Remembering a Toledo Giant: Jack Ford

By Fletcher Word
Sojourner’s Truth Publisher

The first time I had the opportunity to sit down and have a lengthy, one-on one conversation with Jack Ford was in early 2002, several weeks after his inauguration as the City of Toledo’s first African-American mayor.  The meeting was set up at his request, possibly because I was the only person in the media who had endorsed his bid for the position of Toledo’s chief executive.

We met in his office on Martin Luther King Day, a day on which the city was officially closed for business and the mayor was one of the only city employees at work. We spoke for about an hour on how he expected to handle business as he led the city for the next four years.

A little less than four years later, we sat down again in that office as we conducted his only exit interview in the wake of his re-election loss to Carty Finkbeiner. He was clearly upset that he had lost that election, losing elections didn’t happen often for Jack Ford. He was upset that his message and his administration’s accomplishments had not registered with the city’s voters but he voiced no regrets about those accomplishments.

“Our biggest challenge was to make the city a little more entrepreneurial in how it handles its budget … how the money comes in, how the money goes out,” the mayor replied when asked about how well four short years had gone.

“We invested in a tow lot which will bring in millions; we cut some longstanding practices such as unquestioned sick leave abuse; we tackled health care for the uninsured and there are now a little over 7,500 who are in CareNet or who have been placed into other existing programs; we tried to change things with respect to the longstanding insider network that tended to preclude a level playing field for minorities in city contracts; we listened to the citizens who indicated they wanted civility on the 22^nd floor and we attempted to do that and, finally, we made great strides in working with the disabled community – curb repair, housing, ordinance on visibility, the first wheelchair accessible playground in northwest Ohio; we repaired more roads than any other mayor has and built more new homes as well.”

What he didn’t mention initially was his very early decision to get a smoking ban passed, without dissent, through City Council – the first such ban for a major Ohio city. It was a decision that, frankly, cut into revenues for some city businesses such as restaurants and bars. It was such an unpopular decision in so many quarters that it made his 2005 re-election loss a virtual certainty.
 

But Mayor Jack Ford never expressed any regret over the decision. “I would definitely do it again,” he said then. “I believe there will be people alive in 25 years that otherwise wouldn’t be.”

He may have paid a political price for that courage of conviction but Toledo’s smoking ban provided an example and cleared the path for other elected officials in Columbus and, later, in Lansing, MI to do the right thing and implement state-wide smoking bans.

And with that, Ford exited the political scene and attended his retirement party later in the week. Except, of course, he didn’t quite retire from the political scene, did he?

I got a call a couple of months after Jack left office and had moved on to other things such as teaching. He asked me if he could join The Truth as a political columnist. I thought long and hard about that, perhaps for as long as a millisecond, before saying “yeah, sure, absolutely, you betcha!”

For years, before he ran again for office, Jack handled the chores of dispensing invaluable political insight and wisdom to The Truth’s readers. He wrote about local, state and national politics from the viewpoint of an insider and, clearly, he was always an insider whether in or out of office.

“Tough times are ahead for the Midwest states of Michigan and Ohio,” wrote Jack in February 2007, a year and a half before the economy bottomed out. “The economic heart of these two industrial giants is being ripped out by global forces which cannot be ignored …”

Then Jack jumped back into politics with a flourish, running for the Toledo Board of Education, then City Council and even considering a run for state representative as an independent. His health struggles in recent years did not diminish his enthusiasm for playing a leadership role in this town and for pushing forward his favorite policy initiatives.

In the years to come, Jack’s legacy as a visionary trend-setter may or may not always be celebrated as much as his gruffness and obstinacy will be. But make no mistake, he was indeed blessed with the ability to see things as they should be. Along with Carty, well before either one became mayor, he revamped the city’s management and introduced the strong mayor concept and the city council structure as we know it today. When in the mayor’s office, along with the smoking ban, he brought CareNet into existence in order to insure the uninsured. That’s a policy that would later be adopted nationwide, of course.

Jack was always a relevant force and an important voice in his adopted home town – no matter which office he held and even when he was out of office. There aren’t enough buildings and streets in this town to name after him.

Kaptur Statement on Passing of Former Toledo Mayor Jack Ford

Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur issued the following statement in response to news of the passing of former Toledo mayor Jack Ford:

"It is with a heavy heart that I extend my deepest sympathy to the Ford family: his wife Cynthia, his children, and his friends and associates. Our community and citizenry holds an abiding gratitude for his lifetime of dedicated and honorable service to us. He was one of a kind.

Mayor Jack Ford gave his life, decade after decade, to our entire community. As newly elected President of Toledo City Council, he just kept the beat of the City close to him. With every step, he directed himself to move our community and America forward.

He made history. As an educator, health professional, and political activist, Mayor Ford became the very first African American Mayor elected in Toledo. He served in the State legislature and understood the interconnections of our City to the world beyond it. His knowledge was hard-earned and unique. With his election as Mayor, he elevated our community to a more inclusive and progressive place. He made us proud.  Jack was all business. He always demonstrated a hands-on, can do attitude.

He was a master of the City budget and directed his Administration to make long neglected improvements.

Even when not feeling well, he carried forward his duties in a soldierly and persevering manner, earning respect from all who knew him.

I particularly appreciated his genius and wry sense of humor. He never missed a beat. Our entire region has benefited from his generous and focused life on behalf of others.

May the angels carry him to a place of peace and rest. He has been truly a good, faithful, and honorable servant."

Statement from Mayor Paula Hicks-Hudson

It is with great sadness that we learn Toledo City Councilman, and former Mayor John “Jack” Ford has passed away on March 21, 2015. His loss leaves our community as well as his family with great sadness.

Toledo not only lost a great Councilman, and former Mayor, but a past State Representative, House Minority leader, Council President, dedicated public servant, father, and grandfather. Our City will deeply mourn his loss.

It is with compassion that we remember Jack Ford passed away doing what he loved, serving the people of this great City. In all his time as a public servant John “Jack” Ford fought for equality, healthcare, and access to the basic needs for our citizens. We give our hearts and our thoughts to his family and friends during this time

Copyright © 2015 by [The Sojourner's Truth]. All rights reserved.
Revised: 08/16/18 14:12:23 -0700.

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