Though his attire is sunny and bright yellow, Toledo Mayor Carty Finkbeiner’s countenance is cloudy.

Just days after Finkbeiner released a letter declaring he will not seek a fourth term, the memories are flooding in.

Born and raised in Toledo’s Westmoreland Historical District, he sits in his One Government Center office July 15 and stares out one of its windows. Below his gaze is the city he has worked in for nearly 22 years, serving eight years as one of its city councilmen, two years as its vice mayor and 12 as its mayor.

Nestled in Toledo’s streets are accolades and achievements, criticisms and controversies. He has known love, hate, respect and rage from its inhabitants.

Finkbeiner pauses before describing his time in office.

Carleton S. Finkbeiner has served eight years on city council, two years as vice mayor and will serve 12 years as mayor.

“I will be the first to admit that in the history of this city, I have probably been the most recognized personality in the mayor’s chair,” Finkbeiner said. “Secondly, I have probably been the most daily discussed and cussed mayor in the history of Toledo. I have probably been one of the most achieving mayors and probably one of the most dissed mayors in the City of Toledo. Every Toledo man and woman has an opinion of Carty Finkbeiner.”

Throughout his years of office, Finkbeiner said, his one goal has remained improving Toledo. In striving for such a goal, he said, he has maintained a clear voice despite attempts to drown his out.

“A lot of people who say they do not want a ‘yes man’ politician take shots at politicians who are strong and bullheaded,” Finkbeiner said. “I don’t easily avoid challenge to my thoughts or my ideas because as a rule, they are pretty well thought out. I am not going to do anything but smile the majority of the time and move forward with that program, that concept which will lead toward an improved quality of life in the city of Toledo.

“You keep right on marching, even if some of the voters say, ‘It is not a good idea.’ ”

At times, Finkbeiner said, weathering backlash was difficult. He said he overcame such obstacles not by remembering his past achievements, but by focusing on future possibilities.

“What keeps me going on is progress,” Finkbeiner said. “I do not want Toledo to be second to any city with 300,000 people in the United States. I want it to be as progressive and as recognized and as celebrated we can possibly be, and the competition is stiff.”

Very thick skin

Friction occurs, he said, when his notions for Toledo’s improvement collide with the opposing ideas of others. Rather than waver under criticism, he said, it strengthened his resolve.

“You have to have a very thick skin,” Finkbeiner said of a mayor’s responsibilities. “The day you let the critics or criticism get your plan to improve Toledo off track is the day you resign. It is a grind you know you gotta do day in and day out. You can’t ever break the routine or the papers will eat you alive.”

Finkbeiner’s said despite this, he is not without regrets. He cited Toledo’s economic morass and his Martin Luther King Jr. Bridge rebuilding project as two situations he believes could have unfolded differently.

“I wish we had had a better economy for the last three and a half years,” he said. “We initially estimated the cost of rebuilding the Martin Luther King Jr. Bridge would be $15 million to $20 million. It ended up costing closer to $50 million. We should have brought in an engineer from outside on that kind of bridge and had the numbers double-checked before we started the construction.”

Understanding the man

Independent mayoral candidate Mike Bell said July 13 Finkbeiner’s tenure in office walked the line between admired and abhorred. Such a blend of opinions, he said, is vital in understanding the man he is hoping to replace.

“His first couple terms were successful and his last one has been a little more controversial,” Bell said. “He has had a mixture of really great things and not so great things. In being fair to him, you will find a mixture of both. History is kind to people, and the city did move forward during his first two terms.”

City council candidate Stephen Ward said July 13 he believed history would disfavor Finkbeiner. Though Ward said Finkbeiner had served as Toledo’s “No. 1 cheerleader” during his time in office, he said Finkbeiner’s actions harmed Toledo as well.

“Unfortunately, I do not think his legacy will be a good one,” Ward said. “He is on the verge of being recalled and I think he will be recalled.”

Thomas Schlachter, Take Back Toledo’s spokesman and treasurer, said July 15 the recall effort will not disappear from November’s ballot.

