Thursday, March 28, 2024

Keeping score in City Politics

It’s a topsy, turvy world out there.

We never would have believed that, as we enter the official start of the local political season, we’d be writing about the Washington Local school board race. Toledo Public Schools? As a a former Miss Idaho might say, “You betcha!” But not sleepy little Washington Local. Yet there it is.

‘Tis the season

Festival season is upon us, with Point Place Days, Old West End Fest, and the OLPH Festival kicking off T-Town summer. This is when politicians and other wannabes swoop down on unsuspecting revelers, waving clipboards and reeking of sweat and unbridled ambition. They strike with creepy sycophants in tow, shaking hands and taking names for their own perverse ends. So it makes sense that we really start to zoom in on the creepy and the outta whack for this installment of “nutjobs to watch out for.”

We expect some real yahoos to declare for Toledo mayor, and we bet all the slimeballs who will run for TPS school board have yet to slither out from under their mossy rocks. There will be crackpot craziness to come that we haven’t yet anticipated.

Enter the Washington Local race. We failed to write about the weirdness over at WLS back in twenty fifteen and sixteen because it wasn’t truly political. It was instead about a superintendent accused of some over the top stalking-type activity. Juicy stuff, indeed, but not political.

Hallelujah and pass the peanut butter! The accused superintendent, Patrick Hickey, was investigated by the WLS Board and resigned so he wouldn’t be dumped. Seems ol’ Patty H has decided not to leave well enough alone. He is now a candidate for WLS school board, which brings him directly into our laser beam sights.

Love bites

Here’s our best shot. Hickey allegedly harassed a WLS teacher after an affair with her ended. He denied it all, but then a video of him lurking around her classroom at night surfaced. At the time these allegations were ruminating around in the WLS school board, Hickey had several run-ins with WLS board member Patricia Carmean. That led to more allegations of Hickey stalking and harassing.

Not one to fade into the woodwork, Hickey subsequently got banned from WLS property after belligerent shenanigans at a Whitmer HS basketball game. In that incident there was questionable physical contact between Hickey and the female WLS interim superintendent who had replaced him. Teacher, board member, interim superintendent. Three professional WLS women, three strikes for Hickey.

Three strikes should means he’s out, right? We already revealed the punch line, and it isn’t Hickey’s last name. He’s now running for a spot on the board, the same board that investigated him, suspended him, accepted his resignation, and banned him from WLS property,

Like the old infomercials used to say, wait, there’s more. He is running in the same election with Carmean, who has new allegations of intimidation and harassment against Hickey. You say you want more? Both Hickey and Carmean have sought the endorsement of the Lucas County Democratic Party.

Let that all marinate a bit. Hickey wants a seat on the board in a district that has banned him from its property. He wants to run on the same ticket with a woman who has twice accused him of harassment and intimidation. He wants to regain the ultimate employment authority over a female teacher who has accused him of harassment after an affair.

We lied about the punch line. Here it is. And his last name is Hickey.

You can’t make this stuff up, folks.

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