Mike Bell will take the mayor’s office Jan. 4.
“Running as an independent without a machine has been a challenge, but we’ve had great volunteers and people get the word out there. I had great support from family and friends. It’s a thrill to win,” Bell told Toledo free Press moments after declaring victory.
Bell said his opponent Keith Wilkowski ran a strong race and he “wishes him the best of luck with everything in the future.”
As he looks toward January, Bell said he looks forward to his role as mayor.
“I’ll be reaching out to the surrounding areas and also to people internally to get them involved and bring the city to where it needs to be,” Bell said.
Wilkowski called the Bell campaign at 11:36 p.m. to concede and congratulate Bell on his win. Wilkowski told the mayor-elect that he has Wilkowski’s full support.
Bell defeated Wilkowski 35,118 to 31,987.
Issue 3, authorizing casino facilities in the state’s “three C” cities and Toledo, passed at 53 percent with 85 percent of the precincts reporting.
“We are grateful to the voters of Ohio for supporting Issue 3.We are excited to get to work on a billion dollars on private investment in Ohio and creating more than 34,000 thousand jobs,” Eric Schippers, senior vice president for public affairs for Penn National, told Toledo Free Press. “People saw though the misinformation and campaigning form our opponents and recognized the opportunity to revitalize Ohio’s four largest cities. We’re eager to get started.”
Bill Connelly won Toledo Municipal Court Judge with 24,567 votes. Connelly finished over Ian English with 19,451 votes and Mark Davis with 16,881 votes.
Joe McNamara, George Sarantou, Rob Ludeman, Phillip Copeland, Steve Steel and Adam J. Martinez were elected to fill the six at-large city council seats.
McNamara, who led the votes with 36,879, told Toledo Free Press, “it’s an honor and privilege to be re-elected. I look forward to working with the new council and new mayor.”
McNamara said the 2010 budget will be “a real challenge” for the new council as well as making sure the city has the resources to maintain public safety.
Sarantou echoed McNamara’s concerns for public safety.
“It’s very gratifying that voters expressed their continued confidence in my leadership. I will continue to work on budget issues and preserve the fine police and firefighters we have here in Toledo. As well as work on work on jobs for Toledoans,” Sarantou told Toledo Free Press.
Sarantou received 35,411 votes , Ludeman had 34,792 votes, Copeland finished with 28,654 votes, Steel had 26,113 votes and Martinez had 25,362 votes.
Bob Vasquez, Brenda Hill and Larry Sykes were elected to fill the three vacant Toledo Public Schools Board seats.
“It’s very humbling to win. It allows me to follow through with some of the things I’ve started already. It allows me to continue to work with the business of Toledo, bring the presidents of the universities together and bring financial stability to the district. I also have the chance to focus on bringing the performance of the underperforming schools up,” Vasquez told Toledo Free Press.
Sykes was re-elected to the board after two years being off it.
“I’m a public servant. I asked people to re-elect me, the people know my commitment and passion and the people spoke. There is nothing more important to me then our children,” Sykes told Toledo Free Press. “I look forward to sitting down with the present board, hope that they will be receptive to our resource, and whatever has happen in the past and work for the betterment of our district.”
Issue 1, supporting veterans of the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts, passed with 85 percent of the precincts reporting at 72 percent for the issue.
Issue 2, creating a Livestock Care Standards Board, passed at 64 percent with 85 percent of the state precincts reporting.
Issue 4, a replacement levy for the Area Office on Aging, passed overwhelmingly with 78,556 votes at 70.92 percent.
Michael Seferian defeated longtime Oregon mayor Marge Brown 4,446 to 2,822.