Mayor disputes city's low rank in poll

Toledo's disappointing rank in the latest Milken Institute study of job creation last week failed to detect Toledo's move toward technology job creation, Mayor Carty Finkbeiner said yesterday.

The mayor - who also is director of economic development for Toledo - assembled area development officials to respond to the study.

The respected California think tank last week ranked metro Toledo 196th out of 200 large cities in job creation, the same as in its 2006 report.

"That may have been true 10 years ago, perhaps five years ago," the mayor said during a news conference at Xunlight, 3145 Nebraska Ave., a solar energy firm.

However, Mr. Finkbeiner said efforts by area development agencies and private investors are bearing fruit in diversifying Toledo's economy.

But while claiming Toledo was unfairly portrayed by the Milken study, the mayor also acknowledged that the study was strongly weighted toward technology jobs, an area to which Toledo is still aspiring.

"We know we have to get into the high-tech industry here," he said.

He said the city is getting noticed for its activity in alternative fuels and clean technology.

The mayor is pressuring Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland to establish a "center for renewable energy and sustainable development" in Toledo.

The Milken study, released last Friday, rated Ocala, Fla., as the best-performing city.

Cities from the Southeast and the Southwest dominated the top U.S. locations, while most Ohio and Michigan cities were on the bottom third of the list.

The study measured the ability of metropolitan areas to create and sustain jobs, and weight was given to high-technology job creation because those tend to pay the most.

Columbus was No. 154, followed by Akron, 155; Cincinnati, 167; Dayton, 190; Youngstown-Warren, 191; and Cleveland, 193.

The mayor cited plant expansions at GM Powertrain and Jeep, promising employment and income tax trends, references to Toledo as a hot spot for clean technology in Newsweek and The Economist, and Toledo's recent ranking as a "North American City of the Future" by Foreign Direct Investment magazine.

"The folks at fDi magazine and The Economist may be seeing the future in Toledo a little more accurately than the Milken study reflects," Mr. Finkbeiner said.

However, he went on to challenge his listeners to invest more and to be more creative.

Jim Hartung, president of the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority, emphasized Toledo's advantages as a center for shipping, and said the region should not minimize its strength as a manufacturing center.

"Manufacturing, industrial, and assembly operations are hotbeds of technological innovation," Mr. Hartung said.