Carty Finkbeiner
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| Born | not known |
|---|---|
| Title | Mayor of Toledo, Ohio, USA |
| Term | January, 1994—December, 2001 January, 2006 — |
| Predecessor | John McHugh, Jack Ford |
| Successor | Incumbent |
| Political party | Democratic |
Carlton S. "Carty" Finkbeiner (Democrat) is the mayor of Toledo, Ohio (1994-2002, 2006-). First elected in 1993, he was the city's first strong mayor in 60 years. He took office on January 1, 1994. In 1997, he defeated challenger Nick Wichowski to win a second term. Term limits prevented him from running a third consecutive time. He was succeeded by Jack Ford in 2002.
Following his first administration, Finkbeiner served on the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority board. He joined Toledo's WTVG, hosting "Carty & Company", a Sunday morning public affiars show. He also contributed a weekly editorial segment, "It's Just Not Right!" Finkbeiner left the station in May 2005.
On June 30, 2005, Finkbeiner announced that he would seek a third term as mayor. He won the Toledo Mayoral Primary, winning roughly 37% of the vote in comparison to 29% earned by incumbent Ford. On November 8, 2005, Finkbeiner was re-elected mayor.
Finkbeiner was sworn in for his third term as mayor in a private ceremony on January 3, 2006.
Finkbeiner currently resides with his wife, Amy Finkbeiner, in South Toledo. He has three children: Ryan, Jenny, and Katie, and 5 grandchildren.
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[edit] Background
Finkbeiner was born and raised in Toledo, graduating from Maumee Valley Country Day School. He received a B.A. from Denison University. Prior to his political career, he taught at Maumee Valley Country Day School, St. Francis de Sales High School, and the University of Toledo.
Finkbeiner is something of a political weather vane. During his long career in public service, Carty has been a member of multiple parties. At various times and for various offices he has run as a Republican, a Democrat and an Independent.
Finkbeiner served 8 years as a city councilman and 2 years as vice-mayor.
[edit] Accomplishments
As a city councilman, Finkbeiner led efforts to the change from city manager/council format of government to the strong mayor executive style Toledo currently has in place.
During his administration, Finkbeiner oversaw Toledo's largest building growth in decades, including construction of:
- Owens Corning World Headquarters
- Daimler-Chrysler Jeep Plant
- State Prison
- Dana Corporation Headquarters
- Erie Street Market
- The Docks-- an upscale restaurant and entertainment cluster on the Maumee River
- Buckeye Basin Greenbelt Parkway
- Fifth Third Field-- a new downtown stadium for the Toledo Mud Hens
- Additions to Toledo Hospital
Finkbeiner spearheaded the "Keep Jeep" movement, helping to convince Daimler-Chrysler to keep Jeep production centered in Toledo. The new plant brought an estimated 6,500 jobs and $2 billion in estimated annual payroll to the city.
Extensive downtown redevelopment was a hallmark of the Finkbeiner administration. It played a major role in Toledo winning the title of "All-America City Award of the National Civic League" in 1998, being one of only 10 cities in the United States to receive this honor.
In 1999, the White House Millennium Council dubbed Toledo an official Millennium Community.
[edit] Controversy
Controversy loomed over the Finkbeiner administration. Known as much for his temper as his work ethic, many allegations surfaced throughout Finkbeiner's two terms, and more continue to surface in his third. Toledo restaurateur John Skiadas filed a law-suit alleging that Finkbeiner physically and verbally assaulted him at the Erie Street Market in 2000. The lawsuit was dismissed by Lucas County Common Pleas Judge Charles Wittenberg in 2004.[1] [2]
Carty once chest-bumped a city council member and allegedly hit a city employee with a coffee mug.
On July 1, 1998, Carty was fined $400 and court costs after pleading guilty to Ethics charges when he was Mayor, realized a $10,000 profit from Owens Corning's purchase of his condo, and his failure to publicly report the gain.
He plagiarized in his KICK-OFF speech in 1998. [3]
Finkbeiner suggested relieving the problem of noise complaints from neighbors of Toledo Express Airport by selling homes nearby at low cost to deaf people. [4]
Several times throughout his administration, controversies such as these brought national attention to Toledo.
In early 2006, Carty spent $10,000 of city money to put a shower and exercise equipment in his office. The controversy involves the fact that expenditures over $10,000 have to be approved by council; so to avoid bringing the project to council it was broken down into 2 smaller projects.
In 2004, Finkbeiner experienced health problems and underwent bypass surgery. Local pundits speculate that this brush with mortality may have affected his disposition for the better.[5]
In May 2006, he called Toledo's African-American Fire Chief Michael Bell “King Kong” at a staff meeting. [6]
In June 2006, Police Chief Jack Smith resigned after what he described as a near-physical confrontation with the mayor after they exchanged words. [7]
| Preceded by: John McHugh |
Mayor of Toledo, Ohio 1994�€“2002 |
Succeeded by: Jack Ford |
| Preceded by: Jack Ford |
Mayor of Toledo, Ohio 2006-Present |
Succeeded by: ' |
