TOLEDO, Ohio — On Dec. 15, 2021, Johey Crawford did what you're supposed to when you're in trouble. She called 911.
She told the dispatcher that her granddaughter's father, Malcolm Fisher threatened to kill her and provided the dispatcher her address.
The next day, Stevenson Hicks also called 911 to tell police that Fisher, his cousin, was on his way to kill Crawford.
But it was too late. Ten minutes after Hicks' call and amidst confusion over her address, Crawford was shot by Fisher in Oregon.
Crawford's husband, Knute Huber, said he learned of his wife's murder from a neighbor.
"At 10:47 coming off the expressway, I get a phone call. 'Hey Knute. I think I heard gunshots and a silver car speed away from your house.' Malcolm."
Two years later, Huber is suing Lucas County 911, the dispatchers and Fisher. He's also running for county commissioner as a democrat write-in candidate in the March primary.
"I got the most important campaign tool anybody ever had. The 911 mistake and I know how to use it really well to make a difference, not to come in angry," Huber said.
The county saved more than $5 million in 2021 by consolidating eight regional 911 call centers into one but ran into early trouble.
In Feb. 2022, Sylvania Director of Public Safety Kevin Aller said Sylvania officials were concerned about delayed response time for calls and a high demand for service when large events are happening elsewhere in the county. During these high-demand times, Aller said agencies often have communication issues that may delay response time.
Huber said 911 shouldn't be a place to look to make back some money.
"400,000 people in Lucas County are important and not a number and nothing compared to a dollar," said Huber. "As soon as you compare people to a dollar, you've told me that money's more important than people."
Huber said right now, people don't trust 911, and Lucas County can be an example of how 911 can be safe and effective. But the people in power have to listen and that's what he intends to do, if elected.
"The most important thing you can do is what we don't do. Get a cup of coffee, find the courage to go to talk to that stranger," Huber said. "We don't do enough of that. That stranger will give you care and love you never knew you could have from a stranger but we're afraid to do that."
Huber said he is not going to put much money into his campaign. Voters will have to write in his name on the primary ballot.
Commissioners Pete Gerken and Lisa Sobecki told WTOL 11 Wednesday that they're willing to hear about Huber's experience and learn from it.
Gerken said, "I'm always willing to hear about an experience with 911 and am willing to work with him and learn from it."
"I ran a lot of my campaign around 911," Sobecki said. "I love listening to people because we glean and learn from people. I am always willing to figure out how we can do better."
Regional Council of Governments executive director Stacey Mitchell declined to comment due to pending litigation.