Wade Kapszukiewicz

Wade Kapszukiewicz
Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz
Mayor of Toledo
Incumbent
Assumed office January 2, 2018
Preceded by	Paula Hicks-Hudson
Treasurer of Lucas County, Ohio
In office 2005–2018
Personal details
Born	(1972-10-30) October 30, 1972 San Diego, California, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Sarah Weglian (m. 2001)
Children	2; Emma and Will
Education	Marquette University, B.A. University of Michigan, M.P.P.
Website	Campaign Website Official Website

Wade Kapszukiewicz (born October 30, 1972)^[1] is an American politician. He is the former Treasurer of Lucas County, Ohio and the 58th and current Mayor of Toledo, Ohio.

Biography

Wade Kapszukiewicz was elected mayor of Toledo, Ohio on November 7, 2017 and took the oath of office on January 2, 2018, becoming the 58th mayor of the city.

Universal pre-kindergarten, increasing the size of the police force, and consolidation of city government functions are among Mayor Kapszukiewicz's top goals. During the first six months of his administration, the city of Toledo passed a balanced budget (the first unanimously passed since 2013), created a human relations council that oversees initiatives to reduce violence and build tolerance and diversity, created a bike share program, partnered with Metroparks Toledo to consolidate the operations of two parks, increased the size of the police department, secured funding to clean up the long-blighted former Champion Spark Plug site, and helped lead a neighborhood coalition to save historic St. Anthony Catholic Church from demolition.^[2]

Most notably, Toledo City Council unanimously passed Mayor Kapszukiewicz’s plan to create a regional water system that will share decision-making authority with suburban partners while ensuring long term affordable water rates.^[3]

To promote greater transparency in city government, Mayor Kapszukiewicz launched a monthly "Wednesdays with Wade" public meetings series.^[4]

Mayor Kapszukiewicz was Lucas County Treasurer from 2005 until 2018. While treasurer, he worked to change state law in 2010 to allow for the creation of county land banks, founded the Lucas County Land Bank, and served as its chairman since August, 2010.

Mayor Kapszukiewicz served one term on the Lucas County Board of Education and was later a Toledo city councilman for nearly seven years. He was first elected to city council in 1999 and then re-elected in 2001 and 2003. When he began his service on Toledo City Council, at age 26, Mr. Kapszukiewicz had the distinction of being the youngest person to serve on the legislative body in 25 years.

Mayor Kapszukiewicz was recognized in 2006 as a "20 Under 40" community leader, and in 2010 ESOP gave him its "Above and Beyond" award. In 2012, the mayor was again honored by ESOP, this time earning its "Rooted in ESOP" award. The Toledo City Paper named him one of its "Big Idea Toledoans" in 2014 for his work creating and leading the Lucas County Land Bank, and again in 2018 for his commitment to pursue an ambitious agenda as mayor.

Mr. Kapszukiewicz received a bachelor's degree in journalism and political science from Marquette University in 1994 and was named the valedictorian of the College of Communication, Journalism, and Performing Arts. He received a master's degree in public policy from the University of Michigan in 1996.

After receiving his master's degree, Mr. Kapszukiewicz worked for two years as the Policy Analysis and Research Director of the New Ohio Institute, a public policy research organization that studied issues affecting Ohio's urban areas. In April, 1998 he accepted the position of Manager of Planning and Development at the Lucas County Mental Health Board, where he worked until he began serving on Toledo City Council. While on City Council, Mr. Kapszukiewicz taught a course in American Government at Owens Community College and also worked at COMPASS, a social service agency that works with people with drug and alcohol addictions.

Mr. Kapszukiewicz is also an adjunct professor at Lourdes University, where he teaches a night course in urban policy.

An avid baseball fan, Mayor Kapszukiewicz had his research published in the Spring, 2016 edition of the Society for American Baseball Research journal.^[5]

Mr. Kapszukiewicz is a parishioner at Gesu Roman Catholic Church. A resident of Toledo since 1973, Mr. Kapszukiewicz was born in San Diego on October 30, 1972. He and his wife, Sarah, will celebrate their 17th wedding anniversary in 2018. They live in the Old Orchard neighborhood of Toledo and have two children, Emma and Will.

Wade Kapszukiewicz, his wife Sarah, and his two children Emma and Will.

County Treasurer

While Treasurer, Kapszukiewicz worked to change state law in 2010 to allow for the creation of county land banks, which fight the problems of urban blight by acquiring vacant and abandoned properties. He founded the Lucas County Land Bank and has served as its Chairman since August 2010.^[6]

Under his leadership, the Treasurer's office purchased bonds to provide the initial financing for the construction of Toledo's Huntington Center. He used the county's investment portfolio to support the Port Authority's job-creation efforts, and he created a linked deposit program through which 42 local small businesses received nearly $5.2 million in low-interest loans, creating or retaining 396 jobs since 2007.^[6]

Mayor of Toledo

Mayor Kapszukiewicz takes public transportation to and from his office at least once a week

On May 2, 2017 Kapszukiewicz announced his intention to run for Mayor of Toledo.^[7]

A primary election took place on September 12, 2017 in which incumbent Mayor Paula Hicks-Hudson and Kapszukiewicz received the most votes. Kapszukiewicz went on to win the general election on November 7, 2017, defeating Hicks-Hudson by 11%.^[8]

He was sworn in on January 2, 2018.^[9] He is the first member of his generation -- Generation X—to serve as Mayor of Toledo, and he is the first person of Polish descent to serve as Mayor since Ollie Czelusta in 1957.

Electoral history

References

External links

Wade Kapszukiewicz at Ballotpedia