Mayoral race

As I stated in an earlier thread the reason for Mike Bell's strong early support is his race. Due to the fact he is black blacks will support him at least 9 to 1. I was called a racist for saying that in the earlier thread but facts are facts. Regardless of his experience or the lack of, Bell's support in the black community will not waver.

i'm white and think bell is a good candidate option

I'm white and think Bell is a nice guy but I have to wait till I hear his politics before I can make a determination whether he is a good candidate option.

Has anyone heard of his action plans yet?

I think Bell is a nice guy. He also showed that he is brave during the northend riot in 2005. He waded into that crowd with seemingly no fear. But does he have the experience to be Mayor of Toledo?

White Male here and if votong day were today, I would vote for Bell. I think he did a good job as Chief and I think he's much less politicized than the rest of the serious canditates. If Carty decides to run I'll still vote for Bell. Twice. LOL

The best mayor of Toledo that I can remember was Harry Kessler. The sad fact was he was followed by too many who could not fill his shoes: DeGood,Owens,McHugh,Finkbeiner and Ford. McHugh was a decent mayor but chose not to run for office after Toledo switched over to the strong mayor form of government. Toledo would probably be best served if we would revert to having the mayor as head of City Council again. That way we wouldn't have anymore dictator wannabes like Carty.

Weakskd - just what kind of experience are you looking for?

I think if you look at his resume you'll find he's got more than enough.

His current role he's over 150 people and has a budget of millions.

He's negotiated labor contracts, etc...

What are you looking for?

OPAL COVEY FOR MAYOR!!!!!!!!!! SHE IS OUR ONLY CHANCE!!!!!!!! FORGET WILKOWSKI,BELL,SARANTOU OR WHOEVER ELSE MAY DECIDE TO JOIN THE RACE!!! WE NEED GOD ON OUR SIDE!!!! VOTE FOR OPAL!!!!!!!

I think Bell has a good name and people are familiar with him. I want to hear more about what direction he wants to take Toledo though.

the only thing I've heard is "I like Bell". What about Wilkowski? Why isn't he getting more support? Is it because he's a politician? Not a "fresh face"?
Billy...I'm just surprised he's the front runner without ever having served on council, the board of commissioners, etc. If you don't think that running a major city government is vastly different than being a fire chief or state fire marshall, I'd say thats a bit niave. Can he do it? Sure, he can. I'm just surprised some many are willing to back the guy without even understanding really a single one of his propositions.

Weak - You still didnt answer my question.

do you have to be a politician to be a mayor?

You're also talking in circles. first you say Im niave if I dont thingk running a major city gov't is different than being the state fire marshall, but then you say, Can he do it? Sure he can... WTF?

Has Wilkie been on council? Been a commissioner?

And what do you mean he's a front runner? Are there any polls out there that Ive missed?

Billy....my point is that it is not imperative that he have experience, but you would think that ZERO political experience would not afford someone to instantly become a front runner. Is he really THAT popular in Toledo, that he can become the front runner, without any kind of political record? Hell yeah, I think he could do the job. I also think there might be an equal possiblity that he has no idea what he's doing.

By the way, you didn't answer MY repeated question.....what are people finding so wrong with Wilkowski? He may not have been on council, or been a commisssioner, but he clearly has been a player in the Toledo political scene for several years now. I think there is a clear distinction between his background v Bell's as it relates to being politcally experienced.

I have seen at least 2 seperate polls within 24 hrs of his announcemnt that indicated that he was overwhelmingly the leader. Yes, I understand the limitations of such polls, but its still noteworthy. Sorry, no links...I tried:>) Maybe someone else on the board can back me up here.

Again, I'm not knocking Bell or endorsing Wilkowski or anyone else. I just find the early polling results to be curious.

OK, that being said, what are you hearing that people are finding wrong with Wilkie?

Im not hearing anything bad about him at all - or is it just that you hear everyone getting all excited about Bell and not saying anything at all about Wilkie?

Why is Bell leaving his State job? As for Wilkowski, he's just another one of the same types Toledo has had enough of.

Toledo needs someone with BUSINESS EXPERENCE!!! We need to become more business oriented. We have a city council that wants to ruin Nick and Jimmy's (who's been here for ever) and holds up the Pull-A-Part site for asinine reasons till it gets put on hold.

We need someone to understand that without business you have no jobs. Without jobs you have no tax revenue. Without tax revenue you have nothing!!!!

Wake up Toledo and vote for someone who can actually bring JOBS back to Toledo. So far I haven't seen a candidate that fits the bill. I hope someone better gets in the race, the group so far sucks.

