Hildo

Giant Sucking Sound: Economic Piracy in City Politics

Johnny Hildo

A new I-475 interchange at Dorr Street, decades in the making, finally has enough local match money to put it on the ODOT docket.

Butt Heads; The Great Lopez v. Gerken Battle

Johnny Hildo

What is Anita Lopez up to? Perhaps she is simply a great anti-corruption fighter, a champion of fiscal accountability. Her position as Lucas County Auditor...

Gobble, Gobble! Turkey Day in City Politics

Johnny Hildo

It’s hard enough to get folks to the polls. That happened in large numbers this year. Once there, it shouldn’t be this hard to get them to weigh in on all races. C’mon, folks. You gotta do better than this.

Post-mortem: Coming Soon to City Politics

Johnny Hildo

Deadlines being what they are, we write this column before the November election. But there are no excuses in politics, nor in opinion columns,...

City Politics 2018

Johnny Hildo

The wages of apathy The power of the non-voter They’re out there. They come cloaked as normal American citizens, going about their daily routines as if...

The Tale of Disappearing Candidates

Johnny Hildo

Former GOP Chair Jon Stainbrook’s claim to fame was his ability to ensure that all political races in Lucas County were contested. Sure, some of his recruits running for office were complete unknowns, many were barely breathing, and most had no chance on this good, green Earth to win an election. Still, none of the Lucas County Ds could run unopposed.

Out of the Shadows—Board of Elections Thrust Into the Spotlight

Johnny Hildo

Normally only under scrutiny when they lose a voting card on Election Day or find a box of ballots afterward. Like weeks later. Certifying candidates and issues to the ballot is usually a rubber stamp as long as they’ve submitted petitions with sufficient signatures. Until now. So who are these animals?

Big Questions: Midnight Ruminations on City Politics

Johnny Hildo

These are the times that try T-Towners’ souls. Election Day is fast approaching, with robocalls and canvassers running rampant through our daily lives. As we enter the home stretch of this year’s campaign season, however, we’ve decided to take a step back and look at the big picture.

City Politics: Blue Wave, or Red Tide?

Johnny Hildo

Pundits and wags say there’s a storm a’ brewin’. The fierce polarization of ideologies at the national level, coupled with anger and frustration aimed at the current administration in Washington, have the potential to drive a massive increase of participation at the polls. How will that potential manifest itself here in the Swamp?

Where Are They Now? — T-Town Ideas, RIP

Johnny Hildo

Given all of the above, we propose a different slogan for Toledo. One that better captures the unexplained failures of too many good ideas.

To Protect and To Serve—Whither the Thin Blue Line?

Johnny Hildo

With cool heads, and clear motives, we must move forward. Police refer to themselves as the thin blue line between civilization and chaos. Let us ask ourselves as a community.

Nobody’s Perfect: Keeping it Real in City Politics

Johnny Hildo

What do you expect? We live in a representative democracy. That means we don’t vote directly on policy issues.

Moving the Transition: Transporting City Politics

Johnny Hildo

For the future of the region, TARTA is an important piece, not just a token!

The Torch Is Passed: Fear The Elephant

Johnny Hildo

Will the Lucas County Democratic Party recognize the potential sea change in the election of Wagoner, stop the counterproductive infighting, pull together and step up their game?

Hack Attack: Survival Guide for Festival Season

Johnny Hildo

You can’t miss ‘em. They travel in swarms, with identical logos on their sweat-stained Ts, hawking stickers and wielding clipboards. They swoop down on the unwary festival goer with a simple greeting that belies their rapacious hunger for your affirmation. “Are you a registered voter?”

Road Blocks: Impediments to Downtown Redevelopment

Johnny Hildo

By the mid-nineties, downtown was a ghostly image of its heyday in the fifties. However, if you’ve lived in these froggy environs for ten years or more, it is unmistakable. Downtown is booming.

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