Ohio Mayors Alliance discusses a range of issues in Findlay

FINDLAY — Nearly two dozen mayors from across Ohio gathered in Findlay on Thursday for the Ohio Mayors Alliance regional meeting. The mayors discussed several issues, including public safety, housing, education, and other policy priorities.

Afterward, the mayors, including Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz, provided remarks about the meeting and policy discussion.

“Sessions like the one we had today reinforce the idea that this is one of the last few remaining truly nonpartisan groups in this country,” Mr. Kapszukiewicz said. “I think the results we have had reflect that.”

He noted the impact the group recently had on a veterans’ housing issue by lobbying Congress in April to change the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s policy of penalizing veterans for the benefits they receive.

“There were veterans that were essentially priced out of being able to qualify for certain programs,” he said. “HUD was counting the federal benefits vets get as part of their income and it was bumping some of them over a certain income level where they wouldn’t be qualified for veterans housing.”

The policy was changed last week, the mayor said.

“There are veterans in Toledo who today will have access to housing that they wouldn’t have had without this organization,” Mr. Kapszukiewicz said.

The Ohio Mayors Alliance is a bipartisan coalition of mayors in Ohio’s 31 largest cities that aims to strengthen their communities through collaboration and advocacy. Toledo, Findlay, and Lima are the three member cities in northwest Ohio.

The opportunity to collaborate around innovative solutions is one of the key success stories of the Ohio Mayors Alliance, said Lima Mayor Sharetta Smith.

“We work to build those strong relationships not only with mayors, but with our state leaders as well,” Ms. Smith said. “It’s a combination of local innovation and statewide collaboration that defines our work here.”

“We are people who care about our communities,” added Findlay Mayor Christina Muryn. “We would not be in public service if we didn’t.”

Mr. Kapszukiewicz commented that the three types of people in the world are Democrats, Republicans, and mayors.

“Mayors fundamentally are hired to solve problems,” he explained. “There is no Republican way to plow snow, no Democratic way to fill a pothole. At this level of municipal government, it really is apolitical. We are confronted with problems and we try to solve them. It’s that simple.”

Toledo City Council President Carrie Hartman was also in attendance.