A prominent Democrat will be announcing support of Jim Moody's mayoral candidacy this evening, 1/13/2009.
Also at this event, Jim will be outlining his plan for restoring many of Toledo's neighborhoods.
Jim Moody will be making the second of his mayoral candidacy announcements at the Sullivan Center on the campus of the GESU Campus. The Campus is located at the corner of Bancroft and Parkside. There he will be addressing REIA, a group of small business men and women.
The announcement will begin promptly at 7:20 p.m.
1/14 - Remarks
Moody's Remarks- Toledo REIA 1/13/2009
Toledo citizens are hard working and innovative. We have a history of confronting challenges and overcoming them. We should not wait for, nor do we need, the federal government to ‘bail us out'. Everything we need to fix our problems is right here in the Toledo area. What we do need is leadership that is willing to take a stand for what's right. To take a stand and make the right decisions without fear of special interest groups. To take a stand and not worry about the political consequences. To take a stand and protect our neighbors and businesses. That is why I am announcing my intentions to be the next mayor of Toledo. I intend to take the politics out of city government and get down to business.
Over the next few months you will hear lots of talk about economic development and jobs....and rightfully so. But let's set the record straight right from the start. Government cannot create jobs without costing taxpayers more money. The only jobs government can create are government jobs...jobs paid for by you...like police, fire, refuse and others,
Rather than create taxpayer-funded jobs I believe it is government's role to create the right environment that welcomes and encourages jobs. In the near future we will be outlining economic development programs that;
Reduces the number of anti-business taxes and regulations
Creates an atmosphere and attitude that truly welcomes business
Identifies and promotes ‘shovel ready' job sites
Identifies and goes after business, rather than simply sitting back and waiting for
them to come to us
Our team will be designed to support proven economic development efforts in the area. This team will be held accountable. In fact our economic development team will have established and well publicized goals and should any member fail to meet those goals-then we will find someone who can. Just like in the real world-results matter. It's time Toledo gets down to business.
Yes jobs are important, but without a safe and clean neighborhood to come home to we will still not be meeting the challenges before us. Public safety is critical to the well being of our city.
I know that home ownership is critical to helping stabilize a neighborhood. That is why I will be outlining a program that will provide between 100 and 200 affordable homes for purchase within the first 24 months - and we'll do it without any direct Toledo taxpayer money.
Toledo's Neighborhoods Desperately Need Help. For too long Toledoans have suffered the ill effects of way too many abandoned and neglected houses. That is why tonight I am announcing what I believe an important step towards stabilizing and improving our neighborhoods.
The Neighborhood STAR program which stands for stabilization, transition and rejuvenation
What the STAR program does is allow private enterprises to more easily come into Toledo's neighborhoods, acquire neglected and abandoned homes and fix them up for resale or occupancy
Real estate businesses have been hampered from doing improvements to existing houses because the city insists on enforcing expensive and cumbersome regulations.. These regulations have made it cost prohibitive to purchase homes that require extensive work. Regulations that have forced property owners to do just what is necessary to get by because improving a property would cost too much. What I suggest is that we allow property owners to do more work themselves, regardless of the occupancy status, all the while maintaining a high standard for safety. This initiative will allow a real estate owner to purchase an expanded permit. This permit will allow the owner to then do work that previously had been forbidden to be done by the owner. Work like plumbing, roofing, siding and the like. To maintain a high standard of safety, these special permits will come with a coach. This coach's responsibility will be to assist the owner in their project and insure work is done to city code standards. These coaches, city approved, will come from the private sector and you will be able to choose the person you want to work with.
The Benefits of this program are numerous...
*Properties in our most vulnerable neighborhoods can now affordably be fixed up.
*Homes aimed at families who income is less than $25,000 will become more affordable
for purchase and more plentiful.
*Renters will have nicer homes to choose from and in which to live
*Employment will increase as a result of increased affordability. Painters, carpenters, electricians, carpet
installers can all benefit from these relaxed restrictions.
*Revenues to the city will increase as non performing properties re-enter the income
stream and beautiful remodeled homes create appreciation.
All of this will occur because together we will create the right atmosphere for business to succeed...for people to succeed.
It my opinion that nice homes and nice neighborhoods have also suffered the effects of residents who refuse to act in a responsible manner. It is time all residents of Toledo be held to the same standard. It is time that renters and purchasers of land contracts be held responsible for maintaining their homes and their surroundings just like their home owning neighbors do. It's time for residents who agree to cut their grass-cut their grass. It's time for residents who agree to be responsible for taking out the trash-take their trash...and if they don't...it is time they are the ones fined rather than the landlords and land contract note holders.
That is why I am proposing that the city of Toledo finally enforce the laws currently on the books and clean up our neighborhoods rather than using the laws just to get more money.
We will be announcing an aggressive program that finds and prosecutes those who, through their own selfishness, would hurt all hard working Toledoans and take away their right to having a clean and safe neighborhood. When it comes to strengthening our neighborhoods we intend to get down to business.
Clean and safe neighborhoods need a solid police department. Crime is a fact that we have to face and deal with every day and we certainly value and appreciate the men and women of our police department. There is more that can be done. We will soon reveal a plan that addresses and helps reduce the increased crime we are all experiencing. But let me say now...
I promise A Moody Administration will put more police on the street.
I promise a Moody Administration will give you and the police more tools to fight crime
I promise a police department that will be more responsive to the neighbors of Toledo
I promise criminals in Toledo should plan on leaving-NOW.
On this...we mean business.
It's time for our city government to take a new direction. We must stop raising taxes. We must live within our budget. We must listen to what our citizens want and we have to become a better partner with our outlying neighbors. And most importantly, city government must be held accountable
Over this campaign we will outline what we believe, to be the best plan for establishing a budget. A budget that meets our present needs and anticipates the future. A budget that reflects our true income and is flexible to respond to changes. In other words, a budget like you and I work with each week at the kitchen table.
This will be an administration that listens to you. After all, we are in this together. I pledge that is admin. Will be transparent. Long gone will be an administration that governs from back rooms, favoritism and last minute deals. I pledge this admin will give advance notice, publish reports with their true findings and openly communicate with you.
While I am prepared to lead the charge I cannot do it alone. I need Toledoans who want job opportunities, not just for themselves but for their children' to join us in this campaign. I need Toledoans who care about their neighborhoods to join us in finding solutions that work And I need Toledoans who want this city to live within its budget to stand with us and say no more to costly or wasteful programs.
Join me as we turn this town around!!!!!
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Who's the prominent Democrat?