TOLEDO, Ohio — Three women and one man have been selected by Lucas County Probate Judge Jack Puffenberger to fill the four vacant Toledo City Council seats, Council President Matt Cherry announced today.
Judge Puffenberger, who was tasked with appointing the members pursuant to Ohio law, winnowed a list of candidates for council from more than 100 applicants who expressed interest in serving on the municipal legislative body.
John Hobbs III will take the District 1 seat, Vanice S. Williams will take the District 4 seat, Tiffany M. Preston Whitman will assume an at-large seat, and Cerssandra McPherson will take the other vacant at-large seat.
“I am encouraged and enthusiastic to serve alongside these four dedicated Toledoans,” Mr. Cherry said. “I want to thank everyone who stepped forward during Toledo’s time of need to apply for the four seats that became vacant after four council members were suspended. Dozens of men and women, who possess a variety of experiences and backgrounds, applied to be on council. I am confident the newly selected members of Council will assist in moving Toledo forward and help to repair the public’s trust in our legislative body.”
Council President Cherry and Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz each spoke with the four soon-to-be sworn-in members of council to congratulate them.
“I know they each will bring myriad of different strengths and interests to city government,” Mr. Cherry said. “While these are temporary positions, they have all expressed a great dedication to serving the people of Toledo.”
Probate Judge Jack Puffenberger confirmed he received 132 applications to fill the four seats.
The four selected will be serving in a temporary capacity until the term for that seat is up, when the suspended council member resigns or when the council member has gone through the court process and has been found innocent or convicted.
Yvonne Harper (District 4), Larry Sykes (At-Large), Tyrone Riley (District 1) and Gary Johnson (At-Large) are facing federal bribery and extortion charges for an alleged bribes-for-votes scheme.
All four were arrested June 30 along with local attorney Keith Mitchell.
The council members and Mitchell pleaded not guilty to charges against them.
In July, the council members voluntarily accepted their suspensions pending trial, although Sykes participated in a city council meeting and vote in early August, causing controversy.
Since then, none of the four have participated in city council activities.