TOLEDO, Ohio — Toledo City Council members Vanice Williams and John Hobbs III were reappointed to council on Jan. 10 after their seats were vacated when the former council members they were appointed to replace pleaded guilty to federal bribery charges.
Williams and Hobbs, the District 4 and District 1 representatives, respectively, were appointed to council when Tyrone Riley and Yvonne Harper were arrested in 2020 and accused of taking bribes.
Six days after her reappointment to council, Williams shared more about her experience during the 21 days away from the seat. The validity of her and Hobbs' seats were uncertain for some time after the guilty pleas until an opinion from the Ohio Attorney General's office stated their seats were effectively vacated on Dec. 16, when Riley and Harper pleaded guilty.
Williams said the time away from her seat was confusing and frustrating. But even when she lost the title, she never stopped working for the people of District 4, which covers central Toledo and parts of west Toledo.
"My first priority when I was first told 'don't vote', I didn't stop working, I still took phone calls from constituents, I still contacted public services that were needed," Williams said.
Hobbs could not be reached for comment.
Council member or not, Williams said there were things she needed to do to keep her district running smoothly, even if it technically wasn't her responsibility at the time.
"I've been putting in the hard work and I knew it would work itself out," she said.
It was still a stressful time for Williams and Hobbs, though. They relied on each other to weather the uncertain future.
"We talked daily," Williams said. "We were each other's support system during this time, along with the community. The community came out like no other for councilman Hobbs and myself."
Three weeks after they were removed, Williams said she received a call from City Council President Matt Cherry, asking her to be at their next meeting, where unanimous support returned them to their positions.
"To have 10 people vote you in, 10 people say 'I believe in your work ethic, I believe in what you've done for district four,' it was overwhelming," Williams said.
Now that she is officially back on council Williams said she wants to focus on youth programming as a way to prevent violence.