Now the 490, with Gretchen de Becker, Matt Killam, and Kevin Mullin all.

Welcome into the 419 Powered by Wheat and presented by which a wealth management.

I'm Kevin Mullin, Gretchen Becker, Matt killing it is a mystery guest edition of the 419.

And it's not my mystery guest today.

It's not mine.

Yep.

It's yours.

Matt.

Today's sweet Jesus.

It is your mystery guest prepared.

You are prepared.

Yes.

Now, when I texted Matt yesterday and I said, are you is your mystery guest?

Is your mystery guest ready for tomorrow?

He's like, what?

Here's the thing.

When I the.

You guys skip out on this, when I think of a mystery, guess I like it to be a mystery.

To be to.

Oh, yeah.

So the until the very end.

Yeah, I see that yet again.

It is my guest.

I'm really excited about this individual.

So I will present you with some clues.

Okay.

I can tell by the usual bovine soulless look in your eyes that it won't matter because you won't be able to guess it.

No, it is a woman.

Okay, I guess she is a woman.

It is a woman.

She is a bulldog in all manner of the phrasing.

Like I said in the intro.

And yeah, it is.

She is a leader in also a specific area of our town.

She's an advocate for a interesting.

She likes to count is what you're saying.

She does not count, but she has a specific number that she advocates for.

Okay.

And on behalf of, I think you're probably gonna get it.

And she is also transitioned into the leader of the numbers.

I really thought these out before.

She is the leader of the numbers.

So she's a math teacher.

She's an ace.

That's exactly right.

She's an ace.

Like in cards.

Never mind.

The ace is the leader of the cards.

The ace can be the first one or the end one.

That's exactly right.

Yeah.

Just give it to her.

Who cares?

Be in charge of the king or below the.

What I don't want to hear is more conversation about this, whether I agree.

I can't get into the show, Henry.

This is an exciting gig.

I think you both like this individual a tremendous amount.

Okay.

And they will be talking about all manner of things.

And although I did forget there was my mystery guest today, I've been trying to get her on the show.

I think for years.

Okay.

Yep.

All right.

Okay.

Well, we're going to find out before we take a break.

I also want to give a shout out.

We've got our our friends and our family at which Roy Wealth Management Wes Allen is a good friend of the show in just a great guy and a big advocate for public media and for this program.

I want to give some of his family.

His son recently won an award from the Tiffin Arts Award program for best cover or remix of a song.

I didn't know some of the musician.

Yeah, but kind of cool.

And not just the mission, but not just a musician.

But now an award.

Got the word winning musician.

That's right, that's right.

It was a song.

I can't always get what you want.

All right.

I think can't be it, but yeah, that's probably not something like that.

That you said the first time we did this.

Hang on.

I'm.

I'm going to get this.

Hang on.

It was good.

You get what you give you.

Yeah.

The rolling Stone song.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

We're also going to talk to Eric Klinger from Red String Radio Hour, and he's going to bring some chaos into this.

I wonder if he can connect if anyone can.

It's Eric, those two songs.

Yes, we should.

We should ask.

All right, let's take a break.

When we come back.

We will meet Matt's mystery guest here on the 419, powered by support for the 419 comes from Whiterock Wealth Management, where we understand that your financial path is personal.

Advisory services are offered through Capital Investment Advisory Services, LLC, securities offer through Capital Investment Group member Finra and speak.

More information at which.

The 419 powered by is made possible in part by supporters like you.

Thank you.

Welcome back into the 419, powered by a mystery guest edition and Matt's mystery guest today.

You said they are a bulldog.

Yep.

Their favorite number is an all meaning of the word blogging.

Yeah.

Their favorite number is four.

I just said that they are an advocate for four.

Okay.

Oh.

All right.

An advocate for four.

Now he's trying to change it.

Which which now makes a little bit more sense now that we see who your mystery guest is.

Introduce us to your guest, miss.

Is that what you told me to say?

I did not.

Representative of district four, but.

But city Council president.

Friend to all.

Unless you don't want to be.

Vanness Williams, thank you so much for being here.

But tell these two mutton heads.

How long have I been trying to get you on the show?

I've been a while.

It's been a good while.

When did he ask you to be on today?

Yesterday.

And when he asked you to do it.

That's your strength when he asked you to be on.

Is it true that he doesn't know the dates or times, or when any slots are available?

Or what time to be here?

That is absolutely true.

