Advocacy

The Lucas County Young Democrats are an active force in our local politics, working for candidates and causes that reflect our ideals. In particular, we as an organization emphasize four policy areas as critical to the long-term success of our community.

Job Creation & Economic Development

With unemployment in the Toledo-Lucas County metropolitan area above 13 percent (as of March 25, 2010), jobs must be the top priority for our area. Worse yet, young people are disproportionately feeling the pinch of joblessness, as the national unemployment rate for 18-24 year olds rests at nearly 19 percent. In Lucas County, we need a dramatic shift in both the approach to job creation and the milestones typically heralded as economic development. We support a regionalized approach to job creation & economic development that let’s our region work as a whole to bring jobs to the area, rather than pit local municipalities against one another, or Toledo vs. its suburbs.

In particular, we favor an online “one-stop shop” for individuals and firms looking to start or locate businesses in Lucas County with a clearinghouse of information on development agencies, business incubators, area taxes, business registration requirements, and licensing; creative and expanded use of joint economic development zones (JEDZ) among; and efforts to encourage grassroots entrepreneurship and new business development.

Sustainability & Energy Leadership

The importance of sustainable communities and energy independence cannot be overstated. These are no longer issues just for the conservation minded or those who feel are moral obligation to environmental stewardship. Rather, sustainability & energy leadership are issues of national security and economic reality.

Lucas County is uniquely poised to lead our region with green building practices and programs to improve energy efficiency; innovative water management; renewable energy research and manufacturing; and local & urban agriculture.

Urban Vibrance

LCYD works for the betterment of all of Lucas County, but we recognize that Lucas County as a whole cannot prosper without a thriving urban core. The City of Toledo must be revitalized and reborn if Lucas County is to remain prosperous.

To that end, we support balanced, mixed-used development in and around downtown Toledo; pursuit of a high-speed rail system to unite the Lake Erie West Corridor and link us with nearby Chicago; light rail connectivity between key community hubs, including all three University of Toledo campuses and downtown Toledo; and broad efforts to fight “brain drain” and staunch the steady urban exodus of families and young professionals.