Kapszukiewicz win opens Lucas Co. treasurer post

Lucas County Democratic Party Chairman Joshua Hughes said the organization is putting together a timeline to full the Lucas County treasurer spot, which will be vacated when Wade Kapszukiewicz takes the mayor's office.

The Blade/Dave Zapotosky
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The victory of Wade Kapszukiewicz in the Toledo mayor's race will trigger local Democratic Party leaders to find a replacement for him as Lucas County treasurer.

Joshua Hughes, chairman of the Lucas County Democratic Party, said discussions on how to proceed in finding Mr. Kapszukiewicz's replacement will likely be among the issues the party's executive committee will take up Monday during their meeting at Democratic Headquarters on Madison Street.

Lucas County Democratic Party Chairman Joshua Hughes said the organization is putting together a timeline to full the Lucas County treasurer spot, which will be vacated when Wade Kapszukiewicz takes the mayor's office.

"This will be a point of discussion and we will put together a timeline by which we will accept applications and recommend an appointment," he said.

The Democratic Central Committee will vote to appoint a new treasurer after reviewing applications and interviewing candidates.

While Mr. Hughes said it's too early in the selection process to comment on a list of possible candidates, one potential applicant could be Karen Poore, the deputy treasurer for the last three years and an employee of the office since 2005 when Mr. Kapszukiewicz took office.

Ms. Poore said she is considering asking for the party to appoint her to the seat but has not made a decision.

"I have worked for the treasurer for 12 years and I am the chief deputy. I believe my experience in the office makes me the most qualified person to run the office," she said.

Another potential applicant could be State Rep. Michael Ashford, who is barred from seeking re-election to the 44th House seat because of term limits. He said it would have been "totally inappropriate" to discuss seeking the appointment until the conclusion of the mayoral race.

"I have not had any conversations with anybody in the party and it wasn't appropriate to do that during the election for mayor," he said.

Mr. Kapszukiewicz first won election to the treasurer post in 2004, defeating Republican Betty Shultz. Mr. Kapszukiewicz was re-elected in 2008, 2012, and 2016.

Contact Mark Reiter at markreiter@theblade.com or 419-724-6199.