{"id":10568,"date":"2023-12-14T13:12:53","date_gmt":"2023-12-14T13:12:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/?p=10568"},"modified":"2023-12-14T13:12:53","modified_gmt":"2023-12-14T13:12:53","slug":"letter-to-the-editor-a-rebuttal-divisive-decisions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/2023\/12\/14\/letter-to-the-editor-a-rebuttal-divisive-decisions\/","title":{"rendered":"Letter to The Editor: A Rebuttal: Divisive Decisions"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Tony Totty<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Tony Totty, Democrat, President UAW Local 14<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

I found the opinion piece titled Divisive Decisions to be an incorrect and incomplete narrative when it pulled back the curtain of Toledo politics. Yes, the vacancy of Tina Skeldon Wozniak\u2019s Commissioner position is being contested between Ohio State Senator and Toledo\u2019s former Mayor Paula Hicks Hudson and Anita Lopez, the County Auditor.\u00a0 I believe the article had the timeline wrong for how we arrived at this point.<\/p>\n

When Commissioner Skeldon Wozniak made her announcement for retirement in the early fall, this is when Senator Hicks Hudson expressed interest in the position and started the process of exploring support. In the Sojourner Truth August 10th<\/sup> edition, the Embracing Change article wrote:<\/p>\n

Finally, Paula Hicks-Hudson makes a legit case for candidacy, given Lucas County\u2019s demographics. Notably, there hasn\u2019t been a minority on the Board of Lucas County Commissioners since Bill Copeland, the first African American to hold a countywide post, retired in 2002.<\/em><\/p>\n

Hicks-Hudson certainly has the credentials and a remarkable service record, including terms on Toledo City Council, city council president, mayor, state representative, state senator, and Lucas County Democratic Party interim chair.<\/em><\/p>\n

This was the same article that announced the retirement of Commissioner Skeldon Wozniak.\u00a0 Anita Lopez wasn\u2019t even mentioned in the article as a person of interest, instead it was Michael Hart that had the support of the building trades. This also contradicts the narrative of a \u201cdelayed entry\u201d from the former mayor.<\/p>\n

Personally, I was for the third option of having a place holder in the interim and letting the primary take its course.\u00a0 This would have prevented the Central Committee from taking a hard vote that would only deepen divisions. Another benefit from this option would be that neither candidate would lose their current leadership position. \u00a0Now, if one candidate is appointed temporarily and loses in the primary they will be out of their current position.\u00a0 Senator Hicks Hudson agreed to the interim place holder compromise, but her opponent apparently would not.\u00a0 This was unfortunate.\u00a0 Fortunately, we do have two qualified candidates for this position.<\/p>\n

This is the time when the black and brown community\u2019s need to come together on many issues like<\/p>\n