Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz released the following statement today on Issue 1:

Wednesday, April 29, 2020

If you look at the results based on when voters cast their ballots, it is clear that Issue 1 was on its way to victory before the election was postponed. In fact, based on the votes that came in before March 17, it looks like Issue 1 would have passed by double digits.

The reason there was so much support for Issue 1 was because our residents made it very clear to us, when we went out to talk to the community, that they wanted their roads fixed, and they wanted the city to do a better job providing our essential services like public safety and parks.

But in the last 40 days, the world has turned upside down. I know Toledoans want their roads fixed, but I don’t blame them for being cautious with their own money in these uncertain times.

As the COVID-19 crisis deepened, our residents and business owners faced great uncertainty. They are not feeling secure, many have been laid off, and the election was held amid the crisis, so the outcome is not surprising.

Moving forward, this city must find a better way to fix our roads, take care of our infrastructure, and provide the services this city and its residents need. Our focus in the near future will be to deal with the health and welfare of our city as we deal with COVID-19.

Toledo can do big things, and we have faced even tougher challenges in the past. I look forward to working with Council and our residents to chart a path toward the future.