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“Thrust into leadership under the most tragic of
circumstances,” as Mayor Paula Hicks-Hudson’s video begins,
situated her campaign message squarely on the difficult
challenges of everyday life like work, safety and trying to
take care of the people around us and that we love.
The message, in that sense, positioned her as the perfect
foil to the former mayors, Michael Bell and Carty Finkbeiner,
who up to that point were seen as the main characters in the
2015 election to serve the final two years of the late Mayor
D. Michael Collins’ term.
The overall strategy, termed by many as “the most
sophisticated political operation that this city has ever
seen,” maximally utilized a resourceful Ohio Democratic
Party machine to back the mayor with a strong ground game,
television ads, and a large volunteer base to highlight the
need for “level-headed” leadership for Toledo’s current
situation and for the future.
The game plan was enough to soundly defeat a re-invented
Bell and Finkbeiner, the “consummate politician.”
Aimed at Carty’s perceived past erratic behavior in staff
relations and Bell’s stigma of arrogance and confrontation
related to his past position on the anti-labor Senate Bill
5, Hicks-Hudson’s message, essentially said, “I have
passion, but I don’t need to be erratic. I provide cool,
calm, consistent leadership by moving patiently, carefully
and incrementally.” More than anything else, the message
went to the core of her character and ultimately resonated
with the voters, a large number of whom were undecided until
the last minute.
While critics previously complained about Hicks-Hudson’s
early administrative deliberateness and perceived slowness
to take a public stance on controversial political issues,
it is now clear that she was savvy enough to first buy
enough time to “get the lay of the land,” to gauge her true
support and to learn whom to trust while navigating around
political minefields in the transition from 22nd
Floor outsider to insider and from councilperson to mayor.
What has also been revealed is that, by shifting the focus
from herself and onto the everyday issues of ordinary people
rather than preaching, moralizing and making the campaign
“all about the candidate” is what people today want and need
most.
Tragic circumstances like the death of the previous mayor, a
tainted water supply, and the potential loss of a major
employer such as Fiat Chrysler, requires quiet leadership
that addresses “realistic responses to important human
problems” and not the profiling of oneself as a strong
“super-hero.”
It appears that while Hicks-Hudson’s more celebrated
“hardline” opponents were barking and howling at the moon,
Toledo’s citizens desired a mayor whom they know, whether
working quietly behind the scenes or using the art of
compromise, will address the concerns and issues in front of
their homes, on their street, in their block and in their
neighborhood.
Finally, Hicks-Hudson’s
overwhelming election has demonstrated that responsible
leadership does not have to be loud or aggressive. Neither
does it have to be charismatic, but it does have to address
the everyday concerns of ordinary people.
For, we don’t want another
super-hero. A leader who addresses practical, everyday
problems suits us just fine.
Contact Rev. Donald Perryman, D.Min, at
drdlperryman@centerofhopebaptist.org |
