chance to give remarks, I try to tell my story and encourage others to accomplish their goals by telling them what I’ve accomplished. I don’t want them to say, ‘I want to be mayor.’ I want them to be congressman, governor or president. Don’t let your yesterday determine your future.”

Franklin, first elected Warren mayor 11 years ago, is the first African American to lead his hometown.

Brown, first elected to Youngstown’s highest office in 2017, is the second black man to serve as the city’s mayor with Jay Williams the first. Williams was elected in 2005.

Having African Americans serve as mayors of the two cities at the same time — as Franklin and Brown have for the past four-plus years — never happened before in the Valley.

The only other African American ever elected mayor in either Mahoning or Trumbull counties was Glenn Holmes in McDonald. He was elected in 2007 and served for nine years. Holmes later was elected to the Ohio House, resigning in 2019 to join the Ohio Parole Board.

Franklin said as a child, he “had no thought of being the first African-American mayor in Warren, though I’m proud of it. It wasn’t something I had planned, but I’m so glad I got to be the first. As a kid, I didn’t have anyone to aspire to be.”

Franklin remembers the night he won his first city council race in Warren in 1989, New York City elected its first black mayor, David Dinkins, and Virginia elected Douglas Wilder, an African American, as governor.

“I try to be a role model,” Franklin said. “First and foremost, you want to be a good mayor and take advantage of that opportunity. It’s an extra responsibility because I’m African American and I want to show other minorities that you can achieve anything. It’s not pressure. I welcome it. It’s something that I thrive on.”

Brown said he “always believed (being mayor) was a possibility. Not just mayor, but leadership. It just happened to be mayor. It was instilled in me to be a good citizen and to serve my community.”

He was raised by a single mother with his father in and out of prison for most of Brown’s life. Brown didn’t see much of his father.

Brown said he made the right decisions because he didn’t want to disappoint his mother.

Growing up, Brown said his role models were “the men in the neighborhood. You learned from the pastor to the automaker. I learned how to garden from the men and the pastor took me to church. They led me to believe leadership and service were important.”

Brown said he is proud the two most-populous cities in the area are led by African Americans.

Black History Month is an important time to reflect on the accomplishments of African Americans, he said.

“We’re qualified to do the jobs,” Brown said of himself and Franklin as mayors. “We work and strive to do our best and follow in the footsteps of those who came before us during the civil rights movement. They laid the path that we follow. The struggle was not easy, but it was worth it.”

The two mayors said they enjoy a great relationship and work together for the betterment of the entire Valley.

“We collaborate on so many things,” Franklin said. “We work to bring jobs to the area and improve the quality of life here. The mayors of the largest cities set the tone for the counties.”