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For 18 years, Judge
McConnell has held sway over such issues so this is a huge
election because of the change at the top and the impact of
the court.
Jim Anderson
Republican Jim Anderson,
an attorney in private practice, is running to replace Judge
C. Allen McConnell on the Toledo Municipal Housing Court.
For Anderson, election to the Municipal Court would bring
his legal career full circle – back to the place where he
first received practical experience in the law and to the
court where he has returned so often as an advocate.
Anderson, who earned his
undergraduate degree from the University of Connecticut and
graduated from the University of Toledo College of Law, was
hired by McConnell in 2007 to serve as the court’s Law Clerk
and Bailiff during his first year in law school. He held the
position until after the completion of his law degree,
through the bar exam and his admittance to the Ohio State
Bar in 2010.
In private practice,
Anderson has been involved in virtually every kind of case
seen in Municipal Court – disputes between landlord and
tenants and those individuals before the Court for Housing
Code violations of various sorts.
One of Anderson’s chief
concerns about the Court is its handling, now and in the
future, of cases involving blight or potential blight caused
by vacant buildings and lots. He applauds the progress that
the Lucas County Land Bank has made in clearing vacant
houses.
“What do we do about
vacant lots? That’s blight also – it’s a situation where the
lot is not serving a function, not helpful to youth or the
beautification of a neighborhood. Folks like Thomas Jackson,
who have taken those abandoned properties, getting them
cleaned up – it’s my position that they should be encouraged
and supported and applauded – that is exactly the type of
energy we need to be doing city-wide.”
The Housing Court under
Anderson’s direction – should he prevail in November – would
be generally supportive of those efforts to improve property
“and would not be looking to be punitive,” he says. The
Housing Court, he says, needs to be “on the front line to
improve neighborhoods.”
“I’m hoping to change
hearts and minds about our properties and neighborhoods and
our city. I want to bring a contagious love for our
neighborhoods and city. It’s going to take everybody to do
their best and be their best – I don’t think we are getting
that now. Some things are being over-enforced, some things
are being under-enforced.
“If a mom and pop don’t
understand that they need a permit to fix the back railing
and he’s out there with his circular saw and an inspector
rolls up, puts a stop work order on it and says ‘you gotta
go get a permit’ … I’m not crazy about that.
“On the other hand, if a
contractor who’s not getting licenses and is doing those
kinds of nickel and dime jobs for neighbors and not holding
up his end, I want him to do it the right way too.
“We have to find that
sweet spot.”
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