Yeah, well, I did talk to one of the two of you yesterday because I had a small panic attack about it being on the way home, and I was like, is your surprise guest ready for tomorrow?

And he's like, what?

He texted me.

He must have text me right when you asked him.

But yeah, it was okay.

I usually buy.

Yeah.

Have anything?

You're used to group projects where maybe not everybody pulls the same weight.

Oh, yes.

And you've tried to talk to us, and she just won't.

No, I'm just kidding.

I love her.

So right before we started.

But we there was like.

So.

Venice.

Yes.

Yes.

Talk to me about like.

Because I think I've always said Venice.

Okay.

People mispronounce it, they don't mispronounce it.

And I'll tell you why.

My mom said, my mom says Venice.

And I love her.

Absolutely love her.

And I go by Venice.

Most of the time.

Affectionately.

Sure.

Venice makes me think of my dad because that's what he calls me.

Okay.

All right.

So, what do you prefer?

Venice.

Yes, ma'am.

It's affectionately from my mother and my.

She.

So.

Yeah.

So for people that don't know or are learning about you for the first time, shockingly, talk a little bit about your your what you are currently doing on Toledo City Council.

Your role.

So I'm actually city council president now and I represent district four.

I am a bulldog, though I know I graduated from Scott High School, which is in my district.

I thought that you did it.

He knew.

So yeah, this council president.

So I basically am the principal of city council, which I actually was a high school principal for a while.

It works out.

Tell us a little bit about district board.

Describe district four to our audience, who may not be familiar with both its geographic boundaries in some of the high points of it.

Okay, so I cover all of North Toledo just up to Point Place, not point Place, just right up to point place that Wyler Wyler's the.

That's pretty much the cutoff.

Yeah, that's the cutoff.

And then I go all of Manhattan.

I don't go past Manhattan.

So Jeep is not in my district.

It's in district six.

And then we go all the way down to central.

Central is part of mine.

Hillcrest, some Sylvania area off Sylvania.

It's very eclectic.

So I stopped right at Central and Jackman.

So some people that's new as of 21.

And then I go all the way downtown.

I'm all the way downtown.

I have Junction and Inglewood in my districts.

So.

And you'll just in Austin, Uptown, all Vistula.

So.

So you have nothing to do basically.

No, no, no, no projects to work.

No no no.

So we have in district four we have the most concentration of people there closer together.

In district four.

When you go to other districts they're a little bit more spread out, but people are on top of people in district four.

I don't know how I'm sure that this data, maybe it's present.

Did you know how many people or in each district, is that the language that you talk about?

Yes, I know that you just talked about living close in proximity, but how many human beings do you represent?

So it's roughly between 44 and 46,000 people.

And that's it.

That's in each district.

Okay.

But like I said, yeah, okay.

But in district four people are on top of people.

So we have more of them together than any other smaller geographic area representing the same people for sure.

And we have more, more people that are renters, like apartments and condos and things like that.

And tell us a little bit about just as you sort of level set to, to our audience, the makeup of council.

What is the how are the seats made up, staff members, that kind of stuff.

Oh, shoot.

So we have.

Absolutely not the.

We have we have six district members and six at large members.

So district members are specific to an area.

So they represent just that area.

And then we have at large who cover all over the city of Toledo.

So they cover everyone and they just just had their seat sworn into their seat this year.

So January, one of what I think we're going to get later into sort of how you grew into this role, but moving from council woman to president, you were particularly good.

This these are my words.

So I know that you're a humble person sometimes talk to me about what makes you particularly good at leading.

So one thing about because I haven't answered you, I mean, tell you what it is.

No.

Okay, so one thing about how I, I've been in several different types of careers.

I was initially a head start teacher.

I started out at 19 as a head start teacher.

Well, first it was KFC.

We can go back to that.

And that was a whole wow, crazy.

That was crazy.

That was when it was Kentucky.

Oh, it was Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Kentucky was Kentucky Fried and they said fried to take our name out of your mouth.

Yeah.

Yeah, literally.

But it wa it was, it was it is funny.

And so that was my absolute first job was at Kennedy Rogers Roasters was the first.

Come on.

Yes.

I cannot imagine service.

Oh, I got fired after the second that I can, but did you kill Kenny Rogers?

I, I wanted to so bad.

Yeah.

So, so going from, you know, being a head start teacher and moving to different careers, I was a I worked at Chrysler for a bit.

I worked at mercy.

I worked in an emergency department at Saint VS.

It was a business office at mercy.

And then I decided that I needed to go back to education.

