Toledo’s future will be determined within the next 24 months. The opportunity to save our city is before us, and if we Toledo residents fail to take the necessary steps to save our city, we will lose it. The long-term consequences of fiscal emergency would be an embarrassing legacy. There exists no simple or painless solution. We did not get into this fiscal nightmare overnight and we will not get out of it instantaneously. Our course must be long-term with measured steps and discipline. If we have the will to see it through, I honestly believe Toledo can rise to even greater heights than we have ever experienced.

Let us begin with the root causes for our current state of affairs. Toledo residents lost pride in our city and for the past 50 years have been moving to the suburbs, thus relinquishing their identity as Toledoans. The Toledo city government looked down on the suburban communities as small and unworthy of respect and recognition. The population of Toledo declined from a peak of 383,818 in 1970 to an estimated 310,000 in 2005. My question is: “Does this sound like the identical path Cleveland took in the 1970s and Detroit is following now?”

The political process in Toledo has been stifling and both political parties are to blame. Our city has experienced and continues to experience a political dominance that serves the officeholder first, the party second and lastly, if there is room, the constituents. I have seen how some of the elected officials from Toledo have an attitude that the citizens are fortunate to have them as office holders, and believe the constituents must give them the respect and adulation they deserve.

Toledo has lost its major manufacturing base, which was established in the early 1900s when we transitioned from an agriculture-based society. Toledo blossomed because of this transition, in which the corporate giants took a direct hand in shaping Toledo as a stable municipality.

Today, the corporate giants are gone and we are struggling to transition to a new paradigm: technology-based and knowledge-based paradigms in a global economy.

The charlatans who operate behind the scenes are ever present. There are certain personalities who thrive on their ability to manipulate the visible leaders. They operate “under the radar” and leave no evidence of their presence. Their comfort zone is playing both sides against each other and never being identified.

Perhaps the worst root cause is that we are a city where hardly anyone votes. Only 16 to 22 percent of the registered voters determine who will lead us. The outcome in too many cases is cronyism and sophomoric political gamesmanship.

But it is not too late for Toledo to recover. I have confidence that Toledoans can “connect the dots” as to the root causes of the decline and rise above the problems. First, let’s remember our identity as Toledoans. We must now capture a sense of pride in our community and commit to the goal that failure is not an option.

Toledoans must take an active part in selection of elected officials by “speaking with their feet” and going to the polls.

The leadership in Toledo, public and private, must step up and have the vision to see Toledo’s potential. In a world of international commerce, we must compete by having the insight to reinvent Toledo and partner with our sister communities. This can be done if we have honest communication built on respect and relationships built on trust. No responsible business will come to Toledo until there is stability in the municipal government.

We must see a new level of buy-in from the local news institutions. Toledoans deserve fair and balanced reporting; that is, news that is free of sensationalism and political bias.

Toledoans will determine the future of Toledo; if we lose our city, the failure will be on us. To save Toledo, all of the stakeholders, private and public, must commit to a disciplined and ego-free strategy. The outcome can be a Toledo our children and their children’s children will be proud to call home.

D. Michael Collins is a Toledo City Councilman representing District 2. E-mail him at dmichael.collins@toledo.oh.gov.

Tags: D. Michael Collins

This entry was posted on Friday, February 19th, 2010 at 12:01 am and is filed under Guest Column, Opinion.
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