Democratic candidate and Toledo City Councilman Carrie Hartman will face off against independent candidate Kristi Kille for a city council at-large seat.

Ms. Hartman was named in January to the at-large council seat now up for grabs after former councilman Michele Grim resigned her seat when she was elected to her first term in the Ohio House of Representatives in November. 

The winner will fill the remainder of what would have been Ms. Grim’s term, which expires on Dec. 31, 2025.

Ms. Grim won her seat in the state legislature by defeating Wendi Hendrix, who ran against Ms. Grim in the November election after Ms. Hendrix defeated Ms. Kille in the August, 2022 Republican primary race.

Ms. Hartman, 40, holds a law degree from the University of Toledo, and has served in state politics as a political director for U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan’s 2022 campaign for Senate. She has also served as regional party affairs director for northwest Ohio for the Ohio Democratic Party.

Ms. Hartman previously worked in Toledo’s administration office as manager of special projects and analyst of policy and strategic planning under Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz. For two years beginning in 2016, she also worked as the executive assistant and acting public information officer for former Toledo Mayor Paula Hicks-Hudson.

Referring to her role on Toledo City Council as her “dream job,” Ms. Hartman said that she has dedicated her career to public service.

“I have a lot of experience and I know a lot of the processes and systems that are required to run a city,” Ms. Hartman said. “Because of that knowledge, I can identify where the city of Toledo is doing really well and where there are places for improvement.”

Ms. Kille, 54, attended Lourdes University and has worked as a home care provider for the elderly. She currently works as a resident assistant at an elderly facility.

Her motivation to run stems from seeing the need for greater transparency by elected officials.

“I want to help make Toledo a better place. A safer city [and] make Toledoans happy,” Ms. Kille said. “I want to make Toledo City Council extremely transparent to Toledoans.”

She believes that residents “have the right to know” how taxpayer money is spent and although she couldn’t give specific examples of how she would achieve that goal, she wants to make it as easy as possible for those in the community to get information.

Ms. Kille does not support reproductive rights for women such as abortion even in instances of rape, incest, or if a mother’s life is in danger. She also believes in traditional marriage between one man and one woman, maintaining that those beliefs would guide her decisions as an elected official.

“That’s just who I am that makes up my morals and my values,” she said.

If elected, she believes that police should be fully funded as she would focus on reducing crime and making neighborhoods safer.

“I’m open to what Toledoans want to have done, I’m open to their suggestions,” Ms. Kille said. “I’m fresh blood. If people want somebody new on council because they are tired of the same thing, I want voters to give me the chance to get in there and have a positive effect on Toledo City Council and the city. I promise voters that I will do the best that I can do for them.”

Since being appointed, Ms. Hartman considers the project labor agreement legislation, which stipulates union labor be used for city projects over $100,000 and the legislation to use a solar system to illuminate the Glass City River Wall mural at night, among her signature accomplishments thus far in office.

Some of her goals if elected are to continue streamlining the permit process, to make it easier to do business in Toledo.

“In my opinion, there is a lot of clutter in the code and for constituents to try and navigate something themselves and look up the code. I can see how that can be cumbersome,” she said.

Ms. Hartman grew up in Iowa, moved to Chicago and then Toledo in 2009 to work at the Toledo Women’s Clinic.

Ms. Kille grew up in West Toledo and attended Central Catholic High School.

First Published November 5, 2023, 8:00 p.m.