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Hicks-Hudson, who had been
president of Toledo City Council representing District 4,
ascended to her current position upon the death of former
Mayor D. Michael Collins in early 2015. She won the right to
complete that term in a special election in November 2015.
Two months ago, the
prospect of Hicks-Hudson finishing in the top two seemed
distant to a variety of insiders, said one Democratic
elected official. The work of local unions, particularly the
UAW, helped push the mayor’s totals over the top of her two
opponents, the official told The Truth.
Of primary concern to the
mayor’s campaign as the race moves into October, is where
Waniewski’s mostly white, Republican voters will land on
Election Day.
However, the election
enters a brand new phase now that the primary is over. A
total of 24,894 votes were cast in the mayoral primary and,
if past election totals are any indication, twice that
number of votes will be cast in the two-person general
election.
In the Toledo City Council
contest, the primary featured 13 candidates vying for 12
general election ballot spots. The filed of 12 aspirants for
at-large seats on Council will be narrowed to six in
November. Only candidate Tom Names was eliminated in the
primary – he earned a scant 2.83 percent of the total.
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Finishing in the two top
positions – as expected – were the incumbent council
members Sandy Spang, an independent, at number one,
and Republican Rob Ludeman. Finishing next were the
two endorsed Democratic incumbents, Larry Sykes and
Cecelia Adams, PhD. Sykes is running for a second
term; Adams, who was appointed to council in April
2015 upon the death of Jack Ford, is running for a
full four-year term. Sykes and Adams both finished
with slightly more than 10 percent of the vote.
Harvey Savage, an
unendorsed Democrat, and Gary Johnson, endorsed
Democratic candidate rounded out the top six vote
getters, each with over eight percent of the total.
Savage is the executive director of the Martin
Luther King, Jr. Kitchen for the Poor. Johnson, the
owner of American Flooring Installers, is a
long-time Democratic operative. Both are first-time
candidates. All four Democratic candidates in the
top six are African American. |
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Three endorsed Democratic
candidates – Nick Komives, Sam Melden and City Councilman
Kurt Young – finished seventh, eighth and ninth,
respectively. Komives is the executive director of Equality
Toledo – an organization focused on ensuring equal rights
for the LGBTQ community. Melden is director of growth and
advancement for Leadership Toledo and Young, an attorney and
Old West End activist, was appointed to City Council upon
the resignation of Theresa Gabriel.
Endorsed Republicans,
Patricia Robinson and Alphonso Narvaez, and unendorsed
Democrat Clyde Phillips finished, 10th, 11th
and 12th, respectively.
The general election is
scheduled for November 7 and early voting begins on
Wednesday, October 11 at the Early Voting Center, 1301
Monroe Street. |
