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On June 1, the Lucas County Democratic Party named longtime
politician and community leader Michael Ashford as its new
party chairman. Just two months later, hardly enough time to
settle in, Ashford must navigate several immediate crises
that could threaten the Party’s relevance in northwest Ohio.
Among the urgent challenges are the unpredictability
surrounding the high-stakes 2020 Election and a concurrent
public health crisis that carries the trauma associated with
COVID-19. Added to these is the anxiety generated by
sky-high local unemployment numbers and the potential
political fallout after four black city councilmen were
charged in a bribery probe.
Since a crisis, perhaps, is also the best revealer of one’s
character and leadership ability, I felt compelled to speak
one on one with Michael Ashford. We discussed his plan to
meet the challenges of today’s turbulent social, economic
and political environment.
Perryman: What is the
current state of the Lucas County Democratic Party?
Ashford: We have
accomplished a lot, given the enormous challenges we are
facing. We had our first executive committee meeting on
July 20 and had a great turnout. Sixty-seven out of 75
executive members participated in that Zoom meeting. From
there, we were able to establish and appoint a chair and
vice-chairs for at least five of our committees. We’ve been
able to work on our fundraisers and a lot of internal issues
that we had going in. Overall, we provided some direction,
we’re getting a lot of things cleaned up and moving forward.
And we’ve got a great team.
That’s the key. If you
have a great team, which we do, and learn to identify
brilliant people, which we have, and empower them and let
them do their job, things get done and a lot faster. So
we’ve put all that in process. A year from now, we’ll
likely be back to being the old Democratic Party, very
strong.
Perryman: The leadership
and management experts also stress the need to get the right
people on the bus. The next step is to make sure that people
are in the right seats, so to speak. Do you have your team
positioned in the right seats?
Ashford: Absolutely. We
looked at all of the talented people who were part of the
Democratic community. Even though some may not have been
active, we identified good people and inserted them into the
correct positions. We now have a strong executive
committee. Let me give you this; there are 53 at-large
members, of which 45 are brand new folks. That tells you we
have new faces and fresh ideas moving forward instead of
recycling the same people into different seats. We don’t
just put you on a committee just to fill a slot. We, now,
look at your background and see if you are a fit on that
committee. So, we have good people in proper places.
Perryman: Let’s get right
to it. One major challenge you face is replacing the four
councilpersons who recently agreed to be suspended.
Ashford: Eventually, we
will replace four people, but the way it works now is that
Probate Judge Jack Puffenberger will make the appointments
for temporary councilpersons. All the Party is doing right
now is posting the information on our webpage or Facebook
and referring interested people to contact Judge
Puffenberger until August 21.
Once the relevant seats
come up again and are available, that’s when it comes back
to the Democratic Party. We will then put candidates through
our extensive screening process, which will be a lot better
than it was under previous leadership. We have added some
standards and new expectations in our process. Eventually,
all the seats will come back to us, but now we don’t know
when that will happen.
Perryman: This may be a
delicate dance, but who are some promising candidates?
Ashford: I have not talked
to Judge Puffenberger.
Perryman: The rumor is that
Judge Puffenberger has put together a committee to look at
resumes to make recommendations for a good fit. I’ve heard
that there are 25, 30 names out there who have expressed an
interest, including Keith Jordan, Julian Mack, John Jones,
Dominique Warren, Norris Finley and Wendi Huntley.
I have also heard that
certain influential members of the Party are making phone
calls to recruit new councilpersons. Candice Harrison is one
that, perhaps, has been contacted. They have also reached
out to Randall Parker for District 4 and Marsha Hill and
Theresa Gabriel for District 1. Josh Abernathy of the
Building Trades, though not a minority, his name has also
come up.
Ashford: At this point,
it’s an open process, and there are names out there floating
around, but I don’t know.
Perryman: I have also heard
that those who are interested should be prepared to be
scrutinized. Candidates should make sure that their taxes,
water bills, etc. are paid because they will be under a
microscope.
