{"id":17460,"date":"2025-10-16T19:07:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T19:07:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/?p=17460"},"modified":"2025-10-16T19:07:57","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T19:07:57","slug":"the-scramble-for-the-gavel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/16\/the-scramble-for-the-gavel\/","title":{"rendered":"The Scramble for the Gavel"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Donald Perryman<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Rev. Donald L. Perryman, Ph.D.<\/strong><\/em>
\nThe Truth Contributor<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The future belongs to those who organize it. <\/em>\u2013 Ralph Helstein<\/p>\n

The mad scramble to replace Carrie Hartman\u2019s unexpected and seemingly sudden resignation as president of Toledo City Council will reveal not only who\u2019s ambitious, but also who truly understands the mechanics of power.<\/p>\n

Names of potential successors currently circulating include Vanice Williams, Nick Komives, Teresa Morris and\u00a0Cerssandra McPherson, among others. Each brings energy and experience, but their ability to organize a winning coalition remains to be seen. \u201cThey\u2019re scraping but not all on the same page and are unable to lobby for the votes to give them a majority,\u201d one anonymous source confided. \u201cThey don\u2019t know how to caucus.\u201d<\/p>\n

That word \u2014 caucus<\/em> \u2014 holds the key to Toledo\u2019s political future.<\/p>\n

Williams has been heavily campaigning for the position. She appears to be the early frontrunner, thanks to her close alignment with Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz, who casts a large shadow over One Government Center. Her relationship with the administration could give the mayor what every municipal chief executive wants \u2014 a cooperative council president.<\/p>\n

Critics, however, see this as a liability. \u201cIf the mayor doesn\u2019t have somebody willing to rubber-stamp everything he wants, he\u2019s got a big problem,\u201d another political observer told me. Williams could solve that conundrum, but in doing so, she may also confirm concerns about city council\u2019s independence.<\/p>\n

Komives, respected for his policy focus, is also \u201cworking it, absolutely,\u201d but has yet to garner a visible coalition. Morris, the current vice president, is steady and respected but non-committal. McPherson, a perennial hopeful, possesses community credibility but has secured limited traction thus far.<\/p>\n

A finalist will soon emerge, but whoever prevails, the deeper question is whether the process will produce leadership \u2014 or merely management.<\/p>\n

The Missing Bloc<\/p>\n

Today, African American members hold four of Toledo City Council\u2019s twelve seats, and those of Hispanic heritage occupy two others.<\/p>\n

Yet their collective power remains underdeveloped. Despite numerical strength, there is little evidence of strategic unity \u2014 no common agenda, no disciplined caucus, no shared approach to bargaining for influence or resources.<\/p>\n

That absence matters. Because six votes, when organized, can determine what legislation advances, what committees matter and who becomes president.<\/p>\n

But six individual votes, cast separately, will continue to be ignored. Therefore, it is essential now to elect someone as president of the council who can effectively unite people.<\/p>\n

If Toledo\u2019s Black leadership acted with the same strategic purpose that animated the Congressional Black Caucus\u00a0(CBC) in Washington, D.C., which famously declared that \u201cBlack people have no permanent friends, no permanent enemies, only permanent\u00a0interests,\u201d\u00a0they could transform city governance.<\/p>\n

Imagine a Toledo Council Black Caucus (TCBC) that negotiates together as a bloc: \u201cWe\u2019ll deliver our four or six votes for president (or other agenda items) if our communities receive proportional resources, investment, and respect.\u201d<\/em> That\u2019s not division; that\u2019s democracy at work.<\/p>\n

A Short-Term Presidency, a Long-Term Test<\/p>\n

Hartman\u2019s successor will serve only until January, when a new council reorganizes. But symbols matter, and who ultimately grasps the gavel could redefine how Toledo governs itself in the future. Will city council mirror the mayor\u2019s office or more directly reflect the will of the community and voters?<\/p>\n

The truth is: Representation without coordination produces visibility but not results. Therefore, the next level of Toledo\u2019s Black political maturity requires moving \u201cfrom just being at the table to setting the menu.\u201d<\/p>\n

From Representation to Power<\/p>\n

The Congressional Black Caucus, established in 1971 as a non-partisan caucus to “positively influence the course of events pertinent to African Americans and others of similar experience and situation,” taught us that political maturity begins with unity of purpose.<\/p>\n

Founders Charles Diggs of Michigan, Shirley Chisholm of New York, Louis Stokes of Ohio and Bill Clay of Missouri didn\u2019t wait to\u00a0be invited; they organized, negotiated and insisted on reciprocity. Toledo\u2019s Black leadership has that same opportunity now \u2014 to caucus, unify, coordinate and claim what has long been theirs by right and representation.<\/p>\n

While Toledo wrestles with economic inequity and inadequate resources, the next council president may only serve a few months. But what happens between now and then could determine whether Toledo remains a city managed by personalities \u2014 or led by a coalition with purpose.<\/p>\n

For certain, Carrie Hartman\u2019s resignation leaves a vacuum. The question is whether Toledo\u2019s Black leadership will harness its power or let it pass them by, continuing to leave our community on the outside looking in.<\/p>\n

Contact Rev. Donald Perryman, PhD, at <\/em>drdlperryman@centerofhopebaptist.org<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Rev. Donald L. Perryman, Ph.D. The Truth Contributor The future belongs to those who organize it. \u2013 Ralph Helstein The mad scramble to replace Carrie Hartman\u2019s unexpected and seemingly sudden resignation as president of Toledo City Council will reveal not only who\u2019s ambitious, but also who truly understands the mechanics of power. Names of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55,252],"tags":[],"wf_post_folders":[315],"class_list":["post-17460","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-editorial-opinion","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17460","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17460"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17460\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17461,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17460\/revisions\/17461"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17460"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17460"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17460"},{"taxonomy":"wf_post_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wf_post_folders?post=17460"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}