Mayoral election in Toledo, Ohio (2017)
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| 2017 Toledo elections |
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| Election dates |
| Filing deadline: July 14, 2017 |
| Primary election: September 12, 2017 General election: November 7, 2017 |
| Election stats |
| Offices up: Mayor and city council |
| Total seats up: 7 (click here for other city elections) |
| Election type: Nonpartisan |
| Other municipal elections |
| U.S. municipal elections, 2017 |
Click here for more information about the Toledo city council election. Democrats held eight seats on the 12-member council entering the election, while Republicans held three seats and one seat was held by a nonpartisan member.
The filing deadline for this election was July 14, 2017. The Lucas County Board of Elections certified petitions for these offices during a meeting on July 18, 2017.[1][2] Toledo's municipal elections are nonpartisan but partisan identifications are listed based on party endorsements and other public information.
Elections
General election
This symbol (
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Paula Hicks-Hudson (i)
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Primary election
This symbol (
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Opal Covey
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- ☐
Campaign finance
The table below details pre-general campaign finance reports from mayoral candidates in Toledo.[3]
General election
Primary election
The table below details pre-primary campaign finance reports from mayoral candidates in Toledo.
Endorsements
General election
The following table displays group endorsements issued in Toledo's 2017 general election:
| Candidate endorsements | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Endorser | Candidate | ||||
| Advocates for a Clean Lake Erie[4] | Wade Kapszukiewicz | ||||
| AFSCME[5] | Paula Hicks-Hudson (i) | ||||
| Greater NW Ohio AFL-CIO[5] | Paula Hicks-Hudson (i) | ||||
| Lucas County Democratic Party[6] | Paula Hicks-Hudson (i) | ||||
| NW Ohio Building Trades[7] | Wade Kapszukiewicz | ||||
| Ohio Democratic Party[5] | Paula Hicks-Hudson (i) | ||||
| Toledo Board of Realtors[7] | Wade Kapszukiewicz | ||||
| Toledo Homebuilders Association[7] | Wade Kapszukiewicz | ||||
| Toledo Federation of Teachers[8] | Wade Kapszukiewicz | ||||
| Toledo Police Command Officers Association[8] | Wade Kapszukiewicz | ||||
| Toledo Police Patrolman's Association[8] | Wade Kapszukiewicz | ||||
Campaign ads
Candidates for mayor of Toledo ran the following ads in the general election:[9]
Paula Hicks-Hudson
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Wade Kapszukiewicz
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Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Ohio elections, 2017
Toledo's mayoral election shared the ballot with races for six city council seats and three seats on the Toledo Public Schools Board of Education.
Two statewide ballot measures, one county ballot measure, and two local ballot measures appeared on the general election ballot.
Ballotpedia did not cover any measures in this jurisdiction on November 7, 2017.
• Issue 9: Toledo City Schools Tax Levy Renewal
| A yes vote was a vote in favor of renewing a 6.5 mill tax per one dollar of property valuation for district expenses assessed from 2018 through 2023. |
| A no vote was a vote against renewing a 6.5 mill tax per one dollar of property valuation for district expenses assessed from 2018 through 2023. |
• Issue 12: Toledo Metropolitan Park District Tax Levy Renewal
| A yes vote was a vote in favor of renewing a 1.4 mill tax per dollar of property valuation to maintain city parks assessed from 2018 to 2028. |
| A no vote was a vote against renewing a 1.4 mill tax per dollar of property valuation to maintain city parks assessed from 2018 to 2028. |
Past elections
2015
- See also: Toledo, Ohio municipal elections, 2015
| Mayor of Toledo, General election, 2015 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 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 | ||
Issues
Policy positions
The following table summarizes the positions of Hicks-Hudson and Kapszukiewicz on policy issues brought up during the general election for mayor.
