"Endorsed Democrat Sam Melden, a challenger, warned of the loss of creative young business entrepreneurs if Toledo fails to adopt best practices.
'If we are afraid of taking best practices from other cities, other cities are going to take the best people from Toledo,' Mr. Melden said. 'If we don't give them a voice, what incentive do they have to stay here?'”
“'The next move for the development of our waterfront needs to be to move the city’s storage of road salt and find another place to store and distribute. I would want to suggest a more strategic approach to salt distribution that is based on data and use rather than ease and access,' Mr. Melden said."
"Toledo needs political leadership with imagination and commitment to public health and the cool factor. Bikes have to be a part of our future, and Mr. Melden has given us a good place to start."
"...After the speeches, Sam Melden, a Democrat seeking an at-large seat on Toledo City Council, said the local connection to the attack left him deeply saddened.
'This is the antidote,' Mr. Melden said, gesturing to the crowd still gathered behind him. 'This is who we are.'"
"Sam Melden, an endorsed Democrat who is running for one of six at-large council seats, wants to encourage biking on residential streets with low volumes of automobile traffic, and low speeds where bicycles and pedestrians 'are given priority.'"
"Two youthful candidates for at-large Toledo City Council seats want to engage 20 and 30-year-olds in the development of a long-range plan for Toledo.
Involving those who will be most affected by the city’s future will make them 'feel more involved, and have ownership in the plan,' Sam Melden, 34, said Tuesday after a brief news conference in the Brim House lobby at the Renaissance Hotel downtown."
"It seems like it's an older generation that's in charge of us right now," said Jim Schulty, a Toledo-native and student at UT. "Getting some fresh ideas in there would never hurt."
Melden says he knows one of those issues is a lack of young people in influential city government positions.
"Youth is missing from the 22nd floor, so we need more young people engaged in city hall," Melden said. "But we need more young people engaged all throughout the city."
"Advocates for a Clean Lake Erie (ACLE) announced its "Clean Slate for Clean Water" movement in support of local political candidates concerned about Lake Erie.
...'These are candidates who know what the issue is and they are not afraid to speak their mind," said ACLE Coordinator Mike Ferner. "We think that with them in office we'll be able to get Lake Erie cleaned up a lot faster than at the current rate.'"
Advocates for a Clean Lake Erie have endorsed Sam Melden.
"Toledo Council candidate Sam Melden called on city and school leaders Thursday to find solutions to the problem of homeless children.
Mr. Melden made the announcement in Historic Woodlawn Cemetery near the grave of Samuel 'Golden Rule' Jones, the mayor of Toledo from 1897 until his death in 1904.
Thursday was the 171st anniversary of Mayor Jones' birthday.
'Jones was known as Golden Rule because of his deeply held belief that leaders could lead effectively by adhering to the timeless principle by treating others as you want to be treated,' Mr. Melden said."
“By leveraging a network of concerned citizens throughout the city, within our Toledo Block Watch system, we can enlist hundreds more people to join the fight against heroin,” said Mr. Melden. “We talk all the time about being a compassionate city. This is what a compassionate city looks like.”
"With an expected 15% voter turnout, Toledo City Council candidate Sam Melden, running for an at-large seat, talks about election day: 'My belief about democracy is: the more voices, the better we are. The louder the voices, the better we are. Nobody’s voice should feel diminished or devalued during an election.'”
"I think it's really, really important that as young families, young parents, young professionals are making decisions about where they're going to live, where they're going to start a business, we're looking to set down roots, that when they look to their elected leadership in this building, it's important that they see themselves,” said Sam Melden."
"The website, ToledoGo.tv, provides a link to the state’s voter registration page and lists the dates of the upcoming primary and general elections. A web form allows voters to find their polling location and receive email reminders in the days leading up to an election."
"With several fresh faces equipped with party endorsements for the 2017 local elections, I get the sense that Toledo voters are sick and tired of the traditional blame-shame politics of the past.
Instead, I surmise, the public is strongly desirous of candidates who cross racial, social and cultural lines but bring effective concrete proposals for rebuilding our city and community.
One such candidate is Sam Melden, a Toledo-born millennial with a background in the nonprofit world. Recently, I had a conversation with Melden to discuss his agenda and message."
"If the voters elect him to an at-large council seat, Mr. Melden said he will handle issues with a fresh approach to examine the solution and impact each decision will have on the community. He called for fresh thinking, best practices, and proven solutions to decide issues as an elected official."
"'I’m really excited to share my positions on key issues that are facing our community. I’m really excited to get out on doors and talk to the citizens and neighbors. We all share this together so meeting people and talking about what’s important to them and connecting over what’s important to all of us, I’m really excited for that,' said Melden."
"There is at least one fresh face out there preparing to run for council — Sam Melden. He has made peace with the machine, but he is close to the generation of young leaders who have been shut out. Indeed, he is almost their spokesman. He has brains, imagination, and deep roots in this community. He could make a difference."
"Sam Melden, 32, who is director of growth and advancement at Leadership Toledo, said local business professionals have a problem with “false narratives' and 'old stories about our community.'
'What do we do from here? We keep going,' he said.
'What we do, is the next time someone wants to tell a false story about our community, we stand up again and tell a better story,' Mr. Melden said. 'And we’ll keep doing that forever.'"