Word has it that the new Mentor City manager, Ken Filipiak, has been a breath of fresh air at city hall.

One insider, who says he liked both previous managers, says Filipiak is very personable, makes department heads' jobs "easy" when it comes time to provide reports at council meetings, that he's "scary smart" and that he has "great synergy" with Assistant City Manager Tony Zampedro.

Even the infighting on council has vanished, at least to the public eye, since Filipiak came aboard, in the spring. As many politicians like to say, it sounds like a "a win-win situation" for everybody.

-- Betsy Scott, BScott@News-Herald.com