Ho hum.
In case you didn’t give a fat patoot, there’s a race for at-large seats on Toledo
City Council this year.
You’re not alone if you don’t care. Apparently most eligible electors in the city don’t care either.
So few potential candidates bothered to gather sufficient signatures to get on the ballot that there won’t be a primary to winnow the field.
And those that did, well, it’s a motley crew to say the least. Twelve in total, including all six of the incumbents, will appear on the November ballot.
Just two make the race for six available seats worth mentioning.
You can’t be serious
First there are the no-names. Yet again, perennial candidate Tom Names decided to waste time and treasure to lose convincingly. He’s never convinced, it seems. Came on, Tommy. Three strikes and you’re out, which means you should leave the country entirely.
Then there’s something called Robert Pasker III. We’ve never heard of Messers
Pasker I or II, let alone a third. Or anyone named Pasker, to be honest. We know a couple of Roberts, but they don’t waste our time running for office.
Blair Johnson sounds more like the name of a character from Gone With the Wind than a serious candidate.
Moving on, there are some other candidates we know nothing about, so we won’t waste time guessing who they are. Neither should you.
And what of the incumbents? Lil’ Georgie Sarantou got humiliated as PHH’s former City Finance Director and resigned in disgrace. Naturally he now heads Council’s Finance Committee with oversight over the City Finance Director. You can’t make this stuff up.
Most of the incumbents originally got their seats through appointment, of course, including “Pardon Me, Mac” Driscoll. He subsequently won his seat by a convincing victory over Tom Names last November. Hey Tommy, take a hint buddy.
Fellow incumbents Cerssandra McPherson and Nick Komives should be shoo-ins. Carrie Hartman is probably safe, too.
And we hear Brittany Jones is an incumbent. Frankly we’ve never heard of her. Never a good sign for a person serving in office
Brittany styles herself “Dr.” Jones. Dr. Jones sounds impressive, if we were talking about an optometrist’s office. Which we’re not.
Ski jump
Which leaves us with the two interesting candidates.
First, Tom Waniewski. A true unicorn, Tom served three terms as a Republican on a Dem-heavy Council and still managed to get things done. He was known for working across the aisle and keeping close watch on the City’s fiscal ship.
He’s also run for mayor and county commissioner and lost. But his name recognition and political reputation are impeccable.
Then there’s Ed Beczynski. If you don’t recognize the name, you surely know who he is. Think downtown’s Blarney Irish Pub. Think downtown revitalization through small, local businesses. Think champion for Toledo’s recent renaissance.
That’s Eddie B
Ed calls himself an Independent. Which sounds like a Republican who knows it’s tough to admit and win a seat in T-Town
No matter. Ed’s a native Toledoan, a graduate of Toledo Public Schools, and a veteran. His story tells itself.
If we were incumbents hoping to retain our seats, we’d be very, very nervous.
