Toledo, Ohio municipal elections, 2015

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The city of Toledo, Ohio, held elections for mayor and city council on November 3, 2015. A primary election for the city council races took place on September 15, 2015. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was July 21, 2015, for the city council race. Six city council seats were up for election.[1]

Toledo was originally scheduled to hold a council-only election in 2015. However, the death of first-term Toledo Mayor D. Michael Collins on February 6, 2015, led the city to add a special mayoral election to the calendar.

Another electoral consequence of Collins' death was a vacancy on the city council. The council appointed District 4 council member Paula Hicks-Hudson to serve as acting mayor on February 1, 2015, shortly after Collins suffered the cardiac arrest that eventually led to his death five days later. Hicks-Hudson's appointment was temporary. Hicks-Hudson, who won the special election, served out the rest of Collins' first term, which expired in 2018. On March 18, 2015, Hicks-Hudson announced her intentions to run in November.[2] In the meantime, city council appointed Scott A. Ramsey to fill Hicks-Hudson's District 4 seat and called for a special election, which was held on May 5, 2015. Four candidates filed for the seat, including Ramsey. Yvonne Harper won the election, and had to run again in the September primary.[3] More information on the District 4 special election can be found below.

Both the local and state marijuana ballot measures seemed to make the elections less predictable because the measures were expected to draw people to the polls. The management and safety of the city's tap water were a concern for candidates and voters, especially after the weekend water ban that occurred in 2014 due to unsafe levels of microcystin in the water. Read more about these issues below.

Mayor

Candidate list

Election results

Mayor of Toledo, General election, 2015
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Paula Hicks-Hudson Incumbent 35.6% 23,087
Mike Bell 17.3% 11,228
Carty Finkbeiner 15.9% 10,276
Sandy Drabik Collins 14.6% 9,432
Sandy Spang 10.8% 7,028
Mike Ferner 5.0% 3,208
Opal Covey 0.8% 544
Write-in votes 0% 0
Total Votes 64,803
Source: Lucas County Board of Elections, "Election Summary Results", accessed November 3, 2015

City council

Candidate list

District 1

Primary election candidates:

General election candidates:

District 2

General election candidates:

District 3

Note: Incumbent Mike Craig did not run for re-election.
Primary election candidates:

General election candidates:

District 4

Primary election candidates:

General election candidates:

District 5

General election candidates:

District 6

Primary election candidates:

General election candidates:

At-large

General election candidates:

Election results

General election

Toledo City Council District 1, General election, 2015
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Tyrone Riley Incumbent 72.2% 6,333
Jennifer L. Scott 27.8% 2,438
Write-in votes 0% 0
Total Votes 8,771
Source: Lucas County Board of Elections, "Election Summary Results", accessed November 3, 2015


Toledo City Council District 2, General election, 2015
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Matt Cherry Incumbent 70.0% 8,350
Drew D. Blazsik 30.0% 3,575
Write-in votes 0% 0
Total Votes 11,925
Source: Lucas County Board of Elections, "Election Summary Results", accessed November 3, 2015


Toledo City Council District 3, General election, 2015
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Peter Ujvagi 52.9% 3,258
Glen Cook 47.1% 2,904
Write-in votes 0% 0
Total Votes 6,162
Source: Lucas County Board of Elections, "Election Summary Results", accessed November 3, 2015


Toledo City Council District 4, General election, 2015
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Yvonne Harper Incumbent 73.6% 4,777
Peggy Brown-Morehead 26.4% 1,715
Write-in votes 0% 0
Total Votes 6,492
Source: Lucas County Board of Elections, "Election Summary Results", accessed November 3, 2015


Toledo City Council District 6, General election, 2015
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Lindsay Webb Incumbent 69.8% 7,289
Bill Delaney 30.2% 3,154
Write-in votes 0% 0
Total Votes 10,443
Source: Lucas County Board of Elections, "Election Summary Results", accessed November 3, 2015

Primary election

Toledo City Council, District 1 Primary Election, 2015
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngTyrone Riley Incumbent 69.2% 1,613
Green check mark transparent.pngJennifer L. Scott 25.1% 584
Darryl Fingers 5.7% 134
Total Votes 2,331
Source: Lucas County Board of Elections, "Official primary election results," accessed October 1, 2015


Toledo City Council, District 3 Primary Election, 2015
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngPeter Ujvagi 47.2% 925
Green check mark transparent.pngGlen Cook 29.1% 570
Ernest McCarthy 12.6% 247
Robert James Worthington 11.1% 218
Total Votes 1,960
Source: Lucas County Board of Elections, "Official primary election results," accessed October 1, 2015


Toledo City Council, District 4 Primary Election, 2015
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngYvonne Harper Incumbent 69.5% 1,472
Green check mark transparent.pngPeggy Brown-Morehead 18.7% 397
Robert J. Longoria 11.8% 250
Total Votes 2,119
Source: Lucas County Board of Elections, "Official primary election results," accessed October 1, 2015


Toledo City Council, District 6 Primary Election, 2015
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngLindsay Webb Incumbent 64.2% 2,177
Green check mark transparent.pngBill Delaney 25.1% 851
Alex Rivera 10.7% 364
Total Votes 3,392
Source: Lucas County Board of Elections, "Official primary election results," accessed October 1, 2015

Special election

Candidate list

May 5 Special election candidates:

Election results

Toledo City Council, District 4, 2015
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngYvonne Harper 42% 602
Ruth Ashford 27.4% 393
Scott A. Ramsey 22.2% 318
Alfonso R. Narvaez 8.5% 122
Total Votes 1,435
Source: City of Toledo, "Official special election results," accessed May 28, 2015

Ballot measures

Marijuana Decriminalization Initiative

See also: City of Toledo Marijuana Decriminalization "Sensible Marijuana Ordinance" Initiative, Issue 1 (September 2015)

A Marijuana Decriminalization Initiative, Issue 1, was on the ballot for Toledo voters in Lucas County, Ohio, on September 15, 2015. It was approved. Ultimately, the provisions of this initiative that related to decriminalizing felony offences—as determined by state law—were overturned in court.[7]

Issue 1 was called the "Sensible Marijuana Ordinance" by supporters.


