New Baltic mayor Douglas Plyler takes office

One day Douglas Plyler was looking to fix a problem with his water bill. Who hasn’t dealt with something like that?

Most get the problem taken care of and resume life. Plyler got the problem taken care of and, in doing so, redefined his life and maybe reshaped his future as a result.

It was in fall 2022 Plyler dealt with his troublesome water bill. A little more than a year later, he is now mayor of Baltic, a village of just 851 people living in parts of three counties.

“We had some issues with our water bill, and we ended up going to the town hall and observing a council meeting and seeing what all went into that and seeing if I could get involved,” Plyler said. “They had a seat open on the board of public affairs. The mayor said, ‘Do you want to get appointed there?’ I said, ‘OK, sure.’”

Just a few months later, a village council seat opened, and then-Mayor Keith Ely asked Plyler if he had any interest in that job before ultimately offering it to Plyler, who accepted. About three months later, Ely decided he was not going to run for re-election. When none of the other council members were interested in running what would be in an unopposed election, Plyler saw the opportunity.

He got his name on the ballot, and despite being relatively unknown and fairly new to Baltic, got the votes he needed to win and become, at the ripe age of 24, one of the youngest mayors in area history.

“I never would have thought I would see that day that I would be in politics,” Plyler said. “I always wanted to be a minister. I do preach in our churches sometimes. That’s always been my life goal. I like to write on the side and work in music on the side. I have a lot of aspirations that I already have, and this is here now, and people are already saying, ‘Have you ever thought about running for a state house office?’ And no, I haven’t.”

He may start thinking about it. Having taken office on Jan. 1 and been sworn in a day later, he is off and running in the world of politics, which for now is somewhat of a side hustle for Plyler, who works at Schlabach Printers in Sugarcreek.

“At work you’re sort of like a celebrity,” he said, “not really, but it’s a big joke. Everyone likes to rib you about ‘You’re the mayor.’ In the town the stress level ratchets up a little bit. Now you’re the guy people are going to come up to with complaints and frustrations.”

That’s OK, though. One thing Plyler said he wants to do is meet and serve his constituents, all of them, regardless of affiliation. And since there aren’t that many of them, even though the village spans three counties — Coshocton, Tuscarawas and Holmes — he may find his way to every single one before long.

He plans on being visible to residents and business owners alike. He said getting out in the community and taking part in as many events as possible will be a central focus of his new role.

Thus far the opportunity to make the acquaintance of as may people as possible in town has made the early-going of his mayorship a delight.

“My favorite part of the job is the tremendous ability to bring some positivity to someone’s day,” he said. “They don’t know who you are, and you just wish them a good day and either you mention who you are or they realize you’re the new mayor, and it means a lot that you came up to say hi to them. You can tell that means a lot to people. That’s the change I like the most.”