MIKE'S POSITION ON SELECTED ISSUES:

Safety First I believe in a safety first policy. It is the primary role o government to keep its citizens safe. We must hire, train and properly staff our police and fire services in order to accomplish this core municipal responsibility. Toledo has national accreditation in police and fire. This is something of which we should be proud, and we must do everything in our power to maintain that prestigious recognition.

Economic Development We need to concentrate on developing as a region and not just a city. In order to do this we will have to work on repairing our relationships with our neighbors. Upon taking office I will reach out to the mayors and the elected representatives of our neighboring communities to engage in honest and respectful discussions. I would like to work with them in order to create a round table panel and an environment where we all work together to make our region as a whole more attractive and friendly to business. As for establishing an economic development coordinator, I do not think it is necessary to create one more taxpayer-paid city position as we already have professional public and privately funded groups who serve that purpose. Ultimately we need to work together in order to create an environment that is progressive and open to businesses and assist them with whatever they need in order to set up here in Northwest Ohio. A sound public-private partnership will bring this to reality.

Budget Toledo must have a transparent and balanced budget. We need to bring our accounting, finance, and human resource departments into our new computer accounting system. This will untangle the mess that is currently in place. The new system will make planning and budgeting easier and will result in real cost savings. Once we balance the budget, pay off our debt, and the economic conditions of our region improve, we will commit to a budget stabilization fund. Such a fund is needed to prepare for the future so we never have to deal with our current situation again.
 
City Charter I would have our City Charter reviewed in order to create a more balanced government. We need to have more checks and balances in our local government because as it stands now the executive branch has too much power. The office of the mayor has to relinquish some of its power. This would provide for the community a government that works for them and defines in a clear and transparent way the expectations and responsibilities of governance.

I would like to express my sincere appreciation for all the kind words of support to all the very special people who helped. You are awesome and words cannot express my appreciation. God Bless.

D. Michael Collins

Thank you everyone for visiting dmichaelcollins.com.

I am here to share my decision to seek the voter's approval and trust to be allowed the privilege to serve as the mayor of Toledo. My reasons are as follows:

• I have had the privilege to serve on the Toledo City Council for the past 18 months and this has provided me with a front row seat as to why Toledo is in its current state of affairs.
• The past two budgets presented by the Administration were not realistic and the process to achieve them was not transparent.
• My warnings to adjust city operations to address the obvious changes needed were dismissed.
• Safety has been compromised by allowing police and fire services to become severely understaffed.
• Toledo has lost the trust of our neighboring cities by not dealing fairly with them.
• We have not capitalized on our unique geographical location, our talented and committed workforce, and our outstanding institutions of higher education.
• If elected, I know I can make a difference. Northwest Ohio can prosper and grow. We can feel safe again.
• I will immediately assemble a leadership team to thoroughly review the operations of government.
• I will work with our neighboring cities to rebuild the trust that has been lost. I will work with them toward a regional approach to economic development.

Sincerely,

D. Michael Collins