Tt post aug 18 2015 - b

A rare Blade op-ed that is locally-focused and entertaining to read:

Aug 16, 2015 - Recycling campaign

By next January, Toledo could have its fourth mayor in barely three years: Which raises the question: Does it really matter who the city’s mayor is? Most Toledo voters evidently don’t think so; three out of four of them sat out the last mayoral election, in 2013.

I don't know where I've read that sentiment before.

Maybe EconCat88 wrote this op-ed. The writer continues:

Potholes don’t get filled quickly enough, because the city diverts money from its capital budget to meet daily operating expenses.

Unsafe abandoned houses aren’t torn down soon enough, and many alleys function as impromptu dump sites.

The city’s responsibility for helping to pay for a badly needed new county jail — to which Toledo would send three-fourths of the inmates — is denied rather than addressed.

Efforts to combat violent crime, drug addiction, and racial tensions are too often after-the-fact responses rather than proactive measures.

High-ranking city employees get handsome pay raises, in some instances irrespective of their performance.

City elected officials provide lavish financial incentives to big corporations — Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, ProMedica — to entice them to do things they likely would do anyway.

Then the pols tell taxpayers it’s none of their business how the city is spending their money.

Big-talking would-be developers draw pretty pictures of how they will revive moribund sites around the city — the Marina District, the former Southwyck Shopping Center — that cause them to be hailed as urban saviors. When the plans fall through, the futile cycle begins again.

Here are the op-ed writer's observations about Toledo's upcoming elections:

This November, city voters will elect a [new mayor]. At age 55, Ms. Spang is the youngster in the group.

This roundup of the usual suspects, so to speak, is an indictment of the failure of the city’s political system to develop a broad cadre of credible emerging leaders.

Similarly, the favorites in next month’s primary elections for Toledo City Council’s six district seats include four incumbents and a former council member; one incumbent is unopposed.

What is it about city government that discourages younger Toledoans?

• Perceived dominance by interest groups, whether municipal unions or business lobbies?
• The absence of a competitive two-party system in the city?
• A wait-your-turn dictum imposed by political gatekeepers?

Perceived dominance?

The op-ed writer, however, neglected to mention the Blade editorial board's political endorsements for local candidates and issues over the past 25 years that "may" have hampered Toledo's growth. justread called it the Strong Publisher Form of government.

Still, it's an interesting op-ed. If 80 percent of the Blade op-eds were locally-focused, like this one, instead of the other way around, then their op-ed section would be a relevant read.

Most of the time, the Blade op-ed writers cover topics that could be read at a zillion other websites.

I wonder how many people on the Blade's editorial board actually live within Toledo's city limits.

#toledo #politics #media #moronism #humor