Article published November 03, 2009
Lucas County unofficial election results
BLADE STAFF
Bell wins Toledo mayoral race
Former city fire chief and political independent Mike Bell won the race for Toledo mayor on Tuesday night following a solid victory over Democrat Keith Wilkowski.
Despite being outspent almost 2-1, Mr. Bell won his first-ever election bid, to replace incumbent Carty Finkbeiner on Jan. 4.
With 100 percent of the unofficial results, Mr. Bell had 52.3 percent of the vote (35,118 votes) to Mr. Wilkowski's 47.7 percent (31,987).
“It's been a very tough race,” Mr. Bell said to jubilant supporters in the Old Navy restaurant in The Docks late Tuesday night. “The only reason I got into it was unity. It's bringing everybody together. We will turn this thing around. I told you this from the beginning.”
Mr. Wilkowski, meeting with supporters and other Democratic candidates and campaign supporters at the United Auto Workers Local 12 hall, said I “talked to my former high school classmate and I told him congratulations on the race well fought and that he has won.
"I told him that he should know that he will have my full support in his efforts to help improve Toledo.”
 VIEW: Lucas County election results as of 12:03 a.m.
The election appeared to reflect the enduring good will that Mr. Bell earned during his 17 years as Toledo's fire chief.
Mr. Bell won even with an ambiguous message on taxes. He vowed to “play within the perimeter,” meaning work within the tax revenues from the current 2.25 percent income tax, but said the public could be “fickle,” and might choose a tax hike over painful service cuts.
He vowed to appoint a citizen task force to examine the city's budget figures, and to lead a campaign to set the city's priorities for the available revenue. He made clear that his priorities would be public safety and trash collection.
Unlike Mr. Wilkowski, Mr. Bell never got very specific with his economic development vision, touting his intention to appoint a “business advocate” as deputy mayor, and to let the professionals — led by the University of Toledo — chart the region's economic development course.
Mr. Bell, 54, attended Spring Elementary School, Woodward High School, and the University of Toledo. He joined the city fire department in 1980 and was soon laid off during a fiscal crisis. He became the first big-city black fire chief in Ohio when he was appointed in 1990.
Mr. Bell stepped down in 2007 to accept the state fire marshal job to which he was appointed by Gov. Ted Strickland in 2007. He resigned in April to undertake the campaign for mayor.
The former fire chief who described the city's situation as “a three-alarm fire” inherits a city with troubled finances.
Income tax collections, which account for the bulk of the city's revenues, came in at $145 million in 2009, well below the predicted $169 million upon which the budget was based, forcing the layoff of 75 police officers in May. All of those have been brought back, with the help of state and federal grants.
The year 2010 is not expected to be much improved.
The campaign pitted two high school friends against each other. Mr. Bell and Mr. Wilkowski went to Woodward together, both graduating in 1973. Mr. Wilkowski went on to Ohio State University and Mr. Bell to the University of Toledo.
Permanent Link
|
|
 |
|
Search
advertisement
