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The 2018 primary election
provides not only an opportunity to shape the quality of
candidates to appear on the November ballot, but also
affords us the power to affect policies and life outcomes
for possibly the next decade.
Democrat, Lisa Sobecki, a
candidate for Ohio House District 45, is attempting to
initiate a new season of legislative outcomes at the state
level and simultaneously transition to a new stage in her
own personal and political evolution.
I spoke with Sobecki just
prior to her May 2 campaign kickoff.
Perryman:
Lisa, please describe your history of service to the
community.
Sobecki: Okay, I served for
eight years on the Toledo Board of Education through some of
the roughest economic times. When I came on the board in
2008 we were facing a projected $94 million deficit and
knowing that, I took the challenge, stepped up to the plate,
and working with our labor unions, we put together a
performance audit strategic plan for the future of Toledo
Public Schools (TPS). And through that strategic plan
performance audit, you see all the great things that they’re
experiencing now in Toledo Public Schools. Today, TPS
provides many opportunities for college and career readiness
that weren’t there before that came out of our strategic
plan. So, I’m very proud of that and the fact that we worked
through that problem and didn’t actually experience a $94
million deficit because we faced it head on before it got to
that point.
Perryman:
Talking about the schools, you also went through the
building era where you oversaw a lot of construction. Please
talk about that period.
Sobecki:
Sure. Of my eight years on the Board of Education I spent
eight years on the Ohio Schools Facility Commission
Committee, either chairing or vice-chairing it. During that
interval, had we not had that Building for Success Program
going on, our unemployment rate in Toledo would’ve probably
been double if not triple the amount it was back then. We
kept this workforce working through the Building for Success
Program. We opened up 44 brand new schools and renovated two
high schools and a number of other elementaries that did not
get new schools. It was a successful program and we
continue to see those rewards, building our kids up to
technology, which we know, was not back in the day. When I
came on the board kids weren’t carrying smart phones like
they are now, but that technology was built into the schools
through the process and they’re testing, as we speak, for
the state testing, which is being done online.
Perryman:
And just as a matter of full disclosure, so to speak, you
and I have not always seen eye to eye, politically. We’ve
had our disagreements in the past, but we’ve not allowed
that to stop our friendship.
Sobecki:
Absolutely. But the beauty of that, though, shows the
strength that I have, is we can always come to the table and
work together. And, if necessary, we can agree on those
disagreements, but you’re exactly right. We continue to have
conversations and I think there’s more that we do agree on
than what we’ve ever disagreed on in the past.
Perryman:
Right, and moving forward and not holding grudges and
exchanging ideas whereby some of the things that you’ve done
have had an effect on my thinking and hopefully I’ve been
able to do the same. So TPS today, at least in my thinking,
has also been able to develop a lot more community
partnerships than when you first began on the Board. Can you
talk about how they’ve expanded their community outreach?
Sobecki:
Sure. When I came on as a board member, we lost community
partners for whatever reasons were out there that, sometimes
were my predecessors, but through that though, it wasn’t
just Lisa Sobecki, it was our board. It was all five of us,
and our administration and our labor unions out there that
said ‘we can’t keep operating like this. This is not good.
It’s not good for Toledo Public Schools, it’s not good for
our communities, it’s not good for the city.’ And so that is
something that we took on - to rebuild those relationships
and to incorporate those community partners in our schools.
Again, I go back to that
strategic plan and also hiring Dr. Romules Durant. I came on
the board and we went through three different
superintendents. We had Dr. Durant and a couple of
treasurers and we had board vacancies, but the board members
that were elected, we stayed strong, we built those
community relationships, but we couldn’t do it in a vacuum
and we couldn’t do it without that top leadership at the
table, and Dr. Durant knew the value of that and we are
continuing to see those partnerships grow and become
strengthened every day. So it’s been a win-win for everyone.
Perryman:
Right. And, from my observations, it appears that there has
been an increase in inclusivity and diversity as far as in
leadership and I would venture to say, also as far as adding
minority employees, am I right about that?
