EDITORIAL

What matters in Toledo politics

1/15/2018

For all the energy Democratic Party operatives put into the game of musical chairs they played with public office this month, you would think someone could make sure all the bases were covered.

Former Toledo City Councilman Lindsay Webb was set to take over as the Lucas County treasurer until she discovered her poor credit report would prevent her from getting the bond required to hold that post.

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Ms. Webb, 42, was the Lucas County Democratic Party central committee’s pick to replace former treasurer and new Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz.

His election, along with term limits affecting several local General Assembly lawmakers, created an opportunity for party bosses to hand out appointments in a way that ensured Democrats who either lost their elections last fall or were otherwise soon to be out of office had a soft landing.

Hours were certainly spent moving puzzle pieces around the board to ensure the most benefit for the party and its most important operatives.

The party higher-ups “vetted” Ms. Webb behind closed doors recently. They conducted interviews with her and two other contenders for the treasurer’s job — Oregon Councilman James Seaman, and state Rep. Michael Ashford (D., Toledo) — before choosing her.

Mr. Ashford had even publicly pitched an intricate plan for appointments that assured jobs all around for local Democrats. He would take the treasurer post and ousted Democratic Toledo Mayor Paula Hicks-Hudson would be appointed to his state House seat.

Mr. Ashford contrived that Ms. Webb could run to succeed state Rep. Teresa Fedor (D., Toledo), who is term-limited as the representative of House District 45. And then Ms. Fedor could run for the District 2 state Senate seat held by Edna Brown, who is term-limited.

Ms. Webb said she knew her credit score wasn’t “stellar,” but was surprised by what she said was a mistake that dragged the score even lower than it should have been.

There are two problems here. The first is that if Ms. Webb was doing her homework about the job she hoped to hold, she should have been prepared for the bond requirement. Everyone is supposed to check their credit score at least once a year. Anyone who needs a decent score to get appointed to a job ought to check it when seeking that job.

The second problem is that the party should have checked that and many other qualifications. The fact that no one did begs the question: What qualification, exactly, was the party focusing on when choosing an appointee to a public post responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer money?