To: The City of Toledo, Lucas County Commissioners

From: Carol Smith, escapee from Toledo

Yet again you have succeeded in driving another taxpaying citizen from your herd. A taxpaying, self-employed, property-owning citizen. Gone. Poof! And my money left with me.

You see, the career landscape in Ohio, and particularly in Toledo, is in dire need of revamping. The constant taxing, levies, social control issues, governmental interference and sniping among the elected officials have taken their toll on me.

And that is something that doesn’t have to happen — over and over again. But it will. It’s ingrained in the minds of the folks that live there. But, in my opinion, that is due largely to the defeatist outlook of the citizenry. They, the citizens of Toledo, are the victims of an abusive relationship. Just like a battered spouse, to the point that they have nowhere to turn for help since the state government is also in shambles.

When I arrived in Toledo in April 2000, I saw a city that had all the potential it needed to be a successful destination, a city with miles of riverfront property and access, a city rife with history and classical architecture. Toledo has a real leg up just by virtue of its geographical location, with access to anywhere in a matter of minutes, be it in Ohio or to one of the surrounding states.

It has all the physical attributes to be a success. But it’s not. And it probably won’t be anytime in the foreseeable future. And that is very sad. A total waste.

From Day One I threw myself into community affairs. I volunteered for just about every program there was. I cleaned up parks, talked with folks to elicit ideas to make Toledo better, familiarized myself with city council and the commissioners, got to know some of the neighborhood inspectors and did everything I could to contribute in a positive manner. And, in retrospect, all for naught.

About a year ago, I came to the realization that Toledo enjoys wallowing in self pity. The council and the administration puff up their chests and proclaim that change is on the way; the commissioners try to create a bunch of warm fuzzies so it looks like there is hope on the horizon, but it’s a ruse, plain and simple. The idea of progress is truly a terrifying thing for the powers that be. And you can bet that, as long as the same old people keep getting elected to the same old offices, well, it ain’t gonna change.

And the citizens of Toledo? They claim that they want change. They want progress. They want what other areas have. But when it comes down to the wire and it’s time to change their way of thinking; it’s not going to happen. They fear what they say they want. And that fear is killing Toledo a little each day.

Until such time as the officials that are empowered with making decisions on the behalf of the citizens realize that change has to happen, there will be none. And without change, the citizens are doomed to more of the same perpetrated by more of the same.

If you really want change, then embrace it. Quit fighting it. Quit making excuses as to why things can’t be done. Just quit! It sounds more like the battered spouse making excuses as to why she has another black eye — “Oh, it’s just this once. It won’t happen again. It’s not as bad as it seems. It will get better.”

It hasn’t. And it won’t. And I’m so very happy that I made a decision to research other locations and made a choice to take care of me and mine. I cannot afford to live in Toledo any longer.

Toledo has all the ingredients to be a success. It’s already there. But there won’t be any success without change. The brain drain will continue. The exodus will become more apparent as time goes by.

I made some wonderful friends while in Toledo, and I will miss them tremendously. But, in an effort at self-preservation, I have moved on. And my friends understand. Some have even said that they would love to do the same thing. But for their own reasons, they can’t or won’t.

My door is always open to them, as is my heart.

Farewell, Toledo. With all that waterfront property, you are still missing the boat.

Carol Smith is a former Toledo

Realtor.

This entry was posted on Saturday, November 22nd, 2008 at 5:50 pm and is filed under Guest Column.
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