The mayor of a Southwest Ohio city of almost 45,000 residents resigned Sept. 14, nearly three decades after first winning election to local office.
Steve Miller resigned as Fairfield mayor about halfway through the city council's meeting Sept. 14. He said during the meeting that submitting his resignation "has got to be the hardest thing I've ever done in my life."
"My time has come to an end," Miller said. "I've been here too long, but God, I love this city, I love this job. I mean if I didn't, I wouldn't have been here for so long. This place means everything to me."
The Fairfield City Council voted to appoint his replacement later the same meeting.
Who is former Fairfield mayor Steve Miller?
Miller was first elected to the Fairfield City Council in 1997 and served in the role until 2007,
according to his biography on the city website. He was later elected as mayor in 2014, serving two terms through 2021. He was re-elected again in 2025, and his current term was set to run until December 2029.
Miller said he was resigning because, over the last several months, he's lost his "passion and fire" for the role. For instance, he said he had a rule of always returning texts, emails and phone calls within 24 hours − but he hasn't been holding himself "up to my guidelines or my standards."
"I can just feel now that this time, I really need to retire for good," he said, noting that he hoped to spend more time in Florida during his retirement.
"My biggest decision will be, 'what time am I going to happy hour every night?'" he said. "Not if. When, am I going to happy hour? I'm ready to retire."
Council selects mayor's replacement
Miller placed his keys and badge on the desk in front of him and removed his nameplate. Then, he announced his replacement: vice mayor and councilmember at-large Tim Meyers.
"I will turn this over to my very capable and hopefully next mayor, Tim Meyers," Miller said. "He's a good man; he'll do an excellent job. It's something he's always wanted to do. And council can find an excellent replacement in Tim's seat."
Then, Miller got up, hugged members of council, and walked out the door.
The council voted later during the Sept. 14 meeting to appoint Meyers to serve out the remainder of the term as the mayor, following the procedure outlined in the city's charter. The council voted unanimously, though Meyers abstained from the vote.
Fairfield's charter says the council must select Meyers' replacement within 60 days after he is sworn in. If the council doesn't fill the vacancy in that time period, Meyers can select his own replacement.
After Miller left the room, councilmember Meyers said the now-former mayor was "one of the best people I've ever met."
"We're blessed to have Steve as our mayor," Meyers said.
Meyers served two terms before he was re-elected in 2021. He was again re-elected in 2025.
What's next for Fairfield
Brianna Wolfe, communications manager for the city of Fairfield, said in an email to The Enquirer that Meyers' official swearing-in will be scheduled "in the near future." The city will announce more information on the process to fill Meyers' city council seat, she said, and "City operations and services will continue as usual throughout the transition."
"The City appreciates Mayor Miller's decades of service to the Fairfield community, including his time as a member of City Council and as Mayor," Wolfe said. "We thank him for his leadership, dedication and commitment to Fairfield and its residents."
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Fairfield mayor resigns, says he's looking forward to 'happy hour'
