TOLEDO, Ohio — Issue 21 in Toledo makes a number of changes to the city charter, but maybe the most eye-catching is the extension of term limits for the mayor.
There are 12 other provisions, including removing a city residency requirement for employees and the ability to use capital funds to improve roads.
WTOL 11 spoke with Toledoans outside the early vote center, and many opposed the issue.
"I think two years is enough because you don't want a regime or someone ruling with an iron fist," resident Don Stewart said.
Many of the people WTOL 11 spoke with say they approve of the job current Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz is doing, but disagree with longer terms on principle.
"I like Mayor Wade, but I'm for term limits. And for that reason, I'm going to vote no," resident Molly Jordan said.
Local leaders have spoken out against the issue too. Katie Moline, an at-large member of Toledo City Council, said combining so many unrelated issues is deceiving.
"This is bad policy, and it's even furthered because I think it's been deceptive by lumping so many charter amendments and so many charter changes into one bill is really deceptive to the voters," Moline said. "That's why I voted against it, why I tried to amend it."
WTOL reached out to the Mayor's office for comment on the issue. A spokesperson sent WTOL 11 this statement:
“Issue 21 was crafted by the people of Toledo, not by a bunch of politicians. Unpaid average citizens volunteered months of their time to study how best to improve the operations of the City of Toledo, and we should all be thankful for their hard work.
Like so many other Toledoans, I support Issue 21 because I want to fix more roads. Right now, the City of Toledo isn’t allowed to spend capital money fixing “unimproved roads,” which are roads without curbs and sewers. For the roughly 70,000 Toledoans who live on such streets, this simply isn’t fair. To be able to fix *all* roads in Toledo, Issue 21 must pass.
Issue 21 isn’t a tax, and yet its passage will allow even more roads in our city to be fixed. That is a bargain too good to pass up.”
People WTOL spoke with said they also want improved roads, but the extended term limits are a deal breaker.
"I don't like that when they combine that, because then they force you to make an uncomfortable choice either way. And I think that's the point, and I don't think they should do that," resident Terri Williams said.
Toledoans outside the early vote center said they hope voters can weigh each part of the issue and make an informed decision.
"It could be because when I initially read it, I thought 'oh this is great, I think I'll vote for it.'" resident Holly Hodge said. "As I got feedback from family and friends, I thought 'oh I probably should read the whole thing.' That's when I noticed that part about extending the mayoral terms."