Paula Hicks-Hudson

Paula Hicks-Hudson
Member of the Ohio Senate from the 11th district
Incumbent
Assumed office November 16, 2022
Preceded by	Teresa Fedor
Member of the Ohio House of Representatives from the 44th District
In office January 7, 2019 – November 16, 2022
Preceded by	Michael Ashford
Succeeded by	Elgin Rogers Jr.
63rd Mayor of Toledo
In office February 1, 2015[1] – January 2, 2018
Preceded by	D. Michael Collins
Succeeded by	Wade Kapszukiewicz
Member of the Toledo City Council from 4th district
In office January 2011 – February 1, 2015
Personal details
Born	Paula Hicks (1951-05-28) May 28, 1951 (age 73) Hamilton, Ohio, U.S.
Political party	Democratic[2]
Spouse	Freeman Hudson
Children	Patricia and Leah Hudson
Alma mater	Spelman College (BA) Colorado State University (MA) University of Iowa (JD)
Website	https://paulahickshudson.com/

Paula S. Hicks-Hudson (born May 28, 1951) is an American politician who has served as a member of the Ohio Senate from the 11th district since 2022. She is the former Mayor of Toledo, Ohio.

Early life and education

Hicks-Hudson was born in Hamilton, Ohio. She earned a Bachelor of Arts from Spelman College, Master of Arts from Colorado State University, and Juris Doctor from the University of Iowa College of Law.

Career

She was admitted in the Ohio State Bar Association in 1982 and specialized in business and education Law, as well as Social Security and Working Disability before entering public office.^[3]

Hicks-Hudson was appointed to the Toledo City Council in 2011, representing the 4th district, after Michael Ashford vacated the seat when he was elected to the Ohio General Assembly. She ran in the special election in May 2011, and again in the general election in November 2011, winning both to retain her seat.^[4] In 2013, her council colleagues voted for her to replace council President Joe McNamara when he resigned to run for mayor.^[5]

While serving as Toledo city council president, she was sworn in as acting mayor after her predecessor Mike Collins suffered from cardiac arrest. She served in this office for several days until Collins died, at which point she ascended to the office of mayor. Hicks-Hudson became only the second woman to lead the city of Toledo, and the first African American woman to serve as mayor.^[6] Toledo held a special election in November 2015 to fill the seat for the rest of the term.^[7] On March 18, 2015 Hicks-Hudson announced her candidacy for the November 2015 mayoral election.^[8]

Hicks-Hudson won the special election to serve the remainder of the term on November 3, 2015. However, she later lost her bid for re-election on November 7, 2017 to fellow Democrat and Lucas County Treasurer Wade Kapszukiewicz.^[9]

Electoral history

2011

Toledo City Council
District 4
Special Election, May 3, 2011^[10]

Candidate		Votes	%	±
✓	Paula Hicks-Hudson	484	70.86%
	Terry Shankland	102	14.93%
	Alfonso Narvaez	97	14.20%

Toledo City Council
District 4
General Election, November 8, 2011^[11]

Candidate		Votes	%	±
✓	Paula Hicks-Hudson	5062	70.87%	+0.01%
	Anita Rios	2081	29.13%

2015

Toledo mayoral election, 2015^[12]^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Paula Hicks-Hudson (inc.)	23,087	35.6
	Nonpartisan	Michael Bell	11,228	17.3
	Democratic	Carty Finkbeiner	10,276	15.9
	Nonpartisan	Sandy D. Collins	9,432	14.6
	Nonpartisan	Sandy Sprang	7,028	10.8
	Nonpartisan	Mike Ferner	3,208	5.0
	Republican	Opal Covey	544	0.8
Total votes			64,803	100

References

1. Blade Staff (1 February 2015). "Toledo Mayor D. Michael Collins suffers apparent coronary episode in car crash". Toledo Blade. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
2. Messina, Ignazio (27 February 2013). "Paula Hicks-Hudson elected as Toledo City Council President". Toledo Blade. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
3. "Lawyer Paula Hicks-Hudson - Toledo, OH Attorney - Avvo.com". avvo.com. Archived from the original on 7 February 2015. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
4. Blade Staff (2 February 2015). "Acting mayor Hicks-Hudson first took council office in 2011". Toledo Blade. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
5. Troy, Tom (8 February 2015). "Hicks-Hudson brings wealth of experience". Toldedo Blade. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
6. Larson, Diane (1 February 2015). "Paula Hicks-Hudson sworn in as acting mayor". WTVG. Archived from the original on 4 February 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
7. "Toledo to hold special election after mayor's death". WJW. 7 February 2015. Archived from the original on 11 February 2015. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
8. Zepeda, Michelle (March 18, 2015). "Toledo Mayor Hicks-Hudson announces candidacy for November mayoral election". Toledo News Now. Archived from the original on March 21, 2015. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
9. "Kapszukiewicz defeats Hicks-Hudson for 4-year term". 7 November 2017. Archived from the original on 23 October 2018. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
10. "Lucas County Special Election – May 3, 2011". Election Summary Report – Board of Elections. The County of Lucas, Ohio. p. 38. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
11. "Lucas County Special Election – November 8, 2011". Election Summary Report – Board of Elections. The County of Lucas, Ohio. p. 2. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
12. "City of Toledo Municipal Election, Election Results via Ballotpedia". Ballotpedia. Archived from the original on February 8, 2017. Retrieved December 25, 2016.
13. "City of Toledo Municipal Election, Official Election Results". Lucas County Supervisor of Elections. Archived from the original on December 18, 2015. Retrieved December 25, 2016.

Political offices
Preceded by D. Michael Collins	Mayor of Toledo, Ohio 2015–2018	Succeeded by Wade Kapszukiewicz