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A longtime member of the
Lucas Metropolitan Housing Authority and the Toledo Board of
Education, to name just a few, Sykes has spent a career
focusing on the wellness and safety of those affected by his
leadership. And the lead ordinance has brought a lot of that
experience into focus for him.
“When I was on the LMHA
board, I didn’t understand how lead impacted kids,” he
recalls. When he was on the school board and in the midst of
kids and learning of the problems those with disabilities
had, the welfare of children came into sharp focus
particularly with respect to the two key issues of lead and
diet. While on school board, he explains, the administration
brought in corporate partners and “we changed the whole food
process.” Sykes oversaw the diet change from one consisting
of grease, grease and chocolate milk to a balanced menu that
includes fruit, vegetables and fruit.
After nearly four years on
City Council, Sykes feels he has similarly helped to address
an even more critical health hazard for area youngsters.
“After being on the school board, I went up to the next
level to ask ‘how does the city work with the school board
to better serve kids?’”
Over the next four years
his next task, he says, will be to work to obtain matching
funds to eradicate the lead that’s so pervasive in local
housing.
As Sykes describes his
priorities as an elected legislator, they all revolve around
improving the well being of his constituents – health,
safety, financial success.
To improve safety and get
a better handle on crime and violence, Sykes is pushing,
among other ideas, the concept of police substations in
neighborhoods and he notes there are any number of existing
buildings that can be converted – such as at Wilson Park,
City Park or Mott Branch Library when the new branch is
completed.
As chairman of the City
Council Finance Committee, Sykes, a retired banker, has had
a hand in examining most of the recent moves that have
brought such an influx of business development to downtown
Toledo and he has also been committed to the cause of
limiting pay day lenders’ reach into neighborhoods and
helping those in need explore their options when faced with
unfair housing practices.
“There is no wealth like
knowledge; there is no poverty like ignorance,” he says.
For Sykes, City Council is
the culmination of years of public service, years in which
he says his leadership abilities have enabled him to get
things done. Leadership, he explains “is being able to bring
people together and is being able to sell what you know as
being best for the public.”
The Scott High School
graduate who attended Central State University retired from
Fifth Third Bank after 30 years – a vice president and
community affairs officer in his last position. He currently
serves on a half dozen boards: Lucas County Children
Services; St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center; the Mentoring
Collaborative Advisory Council; University of Toledo African
American Community Advisory Committee, the Victim Witness
Program; along with City Council.
In the past, Sykes has
been on more than three dozen different boards, commissions
and associations, including a number of statewide positions.
“I bring experience,” he
says of his lengthy record serving a number of causes and
programs. “Nobody has my experience.”
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