TOLEDO, Ohio — A team of mayors fighting to reduce violence on Toledo's streets is expanding its roster.
The Coalition for Peaceful Toledo Neighborhoods is a group formed by former Toledo mayors Mike Bell, Donna Owens, Paula Hicks-Hudson and Carty Finkbeiner. The coalition has been working with city leaders to advocate for new laws and the creation of organizations to fight gun violence.
On Tuesday, the group announced it would be receiving the support of eight mayors from neighboring cities, pledging to help stop crime in Toledo in any way they can.
Present at the meeting were mayors Neil MacKinnon III, of Rossford; Richard Carr, of Maumee; Kevin Gilmore, of Ottawa Hills; and Tim Pedro, of Waterville. Mayors Lee Irons, of Holland; Tom Mackin, of Perrysburg; Craig Stough, of Sylvania; and Mike Seferian, of Oregon have also joined the coalition but were away on other matters.
Each mayor said the health of the Glass City affects everyone in northwest Ohio and from this point forward, they plan to think as a region instead of individual cities.
"We are northwest Ohio, and we should be Toledo, Sylvania, Ottawa Hills, Maumee, Rossford, all in the same boat. How do we pedal as vigorously as we can, onward and upward?" Finkbeiner said.
The mayors emphasized that Toledo and its neighbor cities are intimately tied together.
"A lot of our citizens come down to the baseball game, the hockey game, the museum of art," Pedro said. "So, we're part of the community. We're just further down the road, that's all."
So when Toledo is struggling with something, it runs the risk of hurting its neighboring cities as well.
Last year, the Glass City reportedly saw 66 homicides and for some of the mayors, some were too close for comfort.
"There have been shootings in Maumee that you could see in Maumee," Carr said. "Not actually see them happening, but the proximity was so close."
That's why mayors from every city that touches Toledo's borders have chosen to come together with the Coalition for Peaceful Toledo Neighborhoods, something the mayors say is entirely unprecedented.
"I'm not aware of any other community who's done this," Pedro said.
As for what those solutions will look like, that's still being ironed out.
"At this point, we honestly don't know," Carr said. "We're coming in with an open mind, asking what can we do."
While they might not have any solutions yet, the mayors assert that this isn't a temporary engagement, but rather the formation of a new long-term strategy.
"My opinion, it's not (about) an ending date, it's continuous improvement," Pedro said. "You're always gonna have crime. you're always gonna have new ideas of how to fix it. But I think it's a continuation, you've always gotta keep moving."
Current Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz responded to the new additions to the coalition with the following statement:
"I am thrilled that leaders from across the region are coming together to support this important work. Collaboration is key to our success, and I am confident that by working together, we can stop crime in Toledo."