County appointments for two boards have passed with a 2-1 vote, with Commissioner Anita Lopez saying she believes there was not ample consideration given to the applications from the public.
The Lucas County commissioners approved four appointments to the Toledo Area Regional Transit Authority and the Lucas Metropolitan Housing Authority boards, two of which are county employees, at their meeting Monday, but not without criticism from Ms. Lopez.
“If we are going to not consider others than county employees, then we should not waste the time of citizens and allude that we’re actually going to consider them,” Ms. Lopez said. “Citizens are taking their time and wish their application be reviewed and considered, and the least we could do is review them as a group and rank them, rather than rubber-stamping the appointments.”
Appointments to the TARTA board included the Rev. W.L. Perryman III, program specialist at the county’s diversity, equity, and inclusion department and former president of the Toledo NAACP; Tarik Kadri, a local attorney; and Karen Poore, who was recently hired as a development navigator for the county after retiring as Toledo’s deputy mayor. The three-year appointments will expire April 30, 2028.
Bishop Jerry L. Boose of Second Baptist Church was appointed to the Lucas Metropolitan Housing Authority Board of Commissioners for a five-year term. According to a spokesman for the county, all the appointees submitted applications for the positions.
Ms. Lopez said she was in support of the appointments of Mr. Kadri and Bishop Boose but was not in favor of Rev. Perryman and Ms. Poore.
Commissioner Pete Gerken made the motion to approve the appointments, and Ms. Lopez attempted to vote separately before being told by Commissioner Lisa Sobecki that the motion on the floor was for the group of appointments.
When asked if she believed there were more qualified individuals, Ms. Lopez said there needed to be more conversation among the commissioners.
“I think that we have not thoroughly ranked the applicants and reviewed the resumes as a group ... and had that type of discussion yet. It seems as if there is a recommendation, and then it’s pushed through fast, with no dialogue or discussion,” Ms. Lopez told The Blade after the meeting.
Ms. Sobecki told The Blade she reviewed the applications and believes the appointments approved on Monday were the most qualified individuals for the vacancies.
“I’m not looking at it as a county employee, as much as they’re a citizen of the county that has every right to be able to apply for a job,” Ms. Sobecki said. “I will say, they’re not going to be ‘rubber-stamping’ anything that I ever say — they’re independent minds, they understand how boards work, and I believe that they would be a great wealth to these boards.”
County employees should be allowed on the boards on a “case-by-case basis,” Ms. Lopez said, but she said she is concerned about the transparency of the process.
“We need to do that discussion, and we have not had that discussion yet, amongst ourselves as a group — and that requires us to do it outside in the open,” Ms. Lopez said. “I think we should do more public meetings so that citizens can understand how we’re making decisions and why we’re voting on things.”
According to the commissioners’ chief of staff, 12 applications were received for the TARTA board of trustees. Eighty total applications were received for the group of five boards with vacancies: Lucas Metropolitan Housing, TARTA, Keep Toledo-Lucas County Beautiful, Lucas County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board, and Lucas County Children Services.
First Published April 14, 2025, 6:32 p.m.
