(Toledo, OH) Wade Kapszukiewicz will be Toledo's next mayor.
The Lucas County treasurer upended incumbent Mayor Paula Hicks-Hudson in Tuesday's election with 56-percent of the vote. Kapszukiewicz campaigned on a platform of sweeping change at One Government Center. The 44-year old married father of two tells WSPD he believes voters gave him a vote of confidence in his future vision for Toledo, calling it an "optimistic vote."
The loss makes Paula Hicks-Hudson a lame duck mayor for the next few weeks. She won the remaining term of late mayor Mike Collins in 2015 after his unexpected death, first rising to office from city council president. Before she leaves office, city charter will require her to present a balanced 2018 budget to city council later this month.
There will be two new faces on Toledo City Council.
Latino small business owner Gary Johnson and Equality Toledo director Nick Komives are two new Democrats on Toledo city council. Attorney Kurt Young, who was appointed to a vacant council seat and endorsed by the Democratic party, finished a distant ninth in the race.
Incumbents Sandy Spang and Rob Ludeman were the top two vote-getters in the race. Former TPS board of education members Cecelia Adams and Larry Sykes also retained their at-large city council seats. Democrats will keep their majority on city council.
Toledo Public Schools officials are celebrating passage of Issue Nine. The five-year renewal levy was approved Tuesday by voters who will pump $13 million per year into the schools for operations. Three TPS board of education incumbents also retained their seats in Tuesday’s election—Bob Vasquez, Chris Varwig, and Polly Taylor-Gerken.
Parks proved popular on Lucas County ballots.
Voters approved Issue 12, a renewal of funding for the Toledo Metroparks. The ten-year levy provides funding for a takeover of the Toledo Botanical Garden and expansion of the parks system.
The Olander Park System in Sylvania also saw its levy pass, even with a $100,000 per year increase in its tax funding stream. Administrators there missed a deadline last year to put the million-dollar issue on the ballot.