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In their letters of termination, the mayor told the department’s
top two administrators that recent events “have irretrievably
eroded” his confidence in their abilities to perform their jobs.
Mayor Bell came down especially hard on Ms. Bond, stating his
believe that she “knew or should have known of serious issues”
within the department, “failed to adequately address these
issues,” and
“consistently failed to bring matters” to the mayor’s attention
so they could be addressed.
The mayor followed up those firings this past week by punishing
two subordinates to those administrators: housing manager
Jody Prude and Toni Thomas. Both women were issued a
ten-day suspension, a demotion, cut in pay, and transferred to a
lower position outside the department of neighborhoods. A city
attorney, Ms. Santiago’s signature appears on the agreements
outlining their punishment.
However, both women could face additional sanctions, including
termination, if a separate criminal investigation by the FBI
reveals any further wrongdoing. The mayor’s office has not
indicated what specifically an internal probe of departmental
operations revealed, but Ms. Prude and Ms. Thomas each were
charged with failure to follow procedure, gross misconduct,
misfeasance, nonfeasance, and insubordination.
Ms. Santiago so far has avoided public comment on her
appointment to the post. But Mayor Bell pointed out she has done
the job before on a temporary basis. Ms. Santiago moved from the
city law department, where she was a city attorney, to her
newly-appointed administrative post.
“She’s got experience in that and she is an attorney,” said
Mayor Bell. “That will put us in a better scope of making sure
we’re doing everything legally and I feel very comfortable.
Lourdes is a taskmaster. She’s very focused and she’s very
professional. I have a high confidence level that she will do
what is necessary to restructure and stabilize that particular
department.”
Ms. Santiago has served
the city in a number of administrative capacities during
previous administrations, including appointments in the city’s
human resources department and as a top advisor to previous
mayors. She served for a brief time as an appointed member of
Toledo City Council and has run for judge in the past.
This past fall, she entered the race for Lucas County Common
Pleas Court, but withdrew her name when the board of elections
allowed an endorsed Democratic candidate to be placed on the
November ballot.
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