DAYTON DAILY NEWS                   Copyright (c) 1996, Dayton Newspapers Inc.DATE: Thursday, May 2, 1996                  TAG: 9605020038EDITION: CITY           SECTION: NEWS        PAGE: 4A TYPE: PROFILESOURCE: By Laura A. Bischoff DAYTON DAILY NEWS When                DAYTON CITY MANAGER: CANDIDATE: VALERIE LEMMIE   When a devastating tornado ripped through Petersburg, Va., in 1993, City Manager Valerie A. Lemmie first ran for her life - dashing out of a building shortly before it was leveled. Then, she put on a hard hat, grabbed a two-way radio and began directing the cleanup.   "I think it shows she is actually willing to come out and be a part of solving a problem," Petersburg council member Kevin Hill said.   Lemmie, 44, a St. Louis native, has been somewhat of a tornado of activity herself. Since becoming city manager in January 1993, she has helped direct a resurgence of Petersburg's industrial base: Pallet and cardboard box manufacturers, optical companies and a beef distribution plant have relocated to or expanded in Petersburg.   City Council member George Pilarinos said Lemmie and her staff have the green light to put together deals to lure businesses. "They can go out and make a deal and know that we are going to back them," he said.   The industrial boom placed Petersburg seventh in the state for new job creation and third in new private-sector development, Lemmie said. "When I came, people thought it was an impossible task," she said.   Petersburg is a city of 37,000 people with 72 percent minority. It has experienced high crime and disinvestment. It lost retail shops to the suburbanmall but Lemmie said she is working on a few projects that could help to revitalize Petersburg's retail scene.   Lemmie is credited by her bosses with taking a more regional approach to issues. She worked with other local officials to have Fort Lee, the army base that is the area's largest employer, taken off the base closure list.   She and Mayor Rosalyn Dance also worked to create a regional authority to run the wastewater treatment plant, and Petersburg is now cooperating with neighbors to promote tourism, stressing the area's rich Civil War history.   Inside City Hall, Lemmie has helped balance the budget without layoffs. Sheswitched garbage collection from twice a week to once a week and bought equipment to reduce collectors' lifting, resulting in lower workers compensation costs, she said. She and her staff have also started a program where they walk the neighborhoods to find out residents' concerns and, Pilarinos said, Lemmie discusses the budget with neighborhood groups before the council approves it.   Lemmie ran into some controversy early on in her tenure when she held up the planned promotion of three police officers despite the chief's recommendation. The officers sued and later settled out of court. The chief, who has since moved on to another job, declined to comment.   Lemmie enjoys travel, having just come back from a three-week city manager exchange program in Australia. She also traveled to Japan with the governor ona trade mission.   After work, she enjoys tennis, aerobics and reading history. She collects first edition books by Harlem Renaissance authors and reads 18th and 19th century French and Russian authors.BOX:      * Name: Valerie A. Lemmie.     * Age: 44.     * Family: Married to Olen Strozier Jr.; no children.     * Current job: City manager of Petersburg, Va.     * Population: 37,000.     * Job history: 1990-92 director of environmental services for Arlington      County, Va.; 1985-90 department of consumer and regulatory affairs for      the District of Columbia; 1988-91 assistant professor, Howard University.     LENGTH: Medium:   75 LINESILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: Valerie A. Lemmie          SUBJ: CANDIDATENA: VALERIE A. LEMMIE    DAYTON CITY MANAGER    ENHANCER: REF5