Five of the candidates running for mayor have very good or excellent credit while the candidate who holds the office by automatic appointment, Paula Hicks-Hudson, declined to provide a report on her credit.

Mayor Hicks-Hudson said Thursday that she looked up her FICO score online and said that it was 658. FICO is a compilation of scores produced by Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, using a range typically from 300 to 850, though they can be higher.

She would not make a printout of the report and did not want to share a standard credit report with The Blade, to protect her and her husband Freeman Hudson’s privacy, she said.

Sandy Drabik Collins, a retired lawyer and the widow of late Mayor D. Michael Collins, had the best score, 888 according to Equifax.

Seven people are running on the special election ballot Tuesday to replace Mr. Collins, who died in February with almost three years left in his term. The winner would be sworn in as early as Nov. 24 and would finish Mr. Collins’ term.

Ms. Hicks-Hudson, the endorsed Democrat, blamed her relatively low score on an irregular income because she is in private practice as a lawyer. 

During some of her career, Ms. Hicks-Hudson has had jobs other than her private law practice, such as when she was director of the Lucas County Board of Elections and when she was chief counsel for four years of the Office of Management and Budget under then-Gov. Ted Strickland.

She has two daughters who are grown, whom she and her husband put through private schools and college. She said her husband was out of work sick for a year.

She said she has never gone bankrupt and said she has been late paying bills, but “I’ve always paid my bills.”

Far from indicating someone who can’t manage money, she said her credit report reveals her familiarity with making do on a restricted income.

“I understand how important it is to balance the budget and pinch pennies, from being a working-class person all her life who’s had to pinch pennies and make sure you pay your bills,” Ms. Hicks-Hudson said.

As mayor, Ms. Hicks-Hudson currently makes $122,400 a year.

Joshua Hughes, chairman of the Lucas County Democratic Party, said he doesn’t think Ms. Hicks-Hudson’s credit report is a blemish on her or a factor in her job as mayor.

“As a fellow lawyer, I understand the fluidity of the practice of law and I know the mayor had a solo practice for a number of years. Times can get pretty lean,” Mr. Hughes said.

“She’s not doing it alone. She has a team in place. She works collaboratively with city council so I don’t think the credit score would be indicative of the type of leader she’s been or could be,” Mr. Hughes said.

Increased scrutiny

Lucas County Republican Party Chairman Jon Stainbrook said candidates should know that increased scrutiny comes with the territory, and said it’s up to voters whether to hold it against candidates who won’t share their credit reports.

“I think she has been forthcoming,” Mr. Stainbrook said of her verbally reported credit score, saying voters can believe her or not.

“It’s up to the voters to decide whether they’ll vote for her. You could have the best credit score in the world and still not be trustworthy,” Mr. Stainbrook said.

Ms. Hicks-Hudson said she was not asked for a credit report before the party endorsed her for mayor earlier this year.

She said she has paid off her own student-loan debt. She said she has a store credit card with a zero balance and a Visa card with less than $1,000 owed, as well as a car loan and a home mortgage.

Ms. Hicks-Hudson also refused to provide a medical report answering questions about her health, including whether she had any chronic illnesses, was taking any medication, and what her cholesterol and blood pressure numbers were.

She provided a letter from Dr. Jonathan Ross saying he saw her in his clinic Sept. 17.

“She is in good health and was recently seen in our office for a wellness exam. [She] is up to date on immunizations and yearly screening tests,” Dr. Ross said.

Medical matters

City Councilman Sandy Spang also provided only a letter from her doctor. Former city councilman Mike Ferner answered questions about his health, but did not release a medical report. Mrs. Collins did not release a medical report but authorized her doctor to answer all The Blade's questions. 

Former mayors Mike Bell and Carty Finkbeiner provided hard copies of their medical examination reports.

Mrs. Collins, an independent, said she was disturbed that a candidate for mayor refused to disclose her credit report when other candidates did so.

