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If approved by Toledo City Council, longtime Lucas County
Democratic Party loyalist Yvonne Harper will fill the
District 4 council seat vacated by Mayor Paula Hicks-Hudson.
Nevertheless, Harper faces many challenges. Chief among them
are, whether the corridors of power in Toledo can handle the
presence of such a strong and outspoken woman of color
without being threatened. It remains to be seen.
I
spoke with Harper regarding her political ambitions, her
contributions to the community and about the obstacles she
faces in reaching her goal to become the representative for
District 4 on the Toledo City Council.
Perryman:
Mayor Hicks-Hudson has yet to publicly declare whether she
intends to either run for mayor or once again for her
vacated District 4 council seat. It has created a bit of
anxiety for many political hopefuls. How does this affect
your political outlook and plans for the council seat?
Harper:
In case Paula decides at the last minute that she does not
want to run for mayor, I am willing to step aside and she
can run for her old seat, which would be in September, for
the November election. I am willing to go through the
screening, then get the signatures for May and then get on
the ballot and if Paula decides at the last minute to run
for council rather than mayor, then I’ll step aside. I’m
willing to be a place holder for her.
Perryman:
Let’s talk about your present and past work for the Lucas
County Democratic party.
Harper:
I’ve been the executive director of the Lucas County
Democratic Party for over five years. Before then, when
Sandy Isenberg was the chair of the party, I was the
co-chair for the screening committee under John Irish. So
I’ve been here. And then I was instrumental in this office
to develop a judicial screening committee that was the first
to take advantage of the legal expertise of practicing
attorneys. I have worked on just about everybody’s
campaign. For Judge Myron Duhart, I was the scheduler. I
was also the scheduler for former
Lucas County
Common Pleas Judge Charles Doneghy.
I went to Columbus to sit on the Strickland campaign. I
have volunteered and also worked part-time for the board of
elections in training poll workers.
Have I ever run for public office? Well, yes
I have. I ran for precinct committee person and won every
time I ran. From 2002, ’04, ’06, ’08, ’10, ’12 and ’14, I
have been on the ballot as a precinct committeeperson in
Ward 8, precinct F. And I have been the ward chair twice.
Perryman:
If I am correct, you are president of the
Perry Burroughs Democratic Women's Club.
Tell me a little about the group’s significance.
Harper:
The Perry Burroughs women’s club has been in existence since
1942. Mr. Burroughs was the first black ward chair in the
city of Toledo. He noticed that there wasn’t a role for
African-American women in the city of Toledo’s political
arena. So, along with his wife and other individuals,
including Mamie Williams, they developed this political
club. And from 1942, it’s still going on. I’ve been
president for over 15 years and we have become noted for our
fundraisers, most notably our black history brunch. And
we’ve always specialized in bring in “firsts.” I was able to
bring in James Graves, the first African-American
Mississippi Supreme Court justice, who’s now on the federal
bench. We also brought in the first black mayor of Selma,
Alabama, as well as Monica Talmadge, the first
African-American national vice chair of the Young Dems. We
were also blessed to introduce Vera Miles, the first
African-American mayor of Paulding, Ohio to our community.
So, this is how I look at it – I have been in
the community. I have worked loads and loads, I have
volunteered for the party and for candidates. I’m stable
and volunteer with the church. For the past 20 years I have
been a member, lead usher and kitchen committee servant at
Indiana Baptist Church, under Pastor John Roberts. Before
that I served at True Vine Baptist Church for 35 years.
Perryman:
So it appears to me that, from a political standpoint, you
have always been a bridesmaid in the sense of supporting
others, but never the bride, so to speak.
Harper:
Well, I never would have thought that I would even be
applying for anything, never. But when I saw that they
needed somebody that was familiar with District 4, I decided
to take advantage of the opportunity.
Perryman:
I am told that Ruth Ashford, wife of Ohio Representative
Michael Asford, and who brings a lot of name recognition and
other hopefuls, such as upstart Rachel Richardson may also
contest for the council seat? How are you familiar with
District 4 and what advantage do you have over others?
Harper:
The advantage is that I’ve walked the neighborhood
recruiting people to work the polls, obtaining signatures
against issues such as the anti-union SB5 legislation. I’ve
walked the area to register voters. I’ve walked and knocked
on many, many doors in the area to help numerous other
candidates in their campaigns for office.
Now, do I want the position? Yes. But, if I
don’t get the nod from city council or the Democratic Party,
I will support whoever gets that position. I will not
actively go out there and call myself a Democrat and be mad
and run against whomever that person is. I will not do that.
Perryman:
You’re a loyal party person.
Harper:
Absolutely.
Perryman:
And sometimes, you don’t get a return that is commensurate
with the loyalty and effort which you have invested.
Harper:
And you know that probably more than anybody. I’ve had to
fight for positions. Look at what happened when I was ousted
from the party because I successfully stood up for what I
thought was right. I just expressed my opinion. I said –
‘why are we talking about endorsing an
independent,
a person that never sought our vote?’ And so, it was quite
humbling when the late Mayor Collins called to support me
when I lost my son. It was even more humbling when women in
the community spoke up for me and requested that the party
bring me back. And there were individual people that I
never thought even liked me, who stood. And it was a bunch
of women that stood up for me, encouraged me to take notice,
besides all of the ministers, you guys.
Perryman:
Well, speaking of the people
who
don’t or didn’t like you, you’ve had some enemies, you’ve
had some criticisms in the past, you’ve had people that
tried to take you out, take your job or remove you from the
job you had. What do you anticipate from them in the near
term?
Harper:
I anticipate that they’re probably going to support someone
else. But, if I’m lucky enough to get on there, I would hope
– that we can at least be cordial to each other and work
together, because we need to set aside our personalities and
our personal feelings for the good of the citizens. People
are looking for us to lead, and if you’re sitting up there
arguing and bringing in your personal history and that you
don’t like me or I don’t like you, where are we going to
get? At some point, you’ve got to work together. We have
to extend that olive branch. But I understand that
everybody that meets Yvonne Harper does not like Yvonne
Harper.
Perryman:
Well, let’s be frank – talking about enemies, there are a
lot of people who are going to be critical of you, based,
not on who you are or your position on a particular issue or
your ideology, but they’re going to criticize you about your
style, which is not an uncommon experience for outspoken
black women. There are many people, right here in this
city, who cannot stand to see black women in positions of
power and control. There are those who will try to paint you
as weak or soft when you show empathy but label you as a
“bitch” when, instead of turning the other cheek, you move
to neutralize them or retaliate verbally or otherwise, as a
result of being hreatened or disrespected. Then, there are
others, who will refuse to have to deal with a woman mayor,
a possible woman president of city council, and a straight
up/don’t play woman councilperson. So how do you address the
critics of your candid, forthright style and how will that
affect your plans for the future?
Harper:
I would say this – you might not like how I’m coming at you,
but what I’m telling you is the truth and what I’m telling
you is to respect me as a person that’s coming forward, not
a person that’s going to change in the middle of the
stream. And as far as being abrasive, I have been accused
of being abrasive for a long time, so let me just say this
in ending – I don’t have a lot of money but I do have
integrity and I have nothing but my word. That’s all that I
have. If I can’t help you or if I can’t do something – I’m
going to tell you I can’t do it. Or tell you to let me look
into it. And I’ll get back with you. Give me your email and
I can email you or text you, but I will not go against
whoever they pick to occupy the council seat. I will go
along with their wishes. Thanks.
Perryman:
Thank you, Yvonne.
Contact Rev. Donald Perryman, D.Min, at
drdlperryman@centerofhopebaptist.org
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