If one would planning a royal wedding, one might be putting Ryan Stovall on their invitation list.

Stovall, who is the mayor of East Liverpool, could have conducted the ceremony, handled the music, security and any after-wedding fireworks, as he also moonlights as a deejay, township police officer and pyrotechnic specialist.

A graduate of East Liverpool High School in 1993, he is running for a second term of mayor against councilman Brian Kerr. But even though he is wrapping up a first term in the office, he is not a novice of city government, serving seven years on council both as a second ward and at-large representative.

Ambitious, he secured his State Tested Nursing Aide license and Emergency Medical Technician license while still attending East Liverpool High School, something thought impossible in some circles, before attending Kent State University (East Liverpool) and Westwood College’s online program, studying computer network engineering. In 1995, he secured his Ohio Police Officer Training Academy credentials from a nearby college and worked part-time for Wellsville Police Department as an officer before getting hired by his hometown of East Liverpool as a dispatcher and eventually a full-time patrolman.

However within six years of being hired, city officials had to cut police officers for financial reasons and he found himself out of a job. St. Clair Township snagged him up for their force and he resigned the post in 2016, when he was elected mayor.

Stovall currently works vacation hours as needed for Liverpool Township for their police department.

A typical day might find Stovall working in city hall, going to a meeting for the Federal Emergency Management Agency in Lisbon and topping it off by working a few hours on patrol for the township.

Not only can he preside over a wedding, he can serve as deejay and oversee the celebratory fireworks show that follows.

Stovall obtained his license from the state fire academies in Ohio and West Virginia about a decade ago, after shadowing another license pyrotechnics specialist during several of his shows. (Pennsylvania doesn’t require a license, he explained.)

While the Tri-State Pottery Festival is the city of East Liverpool’s big landmark event, one can also find him over state lines in Chester, where he oversees the show for Pyrotechnio of New Castle. He will back in Chester for their big Fourth of July event, where the Chester Volunteer Fire Department sponsors the community fireworks. The main difference between Ohio and West Virginia?

To hear Stovall explain it, once the fireworks are locked and loaded, they have to be let off in West Virginia, while they can be rescheduled in Ohio.

“Anything that goes in the air fireworks wise is illegal in the state of Ohio,” he said.

He started his deejay career 20 years ago with Tom Hildebrand before going freelance. “I mostly do weddings and I play anything, but eighties music is my favorite,” Stovall continued.

His wife of 20 years, Melissa, works as a nurse; however, he said that he didn’t meet her while taking a perpetrator to the hospital, which is a common way for police officers to encounter their future brides. “I met her at Maxi’s Lunch Box, where she was a waitress. I chased her, and she finally let me catch her.”

The couple has three children: Emily, a married property manager; Shaylin, who recently graduated from East Liverpool High School and wants to go into teaching; and Hayden, a teenage boy who wants to go into the U.S. Air Force before going into law.”

With none of his children realistically expressing interest into going into public service, Stovall acknowledges it was kind of a late decision for him to pursue it too. “I originally ran, because I thought we needed someone young and had energy. Serving as mayor always was thought to be a retirement job,” he explained.

Through his first term, Stovall is proud of many occurrences: Funding to get highway lights on from the East End to the city limits, the acquision of a medical marijuana operation to generate good paying jobs and the ability to unite city departments in an effort to improve their cooperation and coordination. He also increasing safety forces, specifically police from 16 to 21 officers, and beginning the city’s ambulance services as well as seeing a marked improvement in drug activity in the city, thanks to being able to heave two officers assigned to the Columbiana County Drug Task Force and the implementation of “See Something, Say Something.” which is a program that empowers residents to contact authorities with tips generated from their neighborhoods ranging from criminal activity to problem properties.

What would he like to do if re-elected?

Stovall cites improvement of infrastructure, specifically roads. “We had 35 guys at one time and now we are down to seven, after the factories and potteries shut down and income tax collections decreased,” he explained.

He especially proud of his efforts to bring better communication and teamwork to city governments, meeting monthly with department heads where they can update each other on projects and exchange ideas.

“I’m very excited about the direction that the city is taking,” Stovall concluded. “We are trying to reinvent East Liverpool and let everyone we are still here.”