TOLEDO, Ohio — Former Toledo City Council members Tyrone Riley, Yvonne Harper and Larry Sykes were sentenced to prison Tuesday and Wednesday for accepting bribes while in office.
Hours after Sykes' sentencing, WTOL 11 spoke with council member John Hobbs III, who represents district one, when was talking with the community at one of his monthly neighborhood town halls. In the wake of the sentences, he said his focus is on Toledo's future.
"I don't view anything as being negative. I view it as, how do we move forward? How do we keep our city going in a positive direction?" Hobbs said.
Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz said he felt the city acted quickly and correctly when it first learned of the arrests of Riley, Harper, Sykes and fellow council member Gary Johnson.
"I'm proud of that role we played," Kapszukiewicz said. "We're one of the first cities in the state to take advantage of the new state law that allowed us to suspend these members even before they were convicted. We felt that given how important trust is and the work we do, they should be suspended immediately."
As for what's next, he said it could be beneficial to avoid career politicians serving on council, which is what the city did with the vacant seats.
"Bringing in four new members who weren't a part of politics, they weren't a part of the old boys network, has been a healthy positive thing for the city," Kapszukiewicz said.
Along with Hobbs, who filled Riley's seat, at-large council member Cerssandra McPherson was one of the people to join the legislative body after the arrested members were removed.
McPherson was emotional when talking about the members and how things have played out since the previous members were arrested in 2020. In filling the seat, she said it was up to her to do what she could in her role and to be honest.
She said it was a particularly emotional situation because she looked up to Harper.
"Their downfall is the reason why I'm on council, so, it's always been kind of bittersweet," McPherson said.
Johnson was found guilty on one federal bribery charge and not guilty on another in federal court in June for accepting money in exchange for votes. In July, Johnson requested a judge overturn the guilty verdict.