As for Wilkowski, what experience does he? I just reviewed his website. There is no BIO or even a simple list stating his experience. Supporting government projects like the solar field and wind testing does not bring jobs here, and I don't care how many times you say it does, IT DOESN'T! He was a county commissioner and sat on the Board of Education, right? I don't recall all the jobs he brought here during his time as a commissioner, do you? Is TPS a shinning example of his leadership?

I don't mean to pick on the guy. He seems very nice and is willing to try his best and he just loves Toledo. Well we don't need another frickin cheerleader (the last one didn't work out so well), or a helper, or a guy who will work hard every day. We need someone who can get the job done. Someone who will stop pissing money away on stupid crap and get the JOBS back. And I don't mean jobs created by government grants that eventually dry up, I mean real industry that turn a profit and employees people for a long time.

As I stated in an earlier thread the reason for Mike Bell's strong early support is his race. Due to the fact he is black blacks will support him at least 9 to 1. I was called a racist for saying that in the earlier thread but facts are facts. Regardless of his experience or the lack of, Bell's support in the black community will not waver.

posted by Harley on Mar 27, 2009 at 09:55:23 am #
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All 100% true. toledo is about 25% black. Much higher percentage than other towns. Bell therefore has close to 25% of the vote just by showing up. The white guys will be divided, so don't count carty out as far as finishing in the top 2 -again.

Bell at least is articulate, does seem to want to make a difference, and doesn't sound like he's going to fall asleep while speaking (like J-Fo). there was a candidate that pissed me off for getting the vote solely because he was black.

What about Wilkowski? Why isn't he getting more support?

Well for starters he most likely is The Toledo Blades candidate if Carty doesn't make it.

Second he is fully supportive of the President's Socialist ideology

Third, his name has circulated around Toledo so often that he is the Same Old...Same Old.

and while I think he would make a damn better mayor then Carty, we need someone with fresh ideas, business friendly, not crazy like Opal and one who is not dragging along their political garbage.

Again, I do not know if Bell is the right candidate or not. His Union activities scare me into thinking he will be forced under pressure from his old allies into signing and supporting city contracts that are "Unsubstainable" (new buzz word).

I do not know enough about Moody to support him yet. As for Ben...he will not end up running because of the broken promise to serve a full term on Lucas County Commissioners would cost him the election if he did.

I liked Wilkowski back in 2004, but I think this time around he sounds like he just hopped off the Obama bandwagon. Right down to taking over the old headquarters.

Mike Bell is a well respected guy in the city. Just by being the Fire Chief you know he has managerial experience. And, from all accounts, he's not a bullshitter. I've heard both Republicans and Democrats in the city say they think Bell would do a fine job.

Hum has anyone thought about Jim Moody. Just throwing it out there.

DW

Jim Moody has one BIG negative going for him as far as I am concerned: FLEX REALTY. As the head of this notorious company he has helped to engineer the downfall of many once decent neighborhoods. Any house that you see the Flex sign in front of is bound for a fall. Once the "sold" sign is posted the problems follow. Drugs,gangs and all of the attending activities follow. Jim Moody is the sorriest excuse for a candidate of the bunch. No wonder he does not want his precious daughter to attend Toledo Public Schools. He has helped destroy the neghborhoods around the schools.

Konop is running, but he will suffer mightily from Mike Bell's presence (and earlier announcement). Konop seems like a sincere guy, but he has been marginalized by the political machine in town. On the other hand, I think the old guard will work with Bell. My concern with Konop jumping in is that it may give Carty some life. With the "new" candidates splitting up different segments of the vote, I wonder if Carty will somehow find a way to weasel his way into first place.

Ah, someone else who is thinking. I posted the following statement earlier in the thread:
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All 100% true. toledo is about 25% black. Much higher percentage than other towns. Bell therefore has close to 25% of the vote just by showing up. The white guys will be divided, so don't count carty out as far as finishing in the top 2 -again.

posted by Darkseid on Mar 27, 2009 at 07:57:21 pm #
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Most forget King Carty is a career politician, and a true master at it. He's probably the only politico locally that Block has never been able to get rid of-NO SMALL FEAT. Half of Toledo hates him....BUT-the other half loves him. Count him out at your own peril.

Do you vote for people because they are white? LOL!

Sometimes. :^)

I've talked to Mike Bell before and he is a genuinely nice guy who has no pretense. He seems to treat everyone fairly. Carty is too thin skinned to be mayor. I can't for the life of me understand how that guy made it to mayor. I still remember when he ran for mayor unsucessfully years ago, and how he campaigned in some intersection, which the media said had caused an accident. Finbeiner held a press conference sobbing like a baby, saying the media was being unfair and how he hadn't caused the accident. I remember thinking he had just ruined any chance to become mayor.