| Mayoral policy positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Issue | Hicks-Hudson (i) | Kapszukiewicz |
| Proposed $1 million grant program for council district improvement[10] | Supported | Supported |
| New Lucas County jail site | Supported downtown location, opposed site in North Toledo[11] | Supported county-selected site in North Toledo[11] |
| Size of police force | Supported increased force size due to improved budget[8] | Supported increasing force size from 603 to 660 by 2021[8] |
| Resolution declaring Lake Erie impaired and joining federal lawsuit to compel EPA impairment designation | Changed position from opposed to supported on September 26, 2017, due to increased algae[12] | Supported resolution in May 2017[12] |
Financial management
On August 2, 2017, George Sarantou resigned as Toledo's finance director after an investigation determined that $8.2 million in public funds was unaccounted for between 2011 and 2016.[13] Council President Steven Steel asked Mayor Paula Hicks-Hudson for a review of city finances after a June 2017 report by The Toledo Blade on funds not included in the city's previous budgets. Hicks-Hudson appointed former Ohio Supreme Court Justice Andrew Douglas to review the city's funds for accounting issues. Douglas' report published on July 13, 2017, determined that $8.2 million was moved into the debt service fund along with other transfers in 2011, where it remained until a budget correction in 2016. Douglas concluded that the city violated state accounting laws by mixing funds intended for different purposes.[14]
Douglas also found that the city did not create two tax increment financing districts required by ordinances passed in 1998 and 2004. Sarantou told local media prior to his resignation that the $8.2 million in the debt service fund came from revenue generated by these districts. Prior to the Douglas report, Steel told local media that Sarantou's account was contradicted by numbers provided by City Auditor Jake Jaksetic.[15]
Hicks-Hudson requested a formal audit of city finances from State Auditor Dave Yost on July 26, 2017. The mayor selected Peter Rancatore to serve as the interim finance director in addition to his role as accounts commissioner on August 3, 2017.[16]
Candidate statements
General election
The following boxes include public statements on the city's financial management by mayoral candidates. Click [show] on the right side of the box to read statements.
| Paula Hicks-Hudson (i) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Hicks-Hudson did not offer public comment on the city's financial management as of August 14, 2017. The following quote is a statement made by Hicks-Hudson in June 2017 after identification of the budget issue:
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| Wade Kapszukiewicz | |||||||
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Primary election
| Opal Covey | |
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Covey made no public comments on the financial management issue as of August 14, 2017. |
| Tom Waniewski | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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About the city
- See also: Toledo, Ohio
Toledo is the seat of Lucas County. As of 2010, its population was 287,208.
City government
- See also: Mayor-council government
The city of Toledo uses a strong mayor and city council system. In this form of municipal government, the city council serves as the city's primary legislative body while the mayor serves as the city's chief executive.[20]
Demographics
The following table displays demographic data provided by the United States Census Bureau.
| Demographic Data for Toledo, Ohio | ||
|---|---|---|
| Toledo | Ohio | |
| Population | 287,208 | 11,536,504 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 80 | 40,858 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White | 62.6% | 81.3% |
| Black/African American | 27.4% | 12.4% |
| Asian | 1.3% | 2.2% |
| Native American | 0.3% | 0.2% |
| Pacific Islander | 0% | 0% |
| Two or more | 5.4% | 2.9% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 8.6% | 3.8% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate | 86.1% | 90.4% |
| College graduation rate | 18.3% | 28.3% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income | $37,752 | $56,602 |
| Persons below poverty level | 25.5% | 14% |
| Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2010). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2014-2019). | ||
| **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Toledo Ohio election mayor. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Toledo, Ohio | Ohio | Municipal government | Other local coverage |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Nick Katers, "Email exchange with LaVera Scott," July 14, 2017
- ↑ Lucas County Board of Elections, "September Primary Candidate List," July 19, 2017
- ↑ Lucas County, Ohio, "2017 Ohio Campaign Finance Reporting Calendar," October 2016
- ↑ The Toledo Blade, "Clean Lake Erie group backs mayor and council candidates," October 16, 2017
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Paula Hicks-Hudson 2017 campaign website, "Endorsements," accessed October 17, 2017
- ↑ Lucas County Democratic Party, "Current Endorsements," accessed October 17, 2017
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Wade Kapszukiewicz 2017 campaign website, Home," accessed October 17, 2017
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 The Toledo Blade, "Unions representing police back Kapszukiewicz in mayor race," October 12, 2017
- ↑ The Toledo Blade, "Mayoral candidates roll out TV ads," October 27, 2017
- ↑ The Toledo Blade, "Hicks-Hudson supports Waniewski grant plan, Kapszukiewicz also in favor," November 1, 2017
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 The Toledo Blade, "Mayoral candidates speak on jail site and criminal justice costs," October 13, 2017
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedclean - ↑ The Toledo Blade, "Toledo finance director resigns after $8.2M sat idle," August 2, 2017
- ↑ The Toledo Blade, "Toledo mayor asks for audit after $8.2M sat idle for 5 years," July 26, 2017
- ↑ The Toledo Blade, "Toledo might have as much as $9M in unspent money," June 18, 2017
- ↑ The Toledo Blade, "Peter Rancatore appointed Toledo's acting finance director," August 4, 2017
- ↑ The Toledo Blade, "In tense Toledo mayoral contest, windfall becomes blowup," June 18, 2017
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 WTOL, "Mayoral election could delay Finance Director appointment," August 3, 2017
- ↑ Toledo City Charter, "Ch. IV sec. 26 and Ch. V sec. 61," accessed October 29, 2014
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