{"id":17736,"date":"2025-11-13T18:04:05","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T18:04:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/?p=17736"},"modified":"2025-11-13T18:04:05","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T18:04:05","slug":"a-new-chapter-in-toledo-politics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/13\/a-new-chapter-in-toledo-politics\/","title":{"rendered":"A New Chapter in Toledo Politics"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Donald Perryman<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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

\u00a0\u00a0When Black women stand up\u2014when they speak the truth, when they refuse to be silenced\u2014things begin to change. <\/em>\u2013 bell hooks<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

The main takeaway from last week\u2019s municipal election is that when Black women lead, the city takes notice.<\/p>\n

For the first time in Toledo\u2019s history, two African American women \u2014 Councilwomen Cerssandra McPherson and Brittany Jones, PhD, \u2014 were the top vote-getters in the at-large City Council race.<\/p>\n

Mayor\u00a0Wade Kapszukiewicz\u00a0interprets the outcome as \u201ca vivid illustration of the enduring importance of African Americans to the Democratic Party\u2019s coalition.\u201d While national headlines focused on Democratic Party wins across the country, Toledo\u2019s local result carried its own message:\u00a0Black women voters \u2014 and leaders \u2014 are now at the center of the city\u2019s political gravity.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfrican American women form the single most loyal voting bloc within the Democratic Party,\u201d the mayor said to The Truth. \u201cTo have Cerssandra and Dr. Jones perform so well speaks to the political power African Americans wield in Toledo.\u201d<\/p>\n

With Councilwoman Vanice Williams, who now serves as City Council President, leading alongside McPherson and Jones, the women form a triad of influence the city has never seen before. Working collaboratively on the priorities of Jones, McPherson and Williams, the mayor pledged to push forward policies on neighborhood reinvestment, youth opportunity, and public safety\u2014 initiatives designed to directly confront the realities of Toledo\u2019s most neglected neighborhoods.<\/p>\n

This election also marks a generational turning point in Black political leadership emerging before our eyes. Since the passing of Mayor Jack Ford, the local political torch seemed suspended between eras, and McPherson sees her role as one of mentoring and multiplication.<\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cI\u2019m committed to mentoring the next generation of leaders. When people stand and speak together as a community \u2014and not let politicians divide them\u2014they are at their most powerful to create change,\u201d she emphasized.<\/p>\n

Yet, Toledo\u2019s new political reality is not just about who won\u2014it\u2019s about what their victory represents.<\/p>\n

Although Lucas County\u2019s voter turnout barely cleared 21 percent, Elections Director Lavera Scott observed that people seemed to vote \u201cmore consciously\u201d this cycle. \u201cThey\u2019re not just voting for all six candidates (as they have often done in past elections), they\u2019re voting only for the ones who represent their values.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scott\u2019s observation is a reminder that authenticity still matters in an era of politics-by-polling and of the declining influence of high-profile endorsements.<\/p>\n

Constantly visible but never self-promoting, McPherson\u2019s advocacy has always been grounded in service rather than the spotlight. Whether she\u2019s at a neighborhood cleanup, a prayer vigil, or a community meeting, McPherson shows up\u2014not for cameras, but for people. As a result, \u201cthe votes I received reflect a broad coalition from across Toledo, but I also know the African American community clearly represented a major bloc of support, because they know me best. They know what I stand for in my heart,\u201d she told me after the election.<\/p>\n

While McPherson brings institutional knowledge, experience and a long-standing institutional network, including the Black church and labor, Brittany Jones brings a background in health and a focus on Toledo\u2019s struggles with food insecurity and community wellness.<\/p>\n

Yet, as Toledo writes this new chapter in its political story, the implications reach beyond a single election.<\/p>\n

A longtime political analyst and local election observer summed up the moment this way: \u201cThe rise of these two successful candidates means they got more than just traditional central-city support. This has to be meaningful.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added that if McPherson, Jones and Council President Vanice Williams can use their platform to \u201craise issues and get results,\u201d their success could expand Black political participation for years to come. \u201cIt\u2019s something that can be built on, if their leadership translates into visible change.\u201d<\/p>\n

The challenge now is to ensure that the story of November 2025 is not just a headline stating that two Black women made history, but that the event becomes a movement toward a more equitable, participatory Toledo, where every neighborhood and every voter matters.<\/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 \u00a0\u00a0When Black women stand up\u2014when they speak the truth, when they refuse to be silenced\u2014things begin to change. \u2013 bell hooks   The main takeaway from last week\u2019s municipal election is that when Black women lead, the city takes notice. For the first time in Toledo\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17737,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55,252,17],"tags":[],"wf_post_folders":[320],"class_list":["post-17736","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editorial-opinion","category-politics","category-local"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17736","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=17736"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17736\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17738,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17736\/revisions\/17738"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17737"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17736"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17736"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17736"},{"taxonomy":"wf_post_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wf_post_folders?post=17736"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}