Issue 1 decriminalized marijuana by decreasing the penalties for marijuana-related violations, including those considered felonies by state law, to the absolute minimum while keeping the substance technically illegal in order to comply with state law.[8]

Specifically, the measure was designed to:[8]

  • Remove all jail time and fines for marijuana violations
  • Prevent driver license suspension due to marijuana violations
  • Forbid any marijuana violation from being reported to any professional licensing board or agency
  • Prevent law enforcement agencies from reporting marijuana violations to any authority above the local city attorney
  • Prohibit civil or criminal asset forfeiture as a consequence of any marijuana-related infraction

Upon the approval of Issue 1, Toledo, the fourth-largest city in the state, became the first to enact a local ordinance decriminalizing or legalizing marijuana in Ohio. Sean Nestor, a member of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), said that activists were planning decriminalization initiatives in six additional cities in Ohio.[9]

Marijuana activists were also working toward statewide legalization through an initiative petition targeting the November 2015 ballot.

Toledo, Issue 1
ResultVotesPercentage
Approveda Yes 11,663 70.37%
No4,91129.63%
Election results from Lucas County Elections Office

Issues

Marijuana

See also: Ohio Marijuana Legalization Initiative, Issue 3 (2015)

In addition to Toledo's "Sensible Marijuana Ordinance" in September, there was a statewide marijuana measure on the ballot on November 3, the Marijuana Legalization Initiative (also referred to as the ResponsibleOhio plan). This initiative would have legalized medical and personal use of marijuana in the state for those over 21 years of age. There would have been 10 Marijuana Growth, Cultivation and Extraction (MGCE) facilities, and 1,159 retail stores (one store for every 10,000 Ohioans) would be allowed.[10]

The mayoral candidates (excluding Opal Covey) attended an event at the Toledo Country Club in early September. According to The Toledo Blade, "The candidates were mostly in agreement on the marijuana ballot measures. They are in support of decriminalization on the city ballot and against the so-called Responsible Ohio plan."[11] Gary Johnson, a Democratic activist in Lucas County, said the statewide ballot measure made it hard to predict the outcome of the mayoral race. "We’ve got an issue on the ballot [legalizing personal use of marijuana] that will bring out a group of people that we really can’t put our finger on as to how they’re going to vote," he said.[12]

Water

See also: 2014 Toledo Water Crisis

During one weekend in August 2014, Toledo endured a water crisis wherein residents were told not to drink, cook or brush their teeth with tap water. Neither water filters nor boiling the water were effective in making the water safe. The ban was due to toxic levels of microcystin in the water, which comes from Lake Erie. Unsafe levels of microcystin can cause diarrhea, vomiting or abnormal liver function.[13]

The graphic below from the City of Toledo's website showed the status of drinking water on September 17, 2015.[14] ToledoWaterWatch.jpg

In June 2015, concerned citizens contacted the city, news outlets and the water treatment plant seeking information about a possible water warning. This occurred after rumors spread about an algae bloom that was spotted in the lake three miles from the city's water intake. Mayor Paula Hicks-Hudson called a press conference to quell the rumor, which she said was unfounded. "I think it's important to let the public know that we have safe processes in place to make sure we are producing safe water, and when there is any type of hint of the water not being safe, we need to stop those rumors, and make sure people are not panicking or worrying unnecessarily," she said.[15] The issue of water was important in the 2015 election, including ensuring the safety of drinking water and whether the city should regionalize water distribution.[6]

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Toledo Ohio Election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. Lucas County Board of Elections, "Historic Election Results," accessed September 16, 2021
  2. 2.0 2.1 Toledo Free Press, "Hicks-Hudson announces plan to run for mayor," March 19, 2015
  3. Toledo Blade, "Four file by deadline to run for vacant District 4 seat on Toledo City Council," March 26, 2015
  4. NBC 24, "Former Toledo Mayor Mike Bell announces run for November election," August 7, 2015
  5. WFMJ, "Widow of Toledo mayor says she's running to finish his term," May 20, 2015
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 The Toledo Blade, "Analysis of the Toledo mayoral race, candidates," September 6, 2015
  7. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named overturned
  8. 8.0 8.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named summary
  9. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named signatures
  10. Ohio Secretary of State, "Issue 3," accessed September 15, 2015
  11. The Toledo Blade, "Mayoral hopefuls cordial at forum," September 11, 2015
  12. The Toledo Blade, "With packed field, marijuana vote, anything could happen," August 23, 2015
  13. New York Times, "Tap Water Ban for Toledo Residents," August 3, 2014
  14. City of Toledo website, "Toledo Water Quality," accessed September 17, 2015
  15. Toledo News Now, "Toledo Mayor: 'The water is safe to drink'," June 19, 2015
  16. The Toledo Blade, "Hicks-Hudson says water, roads are on her agenda," September 21, 2015
  17. The Toledo Blade, "Mayoral hopefuls offer water ideas, split on ‘unigov'," September 24, 2015
  18. 18.0 18.1 18.2 13 ABC, "Toledo mayoral candidates face off in season's first debate," September 24, 2015
  19. Mike Bell campaign website, "Water," accessed September 28, 2015
  20. Sandy Drabik Collins campaign website, "Sandy's Platform," accessed September 10, 2015
  21. Mike Ferner campaign website, "Protecting Lake Erie," accessed September 28, 2015