The present Mayor of Toledo talks a good game, albiet in a monotone, but does he play by the rules that he wants the rest of us to live by? Granted, the Mayor needs to travel to meetings, conferences, hearings and other official or semi-official gatherings. Also, the Mayor wants us all to vote to renew the Port Authority levy (which I am also in favor of). But does he choose to fly out of Toledo Express? NO! He flies out of Detroit Metro to go to a sister city meeting in Delmenhorst, Germany. When City Councilman Rob Ludeman went to Delmenhorst to finalize the sister city arrangement, he flew out of Toledo Express. Why now, after JaFo decided to use Detroit Metro, does he order all city officials to fly out of Toledo Express while on official business? I have flown out of both airports. Detroit Metro is big, confusing, hard to get around, and just not user friendly. And it costs a lot more to park. Toledo Express is much smaller, more accessable, more user friendly, and can still get you where you want to go. The UAW wants Daimler-Chrysler to use local suppliers. GREAT! I agree. It puts paychecks into the hands of local people. The Blade wants the State of Ohio to farm out more state jobs to parts of the state other than Columbus. GREAT! I agree. It means that more of our state tax dollars come back to the Toledo Area. But has our present Mayor done anything to enhance the local, regional, or national reputation of TOLEDO, OHIO? NO! Jack Ford loves Jack Ford. Rob Ludeman loves Toledo. That's the main difference between the two potential challengers. And Rob is never going to change.
What Rob needs to do if he wants my vote and the votes of a lot of other people I regularly post with is that he should put some distance between himself and quite a few others members of city council that many Toledoans deem as corrupt (McCloskey to name 1). A lot of the crap that has caused this city to go down the drain has come from Toledo city council either turning a blind eye to corruption or following along as sheep to whatever the blade wants them to do. The first order of business for Mr. Ludeman is to tell John Robinson Block to pound sand and then continue on to run the city with a sense of ethical responsibility the city has not known. Rob also comes off as arrogant to the very people that put him in office. I had gotten off work one day and stopped into LARKS to pick up some things and saw Rob inside and said "hi Rob". I was looked at like a cockroach as he turned and walked away without saying a word. I find it strange that come election time when he needs MY vote (and I am a republican) his tune changes.
George, Southwyck is a private enterprise. If the owner chooses to mismanage it and cannot make a go of it he should sell it and move on. There is no reason the city needs to spend taxpayers money to fund private enterprises, or dictate how they should be run.
The free enterprise system also means we're free to fail. Toledo needs to get out of propping up private shopping centers, apartments, and what all, all together.
Speaking of malls, it appears that the owners of the Woodville Mall had to finally go in and fire their management company. I say "finally" since anyone can go in and count the "wrongful discharge" lawsuits that are pending against them.
The tolerance for bad mall management is very high in Toledo, if my anecdotes are any indicator. The owner of Southwyck very obviously doesn't give a sparrow's fart in a hurricane about the mall. He's had articles done about him, and he's the very picture of an American elitist who will let vast properties rot in the sun rather than spend money refurbishing them or -- GASP! -- dropping rents to accomodate a new business environment.
Of course, at this time, I can only pose the logical question: Does Southwyck pay property taxes? I'm betting that answer is NO, and that's the very heart to Toledo's problem of retail property decay. If you refuse to tax it, then owners will let it decay since it costs them next to nothing to let it happen.
This is the function of the Mayor, to make sure taxes are applied to individuals and businesses, and to make sure they are applied fairly. Toledo hasn't seen fair taxation in at least 20 years. Will Ludeman change that?