I was actually a property manager to, but when I finally went back to education was in O8 and I started at a steward 07I started at Steward Academy for girls and that's where I met Major Tharp.

He was major at the time.

Okay.

And then he converted to or took that job as sheriff.

Like, what are you doing?

He definitely encouraged me to go back to school to further my education.

I had a bachelor's at the time and he was like, you got to keep going.

You got to keep going.

He's a good dude.

Yeah.

And he actually encouraged me as well as the principal at steward.

I was working third shift at Chrysler and then going to work at Stewart with my daughter.

Just wanted to spend an extra time with her, and I worked at a bar on the weekends.

Okay.

I was doing everything I had to.

I always had to be a hustler to get it.

And so being has always been a good student.

I mean, you're obviously smart.

Yes, I always have.

Yeah.

I always have, always have been.

That is that because it comes easy or like, you're just.

I never wanted my mother to have to come to the school.

Yeah, that's a good motivator.

That is a good motivator.

I just I just made that comment to somebody that a lot of the decisions I've made in my life are not necessarily because of the mentors that I've had or let my mom call the groups.

That was a part of it was, to this day, just a mortal fear of my mother.

Yeah, because they never were going to side with us.

Well, and it wasn't even that out theater.

I just didn't want her to come to the school.

Yeah.

No.

Just quickly.

Where did you go to school?

I went to Martin Luther King.

Yeah.

And then I went to Robinson and Scott Jessup w Scott.

So we were rivals?

Yes.

So I graduated with a 3.6.

I always I would miss school and then maybe two weeks and then I go and take a test and pass it.

So I was a good student.

I love my teachers.

My teachers loved me.

How about I had one teacher which turned actually, I make my teaching style off of.

Her name was Linda Clark, so she passed away, but she used to when I would, I missed a whole like two weeks of school, and I stayed at home to watch my sister's baby while she finished up school.

But my junior year, Marion lit.

She's crazy old lady and she came and she knocked on my door and she said, came to your house.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Because I was a good student.

Sure.

You know, and she's like, wait a minute.

Where's your sister at?

And I had to stay at home and help my sister out.

Yeah.

And so get there.

And she came to the house and I was like.

And I didn't live in a great neighborhood.

Like, dude, we were getting shot at all the time.

So I'm like, no, Lynda Carter in Perrysburg.

Yeah, yeah, I was not.

I grew up in the Smith Park area, Sugar Wood.

And so it was during the 90s.

So it was heavy gang activity.

And so Linda Clark came to my house and I'm like, Lady Gretchen, when you were here during the 1890s, was there?

What was it like?

Yeah.

Where you headed?

West.

And just stopped here.

It was a. I was, in fact, a gunslinger.

So you got to protect yourself at all times.

So money on the beer?

Yeah.

So, you know, I mimic my teaching style because she she came, she didn't care.

So after, you know, high school or whatever, I didn't know what I wanted to do.

I actually had a scholarship to UT and through that way.

So yeah.

Good move there.

Threw it away.

I went for like two weeks.

I was like, I don't want to go here.

Sure I did.

But yeah, I should have kept it now.

So back to your council role the day in and day out of that, what makes you particularly good that we talked a little bit about your path to it, but now you're navigating a bunch of things, which is, I think, sort of your superpower.

Talk to me about your ability to navigate through that and some of the things that you fall back on to just get through the day.

So as a high school principal, back to the story.

And I actually went and started to work at a drop out.

09A dropout recovery school.

Okay.

And you have 16 to 22 year olds, and you're trying to get them to graduate from high school.

Yeah.

And they don't want to.

Yeah.

Yeah.

They don't want to graduate.

And they they come with a bunch of issues at that point.

You have 20 year olds with first grade reading levels.

So, you know, something happened somewhere.

And so navigating that space and science teachers actually know she did science teachers but just weird.

Yeah.

And so trying to manage science teachers.

And I say this all the time and I tell my council colleagues and my staff, listen, I manage science.

Yeah.

And fired science teachers, which was scary because they can make bombs.

So yeah, navigating science teachers alone.

Which council person is most like a science teacher?

Sam nailed it.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's that's what I was thinking.

That dress is like is like.

Yeah, yeah.

It's like my science teachers know he's a great guy.

Yes he is, but I had a I had and I don't want to say I had a teacher from Mechanicsburg, Ohio, by far my weirdest one.

I had one science.

But you had so much in common growing up, so I don't know.

I don't know what they had going on in McKinney.

