County commissioner candidates debate ahead of November election

In what might be the only debate residents in Lucas County get to see, all four candidates for county commissioner took the stage at the Main Branch of the Toledo Lucas County Public Library to participate in a televised debate moderated by WTOL-11.

There are just 19 days until the November election.

Lucas County Commissioner Pete Gerken is hoping to hold onto his seat, which he has held since 2005. He is running as the Democratic candidate against former Toledo City Councilman Tom Waniewski, who is running as the Republican candidate.

Lucas County Commissioner Anita Lopez is running for re-election after being appointed to fill out the rest of former Commissioner Tina Skeldon Wozniak’s term and winning a close primary race against state Sen. Paula Hicks-Hudson (D., Toledo). Ms. Lopez is running as the Democratic candidate against the Republican candidate, Waterville City Councilman John Rozic.

Gerken, Waniewski talk payouts and canines

During opening statements, Mr. Gerken promised to continue the good work the county has been doing, and Mr. Waniewski promised to bring a different perspective to the county commissioners’ office.

WTOL’s Jeff Smith, who moderated the debate, started with a topic on most viewers’ minds: employee payouts. Mr. Smith highlighted the payouts for former Human Resources Director Emily Gerken, Director of Planning and Development Tonia Saunders, and Lucas County Commissioner Anita Lopez’s former assistant.

In the case of Ms. Gerken, who is not related to the candidate, Mr. Gerken said the commissioners didn’t have a say in the payout, it was ordered by the Lucas County Court of Common Pleas. He would not discuss the payout with Ms. Lopez’s former assistant. In the rest of his allotted two minutes, Mr. Gerken touted the success the commissioners have had with their budget.

“Why should they trust me? I’ve been in this business for 20 years. I’ve balanced 20 budgets,” he said. “We haven’t gone into our reserves, except once in 2009 or 10 and we paid that money back.”

Mr. Waniewski responded that “you can’t put a savings value on people.”

A primary point of Mr. Waniewski’s campaign is related to the operations of the Lucas County Canine Care and Control. The recent director was fired after a county-issued investigation and the volunteer program was temporarily suspended after employees complained they were being bullied on social media.

Mr. Gerken defended the operations of LC4, saying the appropriate measures were taken to remove the director and the volunteer program will be re-instated soon.

“What you’re seeing now is dogs are being walked, dogs are being fed. Dogs are being cared for,” he said. “Our focus is now, not looking backward on that, but looking forward.”

The commissioners have approved building a new facility for LC4.

Mr. Waniewski has previously said he will form a citizen commission of animal advocates to appoint the new director. During the debate, he said he was unhappy with how the county has handled proceedings.

“You’re in charge of that, Pete,” Mr. Waniewski said of the complaints. “When something comes from the public, you should be snapping to that attention, to look at that.”

While Mr. Gerken is hoping to keep his spot, he has filed his intent to retire with the Lucas County Board of Elections. In a story first reported by The Blade, Mr. Gerken defended his decision, which he affirmed during the debate, calling it a “political talking point.”

“Look, I’m 72 years old,” he said. “I’ve worked my entire life. I make no apology for my Jeep pension. I spent 30 years there. I make no apology for taking what I’m invited to under Social Security. I put that money in my retirement benefit from the state of Ohio, which means, I’ve contributed into that fund as an employee. It’s not a gift. I’m not taking any tax dollars away from anything by accessing a pension that I work hard to get.”

Mr. Gerken has maintained that he will carry out the full term if re-elected, instead of retiring and filling the spot with an Democratic appointee.

Before the candidates gave their closing statements, Mr. Waniewski said, “Let's retire Pete for sure on Nov. 5.”

Lopez, Rozic talk party affiliation, assistant incident

On the campaign trail, Mr. Rozic has maintained that he is “not a politician, but a public servant.”

When asked by WTOL’s Caylee Kirby, who moderated the second debate, if running for an elected office and holding a current office makes him a politician, he maintained that he is not one, but in order to serve the people he has to run for office.

“My goal only is to serve the public, to serve their best interests, not my own self-interest,” he said. “I don’t feel that I’m a politician, but I have to politic to do what I’m doing here.”

Mr. Rozic was formerly on Anthony Wayne’s school board and previously ran for both county treasurer and recorder. During opening remarks, he said his involvements in public service trace back to the first grade when he ran for student council.

Ms. Lopez, who formerly served as county auditor for 16 years, said she was proud to call herself a politician.

“We are both running for office, and yes, he is a politician, and so am I,” Ms. Lopez said. “I’m not ashamed to say that. I’m passionate about being a public servant and helping the Lucas County commissioners.”

As it was during the first debate, the situation with Ms. Lopez’s assistant was discussed.

Since her former assistant left, the county did an investigation into the situation. She was ordered to take workplace behavior training, which she has completed. During the debate, Ms. Lopez took responsibility for her actions, but said it’s a part of the past.

“One thing I know for sure, and what I learned from this experience, that incident is part of the past, and those distractions cannot be allowed,” she said. “And I promise to all Lucas County citizens that I am ready to work tirelessly for you, for the betterment of our entire county.”

Mr. Rozic called the situation “concerning,” and questioned why the public has never seen the full report of the investigation. The county released an abridged version. The county has said the full report is not public record.

“The report was issued, but we never saw the full report because it was redacted,” he said. “So you don’t know exactly what happened in that situation, what all the facts were.”

Currently all three commissioners are affiliated with the Democratic Party. There hasn’t been a Republican commissioner since Maggie Thurber in 2006.

When asked how Mr. Rozic would be an advocate for the GOP if he was the only Republican in office, he distanced himself from party affiliation, encouraging residents to vote on the person, not the letter next to his or her name.

“She happens to be a Democrat, I happen to be a Republican. We bring different perspectives to the county government, and I think that’s the important thing that voters need to consider,” he said.

Even though the commissioner seats are held by one party, Ms. Lopez said each commissioner brings different experiences.

“Commissioner Gerken, Commissioner [Lisa] Sobecki, and myself all have different backgrounds, all different ideas to approaching government, and it’s making us better,” Ms. Lopez said, who went on to talk about her experience in the auditor’s office.

Early voting is already underway at the Lucas County Board of Elections on West Sylvania Avenue. Residents will have until Nov. 3 to early vote. Election Day is Nov. 5.