When Jack Ford ran for mayor in 2001, he ran on a platform of promises for the betterment of Toledo. He said he would improve the lives of Toledo's youth, expand social and city services, develop the ever-deteriorating downtown and beautify the city as a whole.
He said he would make Toledo a point of destination for travelers and turn this ex-industrial paradise into an "elegant city."
Toledoans, tired of empty promises and the same old, same old, bought into his proposals for change and elected him into office.
Three years later, Ford is hoping for re-election, but has to win over a populace that has steadily become less supportive of him over the course of his term, mainly because of his failure to to deliver on his promise-filled campaign platform.
True, Ford has taken many steps to better Toledo's budget situation and has appointed many government officials to try to rectify other city problems, but the main thing he said he would give the city (that "elegant" title) seems to be just as far away as it was at the turn of the century.
And true, downtown Toledo has seen interest returning to it, with businesses and residents beginning to fill out the empty, decrepit warehouse district. But one has to take into account the location of the new business: near the new, crowd-drawing Fifth Third Field.
Toledo still lacks a lot of aesthetic appeal. It falls short in its availability of culture and the arts to its citizens. Much of what you see around town these days is exactly as it was before Ford took office.
The defunct marina district still hasn't seen development, and the riverside steam plant - sold to NBA star and ex-Toledoan Jimmy Jackson and his partners to make into a shopping/cultural center - still sits empty and untouched.
As of the end of 2004, Ford's approval rating had fallen to just more than 40 percent, and it hasn't improved.
If he wants to have a legitimate shot at being mayor again and possibly making good on his aging promises, Ford needs to step up and give Toledoans a reason to have faith in him.
Be the first to comment on this article!