Candidates who possess a
business background, electability or who understand the role
of a councilperson and can walk right in the door and
perform the job are preferred.
Ashford: Again, the
appointments are not coming through the Party; we don’t even
take calls. If anybody calls the Party or looks at our
Facebook and website, we have directed them to Jack
Puffenberger. His contact is
judgepuff@lucas-co-probate-ct.org. You can also mail
your resume to: Judge Jack Puffenberger, Lucas County
Probate Court, 700 Adams St. Ste. 200, Toledo, OH 43604; or
leave it in the probate court dropbox.
Perryman: What effect will
the simultaneous suspensions of four blacks have on city
council?
Ashford: Taking away
almost 80 percent of African-American representation on city
council has a tremendous impact. I want to see that people
of color are replaced by people of color. However, I want to
make sure people clearly understand that you’re not going on
city council to just an assumed seat, you’re going on to
actually serve people.
Perryman: The sole task of
a city councilmember, then, is to serve people. Is that
what you’re saying?
Ashford: The number one
priority, if the applicant is applying, is to understand
that you’re there to work on behalf of the citizens of this
community. You can’t go in because of your ego or because
you want to make a name for yourself. You’re going in there
to help people.
Perryman: Will the
suspended councilpersons’ legal issues burden the Democrats
throughout the election?
Ashford: Absolutely not.
The indictments will not hold us back, or better yet, hold
any Democrat back when we’re going to the polls. You have
to understand; people are concerned about their daily
lives. We have 48 million people in this country that are
unemployed, an unemployment rate of 18 percent in Lucas
County, almost one out of five people not working. People
are trying to figure out where their next meal or their next
check is coming from. They know they have to get out and
vote in this presidential election because they don’t want
to go the next four years with Donald Trump.
Perryman: Leadership and
other experts suggest that the first step in managing a
crisis is to stabilize the situation. The next step is to
“adapt to the uncertainties of a new reality in order to
thrive.” Since the crisis is far from over, where does the
Lucas County Democratic Party go from here?
Ashford: Over the next 12
months, we’ll get through the process. We’ll start putting
people back in place on city council and we’ll be proud of
them. We’ll do a good job and move forward to bring our
core Democratic values back to this community. That’s where
we go from there. It is one thing at a time and we’re
getting there. We’ve already had some small victories and we
feel terrific about them.
Perryman: Two final things.
The mail has been slowed down by the U.S. Postal System. How
do we overcome the challenge of trying to vote in a pandemic
without getting sick? The last issue is your take on the
mayor’s tax proposals.
Ashford: The first issue
is one that the Ohio Secretary of State has the power to
order. In fact, Toledo is relevant because our mail goes to
Michigan. Columbus’ mail stays in Columbus and Cleveland’s
mail stays in Cleveland, so we have a much more significant
challenge. Even though the mail is being slowed down
throughout the country, ours is just as bad as it gets.
Nevertheless, the Ohio
Secretary of State has the power to order the postmaster or
the governor has the power to ensure that if mail is labeled
Board of Elections for Lucas County, it stays right here in
Toledo and does not go to Michigan. So, that’s the first
thing.
The second one is that I
support both tax levies because they care about jobs, the
public safety of our community, and making sure that our
streets are taken care of and maintained. So, yes, I support
them both.
Perryman: Are you going to
contact the governor to change the mail policy?
Ashford: I think that
message comes from our state representatives and our state
senators. In fact, they have a bigger voice in Columbus
than I do right now. If they make the mail policy a priority
and get it in front of the governor, a change could happen.
The good thing is we have great representation in Columbus.
We have Paula Hicks-Hudson, Lisa Sobecki and Marcy Kaptur.
They know our concerns and are well able to address our
needs in Columbus.
Perryman: Thank you.
Contact Rev. Donald Perryman, D.Min, at
drdlperryman@centerofhopebaptist.org |
