Politics and Opinions

No Contest: For better and worse in City Politics

Johnny Hildo

And then there were three. We’ve handicapped three of the six races for Toledo City Council district representatives. The remaining three districts are some of...

Special Election February 26

Jeff McGinnis

Two controversial Toledo City charter amendments put to a vote Two much-discussed and hard-fought-for amendments to the Toledo City Charter will be put before voters...

Hildy’s Twenty Nineteen

Johnny Hildo

Good, Bad, and Ugly in City Politics It’s that time of year, when pampered millionaires from across the fruited plain come together for self-aggrandizement and...

Election Day by the Numbers

Johnny Hildo

New year, new us. At least that’s the goal floating in the minds of ambitious wannabes across the swampy plain.

Time To Leave: Public Services in City Politics

Johnny Hildo

Three of the most basic of public services are leaf collection and disposal, snow removal, and grass cutting.

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.

Toledo Could Lead the Charge—Combatting the Upcoming Voter Purge

Mike Brickner

Use it or lose it—or so says the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled in June, 2018 that Ohio’s aggressive process of purging voters from its rolls does not violate federal law.

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