And I had one from.

I had one that she was just weird and she liked to cut up sharks all the time.

Sharks?

Yes.

She would love to cut up sharks like she's a new shark.

Okay, I have a problem with you.

And then one that shot in the dark.

So if I can navigate science teachers and teenagers in the dark.

Do you think that she's available?

He's.

He was from.

He's fine.

I'll tell you what I can do.

What is it?

Oh, these Mechanicsburg one.

Like he sat in the dark.

So you talk about managing science teachers, managing counsel, people managing constituents that are upset about something.

I mean, what what is it like?

What's the the the tactic that you use?

Is it like is it just strict boundaries?

Is it.

Here's a here's a process for you know, how I respond to you.

Right.

So I'm going to listen and I'm going to breathe for a little bit.

And then I'm denial right.

No, no.

So I'll be clear I don't manage the I don't manage the, the council people because we're all elected officials.

So what I do is try to manage around them.

Sure.

Manage around them.

And the process maybe more process is definitely it because you definitely want to manage the process and, you know, just managing how we are perceived by the public.

And I answer phone calls.

I'm on the phone with constituents.

Listening to them and listening first is key.

You have to listen.

That is the key to everything that we do.

Listening to the staff, listening to the needs of the council, people who are priority at this point and just making sure that we are all on the same page whether we agree or not.

I have my answer to this.

And at the risk of making you feel uncomfortable because all you ever do is say mean terrible things to me, what I think makes you particularly good at this is I would have said, you're a great listener first, and that is it.

We've been a lot of different places together, and you are a good listener and you are then an honest person.

And although you work through, I mean, I wish you were less honest with me.

And I list of things I'd like you to never be on.

Someone has to be honest with you.

That's not true.

This is best.

But you are.

But you are.

But people know whether they agree or disagree that you are going to listen.

And then you're going to tell them what you know to be true.

And then you are malleable.

Meaning, that doesn't mean that the third part of that isn't you listening again or changing your mind.

The deal isn't done with you.

I think that you take in a lot, and then you navigate through those things with a tremendous amount of respect, grace, and districts that you represent.

And now the city people respect you, even people who don't agree with you and you disagree with people sometimes at a very loud volume.

I do, I do, but but so that is my compliment to you for what my opinion matters.

Many people feel the same way, if not most, but to hear that.

Well, you told me to say it so.

But I do want to ask from an energy perspective.

You are up every day.

My guess is somewhere between 430 and 530.

The energy level.

We are proximately the same age.

You're older.

Okay, so how do you how do you keep how do you keep your energy up here?

We're going to get about a min three seconds left of the segment.

But how do you keep the fire?

What gets you out of bed are a three year old a four year old, sure.

And just the energy of it.

Yeah.

Yeah, yeah.

I mean, I've always been energetic and, you know, I just got a I got to drive for life, you know.

Yes you do.

I love life, I love life is.

Life is great.

Yeah.

I mean and people say life is life and life is life in a good way.

You know, I have a sense of rest and peace that I get from just waking up.

What's what's the part of serving on council that you enjoy the most?

Talking to constituents, I love that the most trying to seem stuff be resolved for our residents.

That's the best thing.

That's I think that's everyone's purpose in life is to make sure that we serve.

And that came from your mom, your dad, your community.

My mom?

Yeah.

My mom.

She used to wake us up every morning and say, did you thank God for waking you up this morning?

Every morning.

Can you tell us a little bit more about her?

She's amazing.

So I never actually met her.

Although you and I have said in the lobbies of of health care facilities quite a bit together.

My mom, she was always in the other room.

So you and I were just in the waiting room together.

So why were you in the waiting room?

You just kind of make friends just to meet women, okay?

Yeah, well, my mom is actually she had three kids before the age of 21, and she's had some struggles in life.

But to see her persevere where she is today.

Yeah.

She's amazing.

She she's the biggest hero I have in life because she doesn't have a high school diploma.

But she raised three kids that graduated high school.

I have a master's degree.

My sister has her associates.

My brother, he has a great job and she helps us with our kids.

Tell us about your brother and sister.

Are they in town?

So I have two sisters and two brothers.

My oldest sister is.

We don't say half, but she's my.

She's my sister by my father.

Yeah, sure.

But she's my eldest sister and she lives in Georgia.

Her name is Nicole.

She works for Cartersville, Georgia.

She is a public.

She runs the water department.

Yeah.

I don't even know what her position is, but she runs the water to close enough.

