After nearly eight years of serving as the village’s “visible and active” mayor, Pam Conine is opting not to run for re-election in this coming November’s local election. Conine welcomes all would-be mayors to reach out to her in the coming months to learn the ropes. (Photo by Reilly Dixon)
Mayor Pam hanging up the hat
- Published: March 3, 2025
You’ve seen her cutting ceremonial ribbons and tying knots for local lovebirds. You’ve seen her in Council Chambers, mingling with the masses during Street Fairs and elbow-deep in dirt planting pollinator-friendly flowers. Perhaps you’ve seen her teaching youngsters about civics or long division.
You’ve seen Mayor Pam Conine all over Yellow Springs, but this November, you won’t see her on the ballot.
After nearly eight years of being the village’s mayor, Conine — who often goes by “Mayor Pam” — is hanging up her top hat. Conine announced earlier this month that she won’t seek reelection this year.
“It’s been a wonderful vocation — not a job, not work — but a passion of mine,” Conine, 74, told the News in a recent interview. “And it’s the kind of position that needs to be passed around to other people.”
On the heels of a three-decade career as a local educator, Conine ran for mayor in 2017. Touting a platform of becoming a “more visible and active” mayor, she won that year’s local election with 1,032 votes — with her box checked on over 63% of the ballots cast. Conine succeeded Dave Foubert, who chose not to run again after serving as Yellow Springs’ mayor for 26 years.
Since then, Conine has officiated 194 weddings — with the goal of getting to 200 by the end of the year — and penned over 130 proclamations. These myriad ceremonies, Conine said, are not just her making good on her campaign promises, but are some of the most cherished duties of her post.
“One of my greatest joys is being an ambassador for Yellow Springs at every single event, celebration, fundraiser that I’ve been invited to as mayor,” she said.
It’s not all fun and “whereases,” though. As mayor of Yellow Springs, Conine is also charged with presiding over Mayor’s Court, serving as Yellow Springs’ judicial branch along with Mackenzie Baird, Conine’s clerk of courts.
The Yellow Springs Mayor’s Court began in the early 1850s, when the Village Charter was written, and falls under the Ohio Revised Code, or ORC. Mayor’s Courts — which exist only in Ohio and Louisiana — are trial courts that serve towns of more than 200 people and that hear misdemeanor offenses that occur within the village, including DUI and other vehicle-related citations.
Other cases that can be heard in Mayor’s Court include zoning cases, passing bad checks, assaults, animal-related cases, shoplifting, petty theft and trespassing. According to Conine, the vast majority of what she adjudicates are minor misdemeanors.
“Eighty-seven percent of what we deal with are traffic infractions — speeding, driving without a license or letting registration lapse,” she said.
As Conine and some past Yellow Springs mayors — there have been 53 since 1853 — told the News in previous reports, our small-town Mayor’s Court is an outlet for the mayor to approach cases with restorative justice in mind.
“So, if I want, I can drop fines down to one dollar,” Conine said. “But the caveat is that our Mayor’s Court is still a statutory court — we are still beholden to the ORC, and more importantly, our charter and ordinances. By all legalities, that’s the framework you have to work in.”
She continued: “Now, from there, Mayor’s Court, as I like to say, is a softer and gentler place to negotiate endings to statutory situations.”
As an example, Conine recounted an instance of theft of a cell phone involving two longtime villagers — local folks whom Conine knew well. The accused made their case, expressed remorse, admitted guilt and agreed to return the phone. Their punishment? An apology letter and a case dismissal.
“You see? We have some latitude, some wiggle room — at least more than the county courts, where fines are almost always going to be higher,” Conine said, adding that most Yellow Springs Mayor’s Court fees are at a minimum $80, which covers state and municipal requirements.
Beyond liberalizing her courtroom, Conine said she’s walking away with a wealth of achievements.
In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Conine was instrumental in creating a local network of neighborhood block contacts who served as point persons and information clearinghouses for designated areas in Yellow Springs.
Along with other local leaders, Conine also gave regular reports in daily COVID-oriented virtual town halls, and every night at 6 p.m., she’d walk around her street ringing a bell — as a kind of “town crier,” she said — to provide her neighbors with a little levity amid all the fear and uncertainty.
“People talk about being bored during the early days of COVID, but for me, it was the busiest time of my life,” Conine said.
Among her other accomplishments is taking the National Wildlife Federation’s Mayors’ Monarch Pledge during her second year in office. By taking the pledge, Conine joined more than 600 mayors and heads of local governments throughout the country to commit to create more healthy habitats for the increasingly threatened monarch butterfly and other pollinators.
“I’ve loved working with our hometown habitat group to help our monarch friends,” Conine said. “As mayor, I’ve had a real focus on environmental issues like this. Our Earth Day celebration is one of my favorite days of the year.”
During her tenure, Conine also joined other mayoral groups such as Mayors for a Guaranteed Income and Mayors Against LGBT Discrimination.
In many ways, Conine said, she followed the advice of former Mayor Foubert to mold the expectations and activities of the mayor to her own abilities and interests. Echoing him, she encourages her successor — whomever that may be — to do the same.
“Not to polish my own apple, but people have said, ‘Oh, Mayor Pam, how could I possibly fill your shoes?’ I say, ‘Stop right there. You need to make it your own,’” Conine said.
Local voters will choose the new mayor, along with other elected village officials, in the Nov. 4 election. Those interested in running must submit their candidacy petitions to the Greene County Board of Elections by Aug. 9 — that is, 90 days ahead of the fall election.
Candidates must garner signatures from at least 1% of all currently registered voters in Yellow Springs, which as of press time, is 3,351. In other words, mayoral candidates must collect at least 34 signatures from Yellow Springs voters.
Even before submitting their petitions, Conine encouraged all would-be mayors to get in touch with her, learn the ropes of the position and observe more Mayor’s Courts — which occur twice a month in Council Chambers on the second floor of the Bryan Center.
“State training will get you where you need to be on a technical level, but I can show folks what’s possible with being mayor of Yellow Springs,” Conine said. “One of the first things I’ll ask you will be, ‘What are you passionate about?’”
She continued: “No matter what, my replacement must be someone who wants to really be involved in the community, someone who’s always wearing a smile on their face — except maybe in mayor’s court — and who can represent and network on behalf of Yellow Springs wherever they go.”
Whoever that person is will take over for Conine at the stroke of midnight when the New Year’s Eve ball has dropped on Dec. 31.
Conine said she looks forward to whatever comes after.
“I’ll be 75 later this year … and there’s still so much I want to do,” she said. “I want to look at my calendar and see a day with nothing on it. Of course I want to travel more, but that’s what everyone says. What I really want is to read the latest issue of The New Yorker in bed with coffee for three hours. I want to plant some more milkweed.”
Conine continued: “So what comes next? I can’t wait to find out.”
To get in contact with Mayor Pam Conine, email MayorPam@yellowsprings.gov or call 937-767-3400. Her office hours on the second floor of the Bryan Center in Council Chambers are Monday and Friday, 1-5 p.m., and Wednesday mornings 10 a.m.-noon.
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