Jan. 4, in the words of one of our peers, is going to be like Mud Hens Opening Day in Downtown Toledo. On that day, Mike Bell will  be sworn in as our new mayor and there will be an infusion of opportunity and goodwill into the mindset of those who believe in and support Toledo.

Of course, that happy and excited chorus will wind down and fade before the end of Bell’s first day, but that’s fine. I know Bell well enough to know that his energy and enthusiasm do not rise and fall according to other people’s whims.

At Bell’s victory celebration Nov. 3, an amazingly diverse crowd — business leaders, political leaders, blue-collar folks and various combinations of the three — celebrated Bell’s victory with an unbridled passion for his ideals and a gracious recognition of the quality of his opponent, Keith Wilkowski, whom Bell  welcomed onto the ship he will try to turn around.

There are hardworking people in Toledo who understand there are two things a leader needs to be able to identify: Where to place their shoulder against the wheel and when to start pushing it. The wheels of commerce and development in Toledo are surrounded by people waiting to be shown where to place their shoulders and when to start pushing.

There can be no more chaos of people pushing in counterproductive directions at discordant times. There needs to be an immediate identification of how the wheel is going to be aimed and shoved with all the might this city can muster.

The mission will far outlast the launch, but our new chief will understand that upfront and will be prepared for the long-term job of pushing and striving to move Toledo forward.

Thomas F. Pounds is president and publisher of Toledo Free Press. Contact him at tpounds@toledofreepress.com.

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 5th, 2009 at 7:01 pm and is filed under Opinion, Publisher's Statement.
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