“Our main goal with regard to the recall was to at least assure he is not the mayor on Jan. 1, 2010,” Schlachter said. “We did not want him to have another term. If his term ends early, that is fine with us. We are not going to withdraw the recall as that would be a slap in the face to all the good people who worked hard on the campaign and the 45,000 people who signed the petition.”

The reason for this, Schlachter said, is the “ineptitude” he believes Finkbeiner displayed in office. Schlachter said Finkbeiner all too often made the wrong choice for Toledo during his years in office.

“He has tried to impose his will on everyone rather than getting good ideas from qualified people,” Schlachter said. “He has journeyed into areas he knows nothing about.”

Finkbeiner said he did not begrudge Take Back Toledo’s mission. He said the kind of politician he presented himself as offered plenty of chances for attack.

“That is not under my control in any way shape or form,” Finkbeiner said of the voters participating in Take Back Toledo. “I don’t feel betrayed. I am not any longer a distant, more-than-an-arms-length-away politician. That makes a person easy to praise and easy to criticize. I do not have control over the recall effort.”

A fast merry-go-round

The burden of serving as Toledo’s mayor, Finkbeiner said, does occasionally wear him down. Though he settled into his office as best he could, he said, the possibility of leaving it behind sometimes sounds appealing.

After he leaves office in January, Finkbeiner said he hopes to spend time with his grandchildren.

“It is a very fast merry-go-round you are on in this job,” Finkbeiner said. “You get used to it. Once you get off the merry-go-round, you find out the grass is pretty enjoyable, pretty comfortable beneath your feet when you are not running 120 mph every single day to get things done.”

The main reason for leaving behind such a whirlwind, Finkbeiner said, is his family. He said he misses the time he spent with them in-between mayoral terms. More importantly, he said, he would enjoy interacting with his grandchildren, who have grown up during his time in public service.

“I enjoyed the four years off between my second and third term as much as I love this city and as much as I have loved being both a councilman and a mayor of Toledo,” he said. “The first thing I want to do is unwind. These next three years my grandson Zack and I have — I hope, I hope we have — a chance to spend time together. I think it would be prudent if I do anything other than just enjoy my wife, children and grandchildren, I make certain that it is something I am certainly and truly passionate about.”

Democratic mayoral candidate Keith Wilkowski said in a July 13 e-mail statement he admired Finkbeiner’s dedication toward Toledo’s prosperity. He said he wished the mayor good fortune as he rejoins life outside the limelight.

“No one can question Carty Finkbeiner’s love and passion for Toledo, and he should be thanked for the many years he has spent trying to make the city a better place,” Wilkowski said in the statement. “My wife Barb and I wish Carty and Amy the very best as they return to private life.”

Ben Konop, Democratic mayoral candidate and current Lucas County commissioner, said in a July 13 e-mail statement he respected the amount of time Finkbeiner had spent in public service for Toledo.

“I wouldn’t be running for mayor if I didn’t strongly believe that Toledo is in need of bold, fresh leadership and a new beginning,” Konop said. “That said, I also think it’s important to thank Mayor Finkbeiner for his years of service to our community. It sometimes gets lost in the shuffle, but Mayor Finkbeiner has given much of his adult life to trying to make Toledo a better place.”

Fun and frustration

Back in his office, Finkbeiner laughs about his more than two decades of politics. Grinning broadly, he said he never expected anything besides fun and frustration, success and stress from his time in office. He said assuming the mantle of mayor means assuming all the best and worst facets of Toledo.

“No one promised me or anyone else it is going to be a bowl of cherries every single day,” he said. “There will be sun and rain. You have to go to work both of those days, dark and sunny, and do the best job you can.”

His task is not finished yet, Finkbeiner added. He said he remains bound to the duties of his office until the end of his term in January. During the interim, he said, he would strive for a balance between Toledo’s desires and his own.

“I chose politics as a career as I believe in the goodness of the average citizen in America and this community,” Finkbeiner said. “In the final analysis, history will make judgment on what a mayor is given. I won’t even begin to tell you how it will feel to be done until I have done five and a half months more of important work for the citizens of Toledo.”

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 16th, 2009 at 7:16 pm and is filed under Community, Featured, Politics.
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