“Anyone wanting to be mayor should share a report because we’re asking that person to manage a lot of money,” Mrs. Collins said. “I think it’s unfair to the citizens. I gave you the whole picture and I would expect anybody who’s mayor to give you the whole picture.”

Mrs. Collins’ report is in her name only, which was Sandra Drabik until this year when she changed it to add her late husband’s name to her own. 

Her report shows two mortgages paid off this year. The Collinses moved from their home on Heatherwood Drive to Island Avenue last year.

Paying the bills

Mrs. Collins said she pays off her credit card every month and said the credit report is largely a reflection of paying credit on time.

Mr. Bell, the former Toledo fire chief, former state fire marshal, and mayor from 2010 through 2013, had the second highest score with an Equifax score of 806.

“I have no bills,” he said. He said he opened a home equity line of credit and used it to pay for a roof replacement, which cost $17,000 or $18,000 last year, mainly to maintain a good credit report.

Mr. Bell’s credit had an excellent score when he and Mr. Collins shared their credit reports with The Blade in 2013, as did Mr. Collins.

Mr. Finkbeiner’s score of 740 is down from the 785 that was reported in 2005, though it is not clear that reporting standards are the same. He said the only thing that’s different is that now he and his wife, Amy Finkbeiner, have a joint credit card. He said she uses the card and sometimes carries a balance, while he pays for everything with cash and checks.

“I don’t owe anybody anything right now. Not a penny. We paid off the house six or seven years ago,” Mr. Finkbeiner said. His bills include a cell phone, utilities, and cable television, but not the Internet, which he doesn’t use and which Amy uses, when she needs to, at work.

Carrying a balance

Mrs. Finkbeiner confirmed she sometimes carries a balance, and said she is paying for the loan for her husband’s car that she gave him in May, a 2011 Buick LaCrosse, but that’s in her name, not Mr. Finkbeiner’s.

“It could be if you’re not out there borrowing money, it does, surprisingly enough, negatively impact your score,” Mrs. Finkbeiner said.

Mr. Ferner’s score was described in his report as “very good.” The report said he had no accounts that were late, no real estate debt, and “revolving debt” and “installment debt” totaling $6,288.

Ms. Spang’s disclosure to The Blade was a screen shot of her FICO Score Summary number of 785, but not the credit reporting agency or agencies that produced it. She provided a five-page report on herself from the credit-reporting agency she uses for applicants for her and her husband’s Sherwood Apartments building.

The report shows several mortgages and bank loans and credit cards with total revolving business debt of $55,877 with no past-due bills, and $353,212 in real estate debt with no past-due bills.

Credit-reporting scores are not exactly comparable. According to Equifax, a credit score is a three-digit number, typically between 300 to 850, based on information in one’s credit report. 

Keeping score

The three credit reporting bureaus, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, don’t use exactly the same methods to determine credit scores. FICO is a compilation of the three agency’s scores.

FICO lets its users decide what is considered good and bad credit. One FICO score summary obtained by The Blade listed credit scores of more than 800 as excellent, from 740 to 799 as very good, from 670 to 739 as good, 580 to 669 as not good, and 579 and less as poor.

Damaging credit reports have hurt candidates’ chances of getting elected in the past.

Concerns about runaway credit-card borrowing helped sink the mayoral ambitions in November, 2001, of Ray Kest, the former Lucas County treasurer.

Mr. Kest, who had touted his money-managing skills on the campaign trail, gave The Blade permission to examine his credit report. It showed Mr. Kest and his wife had $81,000 in debt on 10 credit cards.

In 2013, Lucas County Auditor Anita Lopez’s campaign for mayor took a hit when her credit report was found to be 635, according to Equifax credit-reporting companies, with 11 accounts with balances totaling $261,432.

Contact Tom Troy: tomtroy@theblade.com or 419-724-6058 or on Twitter @TomFTroy.

First Published October 30, 2015, 4:00 a.m.