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Lucas County Democratic Party Executive Director Yvonne
Harper got politically “shanked up” in her attempt to gain
Toledo City Council’s approval for the appointment to
represent District 4.
Many feel, however, that more political blood than Harper’s
remained on the floor after the swift but brutal process
that led to the choice of Scott Ramsey, an “independent,” to
the seat instead.
“Can you believe the dysfunction? Steve Steel’s first act
after being elected council president was to sell District 4
and the African American community lock, stock and barrel,
down the river,” said one political insider. “This is a
district that is 82 percent African American and 90 percent
Democrat at a time when you’ve got four black people on
council that couldn’t even agree on one damn candidate.”
Several residents see newly-elected Council President Steven
Steel, who has “some of the best relationships with folks in
the African-American community,” at the center of what they
term as an outright “betrayal.”
Yet the true source of the black community’s frustrations
appears to be political rather than racial.
“It looks to me like Shaun Enright cuts a deal to get Steve
Steel to be president of city council by delivering
Republican votes. In return, Steve delivers Democratic votes
to the Republican’s candidate. Steel gets to be president of
council and he gets to resign as chair of the Lucas County
Democratic Party. But in just a week’s time, the choice for
his successor with the Party goes past the vice chair, past
the secretary, all the way down to Josh Hughes, the central
committee chair, who replaces Steel and becomes acting
chair,” said another insider.
“Josh is a real decent fellow, but he is an attorney for the
buildings trade union. The perception is that he is merely
an extension of Shaun Enright and is under the thumb of the
union. So it appears that this was a unilateral process
where Steel said, ‘There you go folks. Suck it up,” he
added.
So, the political assassination of Harper, by which Steel
gained the council presidency in exchange for three
Republican votes, merely cost him chairmanship of the Lucas
County Democrats, a party which is now broke, divided and
suffering from low morale.
Yet, perhaps the one with the most to lose is Mayor Paula
Hicks-Hudson, should she run for the remainder of the late
Mayor Michael D. Collins’ term. With Collins’ widow Sandy
Drabik-Collins poised to run also, Hicks Hudson, Toledo’s
first African-American woman mayor, is facing
fast-approaching filing deadlines. She also could run
without the support or infrastructure from Steel’s allies,
who were also closely aligned with the late Mayor Collins.
In addition, Hicks-Hudson is challenged in her efforts to
succeed in just trying to move the city forward on a daily
basis. A major challenge confronting her as she attempts to
present a balanced municipal budget by March 31 is
approximately $6 million in unanticipated costs due to
contract settlements with the Toledo Police unions and loss
of red light camera revenues.
“She’s surrounded by sharks right now. That much I know,”
said a source close to the mayor. “I mean, she’s got an
entire staff that she did not pick, surrounding her and
helping her make decisions. And they’re feeding her a narrow
set of information based on their own individual skill sets
so she doesn’t have the complete lay of the land so they’re
going to move her in a direction that is potentially
dangerous for her,” the friend added.
For certain, the consequences of the “politics of Steel”
have led to a monopoly of power exercised by a small, select
group of political insiders. This in turn, has alienated the
black community and led a fractured Lucas County Democratic
Party away from inclusive politics, a model that has been
successful in “spreading the wealth” to a much more diverse
constituency in the past.
Although a small narrow elite group may benefit politically
or even economically through upcoming projects such as Jeep
and ProMedica, these and other benefits will ultimately come
at the expense of the African American community and the
party.
Where do we go from here?
With Right-to-Work a potential political wedge issue in the
2016 general election, Democrats cannot afford to be
dominated by one viewpoint, leaving not only blacks, but
others, such as the LGBTQ, feeling as if they are on the
outside looking in. Someone who knows the lay of the land in
both labor politics and in communities of color needs to
assume leadership of the party.
Finally, well-known Republican candidates coming out of
politically-powerful District 2 and formidable opponents
such as Ruth Ashford are poised to challenge Hicks-Hudson
for her political future. The time for Hicks-Hudson to
decide whether she will run for mayor, her old city council
seat or not at all, is soon and very soon. She will need a
substantial majority of the Democratic base and a higher
than normal turnout in the black community to win. An
ineffective crippled party definitely is not good for her
chances.
Certainly, standing closely by and ready for “such a time
like this,” is Lucas County Treasurer Wade Kapszukiewicz, an
“alpha Democrat.” Kapszukiewicz confidently carries enormous
name recognition, massive grass roots support, money, youth
and the infrastructure to possibly withstand any political
challenge.
“My cholesterol is perfect, my credit is perfect, and I’ve
never smoked a cigarette in my life,” he tells anyone who
listens.
Contact Rev. Donald Perryman, D.Min, at
drdlperryman@centerofhopebaptist.org
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