Sobecki:
Yes, you’re absolutely correct. And again, I keep going back
to that strategic plan. I think that sometimes we have to
face criticism head on to correct what we’re being
criticized for and acknowledge it, and that’s exactly what
our board did, along with the administration and our labor
unions. It’s all about working together. Bob Vasquez and I
always kept saying we can’t continue to work in silos. If
we’re going to continue to work in silos that we’re going to
be a very small school district in a very lonely place.
Perryman:
Again, as a matter of full disclosure, I was privileged to
serve as a community representative on the advisory
committee for the strategic plan, which you chaired at the
time. Correct?
Sobecki:
Yes, yes.
Perryman:
Okay, so having been gone from TPS since 2015, how do you
think that that experience has equipped you for the next
stage of your political career?
Sobecki:
Through all my experiences I had with TPS, I’ve gained an
insight that I didn’t have before and looking at what’s
going on in Columbus, the legislature is very siloed. What I
can bring down there in Columbus is to, as I used to say
back in the day, is hang your hat up back there on that hat
rack and put your agenda back there and leave it there as
well as let’s come to the table and work on those things
that we can work together well on. We have to build
relationships and trust, and I believe on that advisory
board, as other committees that we put together at TPS, the
Athletic Advisory Committee, the College to Career Advisory
Committee, the Business Committee that we had, we had to put
our hats on a hat rack and come to the table, have some
honest conversations and to move collectively together. It
wasn’t about what Lisa Sobecki wanted, it wasn’t about what
Pastor Perryman wanted, but it was about what was right for
our school district and what is right for our community and
what was right for our City of Toledo.
Perryman:
Should your campaign prevail what would your agenda be for
this community?
Sobecki:
I don’t have an agenda; I’m a representative of my community
so the community gives me their agenda. What I hear
my community saying is that we continue to send those same
tax dollars down to Columbus, but we’re not getting that
amount that we used to get in the past back here in Toledo.
Everyone else is getting their funding, and I’ve always
heard since I’ve lived here, the three C’s get everything,
but where’s the T? We need to move the T in front of the
three C’s and we can see that through our infrastructure
here. We can see that through the schools here, and we can
see that through the judicial reform here, so we need to
make a T go down in Columbus. So, I’m going to continue to
remind people that Toledo does exist in Ohio.
Perryman:
What issues are at the forefront of your campaign?
Sobecki:
Well, I am strictly opposed to right to work. I am for
adequate and appropriate funding for public education. But
something else I’ve not heard anyone else talking about
though, is how we’re preparing our public education process
for the opioid crisis that we’re currently in. Now that we
have this opioid crisis going on, we’re going to start
seeing these young babies that are being born through the
opioid crisis entering into school, and how are we going to
be able to address that when districts have been forced to
cut back on so many counselors, psychologists in the
buildings because of those budget cuts and the lack of
funding. How are we going to address that?
Perryman:
What are the major challenges faced by your campaign?
Sobecki:
I really haven’t come across any major challenges, because
I’ve talked with folks out there and we’ve built
relationships, we’ve built that network, and so I’m getting
really good responses of support. I recently have been
endorsed by the Ohio AFL CIO; been recently endorsed by Ohio
Federation of Teachers, Toledo Federation of Teachers. I’ve
already been endorsed from Emily’s List and also NARAL
Pro-Choice and just had some private conversations with
folks on endorsements that are going to be coming out after
the primary.
Perryman:
So can you crystallize your campaign message into a sentence
or two?
Sobecki:
I continue to be a mom on a mission. That was my slogan on
the school board. I’m still a mom and I still am on a
mission. I’m just taking my mission down to Columbus. I
should say the people’s mission down to Columbus, not mine.
Perryman:
How do you feel about this potential new season of life
where you go from being a mom at home to becoming a public
official on the road?
Sobecki:
I would just say that I’m excited to get back into being an
elected official. My family is supportive; they’ve always
been supportive. They understand that I’ll be spending some
time away from home, but the beauty is that both of my boys
have graduated and are starting their path to adulthood. And
the reward is just knowing that I have their support and it
means a lot because if you don’t have that family support,
you start out losing from the beginning. They were the
first ones on board and have always stood beside me and just
continuing to have that strength from my family makes me a
stronger representative.
Perryman:
Thank you very much.
Contact Rev. Donald Perryman, D.Min, at
drdlperryman@centerofhopebaptist.org
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