Our Agenda for a Toledo Renaissance:
Support • Grow • Spend Responsibly
It all starts right where you should be living — in
Safe, Sustainable and Resilient Toledo Neighborhoods.
As the 64th mayor of our great city, I will aggressively address blighted properties, and vacant and abandoned structures. They are breeding grounds for criminal activity.
This is a matter of personal and psychological well-being, and is a fundamental aspect of basic human dignity.
Crumbling infrastructure, like neglected streets, sidewalks, and alleys create the impression that nobody cares about a given neighborhood. Again, this creates a breeding ground for crime.
Neglect lowers property values, which negatively impacts proactive homeowners who invest in their property, and invites irresponsible, out-of-town slumlords to convert homes to rental units.
At the risk of causing further pain to families who have lost children, I will only say that one tragedy like what happened on Miami Street in March is utterly unacceptable, and this incident is not the first of its kind involving young people being murdered in an abandoned house. Unraveling the Kidnapping and Murders of Ke'Marion and KyShawn, WTOL-TV, Feb. 14, 2025
A policy enacted under the Kapszukiewicz administration is a major barrier to removing blighted structures and improving neighborhoods.
As mayor, I will advance policy requiring developers to proactively engage with the community to identify community benefits and address potential negative impacts of certain development projects.
The current project labor threshold of $100K in public funding for city-contracted work is too low. Project Labor Agreements Too Costly for Some Nonprofits - Kelly Kaczala, The Blade April 2, 2024
- It denies non-profit housing agencies from providing more low affordable housing.
- It prevents smaller and minority-based contractors from opportunities for inclusion in Toledo projects.
- It benefits a small number of employees at the expense of the overall community.
- It prevents the timely removal of blighted structures.
- A threshold like the City of Cleveland PLA that requires contractors and subcontractors for public improvement projects estimated to cost $250,000 or greater is preferred.
This is why we must do better to
Support Investment in Toledo
Why have we lost so many Fortune 500 companies?
Even though part of the answer lies beyond municipal government, some past administrations have accepted Toledo’s “rust belt” narrative. This is status quo thinking.
As your mayor “good enough” just isn’t good enough. Don’t take it from me, in a March 5, 2025 article, Money Inc. recently rated Toledo as one of “The 20 Worst Places to Live in Ohio for Poor Quality of Life.” The 20 Worst Places to Live in Ohio, Liz Flynn, Money Inc, Sept 9, 2024
Why are the suburbs (Wood County in particular) attracting growth? There’s an abundance of property within the COT ready for repurposing, and we’ve seen some.
Yet it’s status quo: automotive manufacturing and suppliers like Overland Parkway, and the former Northtowne Mall site. At least we have Amazon at the former Southwyck Mall site.
But Amazon was a Mayor Hicks-Hudson project, abundant shovel-ready land remains within the city limits, and the current mayoral administration gets psyched about gas stations and car washes.
Downtown development is piecemeal at best. Vacant and boarded structures far outnumber hotels, convention centers, and bars and restaurants combined.
As mayor I will focus on business incentives, business friendly building codes and enforcement, and attracting international business, while at the same time supporting more downtown housing development.
It’s time to reimagine regional development and stop the excuse that Toledo is not a Three C. In this spirit, I will seek new alliances with economic development interests in Wood County, and Monroe, Wayne, and Washtenaw Counties in Michigan.
Finally, we have a structural deficit in the city budget and a declining population.
The Kapszukiewicz administration had 2 terms to address this, AND had the benefit of a one-time infusion of $180,000,000 in federal Covid relief funding. Folks, there won’t be any more ARPA money coming in after 2025.
And once again, we’re raiding the capital improvement budget to balance the books, this year to the tune of $24,000,000. Examining Toledo's 2025 Budget, Stephen Zenner, Toledo Free Press, January 30, 2025
The money we’re routinely diverting from the CIP would otherwise improve neighborhoods and businesses.
In the past 8 years, Toledo’s population has declined by over 9,791 since 2018, the year Wade was elected. Toledo Population by Year, Neilsberg Research Loss of Toledo population means less revenue for the city.
Toledo, we must reverse the loss of population through attraction and retention efforts. We must also increase wealth realization and wealth potential for Toledoans.
As candidate for mayor, this is my platform:
- Safe, sustainable and resilient Toledo neighborhoods
- A supportive environment for investment in Toledo
- And a responsible approach to spending your public money.
Adelante!
Roberto Torres,
Independent Candidate for Mayor of Toledo