TOLEDO, Ohio — Wade Kapszukiewicz entered his fifth year of being the Toledo Mayor on Jan. 1, 2023.
Economic development in the city is a highlight of the past year, he said.
"One of the important narratives of our city moving forward is that from an economic standpoint, we have a lot of things going for us," Kapszukiewicz said.
He noted the early September groundbreaking for the $84.6 million Toledo Trade Center, an industrial park in north Toledo on the site of the former Northtowne Mall.
City officials expect the project to create 564 direct and indirect jobs and "bring space for automotive users, distributors, e-commerce distributors, potentially light manufacturing users," an executive of the company that bought the property said.
But 2022 also brought challenges. There were 65 homicides in the city in 2022, making it the second deadliest in Toledo's history. City council also declared gun violence a public health crisis as the new year drew closer.
The surge in violent crime prompted calls from the public for action from city officials. Organized community-action groups pushed for grassroots change.
In late September, after an uptick in violent crime in west Toledo, Kapszukiewicz said citizens shouldn't live in fear. As residents of the area expressed safety concerns, Kapszukiewicz advised avoiding the trap of the "fear industrial complex" and pointed to community meetings to brainstorm crime reduction ideas. The mayor also praised Toledo Police Department operations that targeted violent crime as positive endeavors in a year when there were five fewer homicides than in 2021.
2023 offers the opportunity to capitalize on these efforts, which also include notable pushes from city council to reinvigorate Toledo's block watch program and establish strong working relationships with community action groups, the mayor said. This year also gives the city a chance for a new leader when it comes to fighting crime as Toledo Police Chief George Kral retires and the city searches for a replacement.
Kapszukiewicz said he expects to fill the chief's position in early March.
"I think we're going to have someone who is committed to making a difference and building neighborhood relationships, getting officers out into the neighborhoods," he said.
Amid city council talks of crime reduction, former Toledo city auditor Jake Jaksetic was officially fired by council in a 7-4 on Nov. 22, marking the end of a nearly month-long process to decide Jaksetic's fate.
Council's initial vote to suspend Jaksetic on Nov. 1 kicked off a tense period that saw Kapszukiewicz harshly criticize Jaksetic's job performance, cancel one-on-one meetings between council members and the mayor's office, and then in a radio interview call council members "little babies" that needed to focus on resolving the issue with Jaksetic.
Kapszukiewicz later apologized for his harsh words in a statement to WTOL 11 but said the issue was still council's to solve. Council employs and oversees the city auditor.
"Looking back in retrospect, I'm sure there are some things I could have done differently," Kapszukiewicz said. "I'm sure there are things council thinks it could have done differently. But the most important thing is that we ultimately agreed on what needed to happen. The decision was made and we moved on. It's fine."
In his five years as mayor, Kapszukiewicz said he has been on the same page as council almost the entire time.
"For 59 of the 60 months I think we've had the best relationship with city council that any mayor has had," he said.
Progress made on multiple fronts in 2022 bodes well for continued improvement in 2023, Kapszukiewicz said. That includes continued work on public safety.
"While I am encouraged that we made some progress in 2022 over 2021 in terms of overall crime, violent crime and homicides, we didn't make as much progress as anyone of us would have wanted, and so my primary goal for 2023 is to build on that momentum," he said.
Kapszukiewicz also highlighted two 2023 city projects: repairing 105 residential roads and rebuilding a YMCA. He plans to also use more of the American Rescue Plan funds given to the city, which is in year two of the three years provided to allocate the money allotted to Toledo by the federal government.