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Photo Courtesy of © 2018 www.chorusphotography.com
At age 41, Peter Urscheler, the mayor of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, has a long and storied history of successfully leading people.
Before being elected as one of the youngest mayors in America in 2018, Urscheler was elected by his third-grade class as the superintendent of a milk carton city.
“I had to give a speech and talk about my ideas and concepts,” he said. “Looking back, I wouldn’t have thought of myself as a natural leader at the time. But I always wanted to help people.”
In between his current role and his first leadership experience, he served as a two-term president of his college’s student government. He was also the president of his high school student government from his sophomore to senior year.
Today, Mayor Urscheler utilizes his effervescent personality to champion the 20,000 residents of Phoenixville, located approximately 28 miles northwest of Philadelphia. With hundreds of new townhomes and apartments in the planning phase and major infrastructure improvements underway, the town has turned from an old steel and iron manufacturing hub to a forward-focused, welcoming, and vibrant community.
“My job as mayor, and all the roles I’ve had, is to bring people together,” he said. “I want to set a table with respect and dignity where everyone can come, have conversations, and overcome big, challenging issues.”
Mayor Urscheler grew up in Taveres, Florida, just outside Orlando. He was the only child of a Filipina mother and Swiss father who were very involved in their adopted community. His mother was a nurse who delivered babies, while his father coached soccer.
“Anything they could do to help, my parents would do it. That inspired me to be involved and engaged,” he said.
As a boy, the Mayor got involved with his school’s theatre program. As he found a passion for musical theatre, he also gained the skills needed to speak clearly to a large audience and maintain a comfortable confidence in a crowd. He was involved in his community nonprofit theatre, where he ran the concession stand.
That business experience led him to major in marketing and management information systems at Stetson University in DeLand, Florida. But college life wasn’t easy for him — it took him weeks to gather the courage to meet his fellow students.
“I stood outside the bathroom door and shook everyone’s hand as they entered,” he said, adding that he soon started winning student elections. “In student government, I wanted to focus on how we impact the lives of students in the college, how to help them get engaged, and how to feel attached to the community.”
That’s basically his mission as Mayor as well.
After graduation, Mayor Urscheler landed a job with a technology implementation company in the finance industry. In 2006, he moved from Florida to Pennsylvania, where the company, SCI Financial Group, was based. He rose to the position of Director of Communications, traveling internationally and gaining expertise within a team of seven C-suite executives overseeing $300 million in annual revenue and 156 employees.
In 2012, his parents flew to Pennsylvania to meet him for a holiday in Switzerland. But before they left, his mother fell and discovered in the hospital that she had stomach cancer. As the only child, Mayor Urscheler became her full-time caretaker until she passed away 14 months later. That’s when he decided to leave his position at SCI and have his elderly father move in with him.
“I didn’t want to leave my dad alone while traveling. I have a background in marketing. I decided I would find people to consult,” he said. “I became involved in our chamber of commerce and the business association in town. I was also active with the Jaycees and began organizing community events.”
He fell in love with the history of Phoenixville, which is well-known for being the filming location for the 1958 cult movie classic The Blob and for its heyday as a manufacturing town. He got involved with the HOBY PA East Youth Leadership Conference, the Phoenixville Area Senior Center, and the Schuylkill River Heritage Center. He’s about to lead his 11th Dogwood Festival in town.
So, when the mayor announced his retirement, he decided to run. It was a contested Democratic primary and a three-way general election, and he won with 60 percent of the vote. Four years later, he was the nominee for both the Democratic and Republican parties by acclamation.
For his first time being sworn in to office, his 90-year-old father held the Bible. That evening, his father died peacefully in his sleep.
“I vowed the next morning I would take care of the community in the same way I would take care of my family,” Mayor Urscheler said. “That was the family I had left.”
Photo Courtesy of © 2018 www.chorusphotography.com
In Phoenixville, the mayor also serves as the Head of Police, overseeing 32 police officers who log approximately 16,000 calls per year.
Growth comes from people who are moving into the suburbs of Philadelphia, making it necessary to bridge the inevitable gaps between those who have lived in the town for decades and new residents.
“We have challenges of a larger community,” the Mayor said. “Our biggest challenges are around affordability and affordable housing. Also, tackling mental health wellbeing and ensuring the people in our community who are vulnerable have access to services and support through nonprofits.”
He’s also involved in Phoenixville’s nonprofit sector, working full-time as the Director of Development for Ann’s Heart, a human services campus in the historic downtown.
The mayoral position is part-time, but it comes with perks: For his 40th birthday, the town surprised him with a flash mob.
Phoenixville recently embraced cutting-edge technology by installing the nation’s first hydrothermal carbonization facility. This facility treats wastewater and uses the byproduct as construction materials and electricity. The town also committed fully to renewable energy by 2030.
Mayor Urscheler said he loves backing “revolutionary” ideas. He also appreciates embracing all viewpoints and helping the community with the same passion and care his parents taught him when he was growing up.
“I’m the mayor of every person who lives in the borough of Phoenixville. There is no reason an elected official should seek to divide,” he said.
He encourages his generation — and younger generations, too — to pursue public service if it interests them. He recommends starting early, investigating the options, and challenging the status quo.
“If we’re willing to complain about something, we have to be willing to be part of the solution,” he said. “This is my job, my passion, and my hobby. Sometimes, I don’t know if I’m contributing as much as I’m getting out of it. It warms my soul to be a part of people’s lives.”
