My Letter:Mayor kicks Marines out of Toledo
1-24th Marines were scheduled for weekend urban warfare training in downtown Toledo, when Carty gave them the boot
Carty 180
By Darsha Philips
Posted: Saturday, February 09, 2008 at 2:05 p.m.
TOLEDO, OH -- Mayor Carty Finkbeiner on Friday ordered some 200 members of Company A, 1st Battalion, 24th Marines from Grand Rapids, Michigan, out of Toledo just before the unit was supposed to start a weekend of urban warfare training downtown.
The mayor’s spokesperson, Brian Schwartz said, “The mayor asked them to leave because they frighten people. He did not want them practicing and drilling in a highly visible area."
Toledo police said they knew about the training and had approved the unit’s use of the Madison Building and the Promenade Park area. The training was scheduled to start Friday afternoon and last until Sunday. Police said the unit’s presence would have a minimal impact on the city. Police issued a press release earlier in the week saying the Marines would be wearing green camouflage uniforms, operate military vehicles, carry rifles, perform foot patrols, and fire blank ammunition during the exercise.
Schwartz said there was a breakdown in communication between police and the Finkbeiner administration that led to the mayor’s action.
“The Marines drilled here three times during the Ford administration and once under the Finkbeiner administration. After the last visit, the mayor told then police Chief Jack Smith, that he did not want the marines back. Smith failed to inform the current police administration of the mayor’s feelings,” Schwartz said.
NBC24 spoke to Jack Smith who recalled that after the Marines last visit, he and the mayor had a heated exchange about the training.
“He told me he did not want them, as he put it, 'playing war in Toledo,'" Smith recalled. "I told him, as a former Marine, that if one young Marine’s life is saved because of training he or she received in Toledo, Ohio, then it was worth the inconvenience.”
Smith said if the mayor objected, then he should have been the one to convey those feelings to police. Smith took his run-in with the mayor as an objection to that last visit and not future training in Toledo. As a result, the Toledo police went ahead, granting approval to the 1-24th Marines to conduct the routine exercise. The police notified members of the Finkbeiner administration who were not aware that the mayor objected to units training in Toledo.
When the mayor found out, he sent a member of his staff to tell Marines they could not conduct urban operations in Toledo. The unit was notified about 3:30 p.m. after an advance team arrived in Toledo. Five buses carrying some 200 Marines traveled four hours from Grand Rapids, only to find out the training had been shot down.
The unit briefly stopped at a 1-24th Marine base in Perrysburg Township, then returned to Grand Rapids where training was expected to be held this weekend. A spokesperson for the Marines said they were disappointed by the mayor’s decision especially after the city had been so helpful in the past.
Finkbeiner held a news conference Saturday night to address the growing controversy. Finkbeiner says bad planning and communication breakdowns led to his decision to bar a Marine Corps unit from training in downtown Toledo. Finkbeiner spent much of the twenty minute news conference explaining what he didn't know, and when he didn't know it.
“I don't know when we were first asked,” he says, “were we asked Tuesday or Wednesday of this week?”
Their response:I want you to know that there are a great many who support your rational decision to insulate your constituents from the bullying of those who have no problem running around firing blanks at them "for their own good." I likewise hope that you know how biased the media has been in reporting the story.
The positive and supportive comments are being culled. Only the hate spewing irrational sort are allowed to comment while articulate comments in good taste that support your actions are being blocked.
Again thank you for supporting your constituents above outside interests in this action. I am sure that you realize the flaws with democracy. It is a system in which the average voice has the most clout and all government becomes average. In our Constitutional Representative Republic we appoint our wise men to lead and exalt (in theory, though in practice we have not done so as of late to any great extent). At least in this thing I commend you for being one of those well appointed wise men that act to exalt their constituents from the socialistic bottom or democratic average!
Thank you for your thoughts. Your message will be conveyed to the Mayor. Attached is the Mayor's Statement to the Media and a statement from Lt. Colonel Piccoli, U.S. Marine Corps on this issue.
Statement from Mayor Carty Finkbeiner -Regarding U.S. Marine Corps.
February 10, 2008
Frank Szollosi can play politics with anything. It is what he does best.
Today, I spoke with Major Jeff Brooks of the United States Marine Corps. I conveyed my sincere regret for the failure to communicate within the administration and any inconvenience that caused the U.S. Marine Corps.
I also conveyed, as my staff did on Friday, that we would make available abandoned buildings for Marine training outside of the CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT (CBD).
I concluded by reviewing my belief that the CBD, particularly on a weekday afternoon, was not available for military staging operations. 10,000 - 14,000 men and women would have been departing their offices in downtown Toledo on Friday afternoon with a major military training action unfolding - including the use of weapons being discharged with blanks.
My interest is not only in supporting the U.S. military wherever and whenever such support is sought, but also protecting the health, peace, and tranquility of Toledoans in every way possible.
For those who disagree with my priorities in terms of safeguarding Toledoans, we may disagree, but you have my respect.
The email address for the mayor:[email protected]Statement from Lt. Colonel Piccoli - U.S. Marine Corps
February 11, 2008
Although our planned training event for Company A, 1st Battalion, 24th
Marine Regiment from Grand Rapids, Mich., did not occur over the weekend in the Central Business District of Toledo, Ohio, we greatly appreciate the commitment of the city leaders and the support of the citizens of Toledo to assist us with future training opportunities in the Toledo area.
As the Marine Corps has done in myriad cities in the past, which includes Columbia, S.C. (2003), New Orleans (2004), Savannah, Ga. (2005), and Hampton Roads, Va. (2006), we'll continue to work very closely with community leaders, law enforcement personnel, members of the media and private citizens to ensure our training does not adversely impact them. Such training, coupled with governmental and civic support, enables the U.S. Marine Corps to meet the country's expectations as the nation's premiere force in readiness.
The U.S. Marine Corps stands shoulder to shoulder with the people of Toledo as we move forward together well into the future.
