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Ashford, longtime resident
of Toledo City Council District 4, will be competing in the
May 5 special election for the seat vacated by now-Mayor
Paula Hicks-Hudson and, prior to Hicks-Hudson’s tenure, held
by Ashford’s husband, State Rep. Michael Ashford.
Hicks-Hudson, former president of City Council, was sworn in
as the city’s chief executive when Mayor D. Michael Collins
passed away in February just 13 months into his term.
Ashford, who worked for
the State of Michigan for 17 years as an account examiner,
departmental analyst and senior auditor before her
retirement in 2013, spent years examining the financial and
accounting records of businesses.
Although she has not run
previously for office, she does consider herself in
possession of the political acumen necessary to represent
the citizens of District 4 by dint of her long familiarity
with politics. “I come from a political family,” she says.
“I have always been around politics.” Her grandfather, she
notes, ran for office. Her family, during her childhood, was
always involved in unions and politics and, of course,
during the course of her marriage to Michael Ashford, she
has operated behind the scenes to assist him and other local
politicians in the Democratic Party – hosting fundraisers,
organizing mailings.
“There are a lot of things
that go on behind the scenes that people don’t talk about,”
she says of the experience she has gained over the years. “I
have been consistently involved in politics.”
For Ashford there are four
issues which she believes are of paramount importance to the
residents of District 4 and the city as a whole.
“We deserve safe
neighborhoods,” she says of her first concern. “It’s a must,
an absolute must.” To that end, she believes the city should
be doing more to increase police presence and to maintain
cleanliness in streets and alleys.
“We need a good
educational system for our children,” she says and also
notes that Toledo Public Schools Superintendent Romules
Durant, Ed.D, is doing “an excellent job” in getting the
school district back on track.
“We need opportunities for
our kids,” she says of what the city can do to provide such
amenities – pools, parks and activities. “Toledo is a good
city for kids but there is not enough opportunities for
them. Why drive up Monroe to go skating, for example.”
“And, of course, economic
development is critical to the success of our city,” says
the candidate. District 4 includes the residential
neighborhoods of the Old West End and parts of central and
north Toledo, as well as more commercial areas of downtown,
UpTown and the warehouse district. A critical component for
economic development and rebuilding in these areas, says
Ashford, is the “inclusion of minority representation.”
Ashford also says that, in
general, these commercial areas in District 4 need to
generate activity and that the City of Toledo needs to
remove the roadblocks to progress. “Activity draws people to
the area,” she notes.
“Residential construction
in these areas also increases activities,” she says.
“However, there is a whole segment of young people who have
trouble buying their own property.”
The May 5 special election
will be followed by a primary in September and a general
election in November to elect a district councilman for a
full term. All six city district seats are up for election
this year.
Ashford will likely face a
number of opponents this spring including Yvonne Harper, a
long-time Democratic Party operative who the party nominated
to fill Hicks-Hudson’s seat. City Council declined to vote
for Harper and, instead, named local businessman Scott
Ramsay to serve until the special election. Ramsay owns Dart
Boat Company in the UpTown area.
Other possible opponents
include Terry Shankland, a catering business owner; Steven
Goldman, a former University of Toledo professor, David
Johnson, a UT professor; Scott Sands, an afternoon host on
New Radio 1370 and Jewell Lightner, former ProMedica
corporate director of diversity. They all sought the
temporary appointment.
Ramsay has not yet let it
be known if he will run.
Ashford notes that the
ability to operate a business does not necessarily translate
into the type of financial acumen that is helpful in
operating a government.
“A person may be good at
rebuilding boats or installing drywall but I’m the person
they call when they need to deal with the financial aspect
of their business,” she says. “Just because you are a small
business owner does not mean you know anything how a
government operates financially.” |