Yeah.

You don't have a lot of downloads in Georgia?

Yes.

It's where she's working at.

Is real Hickey.

And so Mechanicsburg, Georgia actually, no it's Cartersville.

Oh I love it there.

Cartel County.

So have you ever visited in the fall.

Oh I love beautiful.

I hate visiting you.

But I did because at one point all my siblings lived there.

So I had to go.

Yeah.

And then I had everybody's older than me, except for a little brother.

But my brother, my eldest brother is after my eldest sister.

And he works out at Kripke.

Yeah.

Cool.

Dude.

He's a cool dude.

That's a great company.

He's my guy.

Matt Kripke is amazing.

Yes.

My brother, he's amazing as well.

He's always been my protector.

I mean, literally protector.

Like what beat Elgin Rogers up for me?

Sure.

Yeah, right, I used to.

Elgin grew up together, so I beat him up.

Oh, yeah, we went to King Robinson.

This got together?

Yeah.

Okay.

Yeah.

Too much time.

The long haul, too much time together.

But he's a good friend of mine.

And then my sister, L'Oreal, she is.

She's more of my protector than all three of them.

Okay?

Like she's terrifying.

Body block.

Yeah, like my mouth would go a thousand miles a minute.

Get out of town.

Once I talk to somebody, she'd come and she'd have to defend me.

Yeah.

So finish it up.

So did she.

Actually, she helps me run the childcare center, but she's in a. Yeah, she she's an amazing mother and she's a she quit her medical.

She was a medical assistant for 11 years.

And she quit to come help me around my child care center.

So we're talking with Venice Williams, city councilwoman, president of city council.

You mentioned the child care center.

We're going to take a break.

When we come back.

I want to talk about that.

And I'm really interested in whether it's easier to coordinate a bunch of three and four year olds or the grown adults that sit on our city council.

We'll talk about that.

The similarities.

Yeah.

Yeah, it's the 419 powered by wheat.

We'll be right back.

To me, community means connecting to others.

I'm Donnie Miller and welcome to the point I love it.

Yes, we're a community committed to education.

Discover new ideas, dive into exciting subject, and engage with the world around you.

I would send them personally a t shirt crime doesn't pay in the old West End.

Pass it on.

That's how we cleaned up the neighborhood.

Vision loss for people is not the end.

It's a story.

It's the next chapter.

The public media invites you to get out and play day Monday through Friday.

It's the 419 Powered by Wheat with Matt Killam, Gretchen De Backer, I'm Kevin Mullin.

What can people expect on the show?

It's going to be an hour reminder of why this is a great place to live, work and play.

Wh Where you come to watch, listen and learn.

Welcome back into the 419.

It's a mystery guest edition.

We're joined now once again by Matt's mystery guest, Miss Vanness Williams, the president of Toledo City Council.

But you so city Council in Toledo if folks aren't aware and I somewhat tongue in cheek say it's not a full time job.

No, it very much is a full time job.

It is not full time pay.

And so everybody, for the most part, has something else that they do on the side.

They have to.

Yeah.

And so talk to me about what your, your day job is.

So right now my day job has been president of council.

And then in between that I run a childcare center on Monroe Street just like Auburn.

How long has that location been open?

So I opened it July of 2020.

I got on Council of September of 2020.

Yeah, sounds to do it all at the same time.

Yeah.

And and do it during global pandemic.

Yep.

It was it was a pandemic.

I actually purchased a building in December of 19 and we were timing we were slated to open March of 2020.

Perfect.

Didn't work.

Yeah.

It didn't work.

Yeah, it was rough.

I bet what I say, I mean, you talked a little bit about your, you know, your background.

You were a head start teacher.

You've worked in education.

I mean, is that what drew you to this or what kind of brought you to to purchase this childcare center?

So once I kind of told you I had 20 year olds with first grade reading levels and had bothered me to no end, it happened somewhere because in first grade, you're six.

So where did it happen?

At the break.

Right?

Yeah.

And then I had some owners.

It was a charter school that I ran.

The owners of the company were the worst people in the world.

They were poverty, pimping.

And I'll tell you what that is if you want to know.

I do want to know.

Not seriously.

Poverty pimping is when you make money off of poverty, kids in poverty.

And for the duration of me working at the school, we had one owner and then they sold it to another.

And these owners were terrible.

They only cared about their bottom line.

And so I had to walk away.

And I was making six figures at the time, and it was hard to walk away.

But my daughter had graduated from college and I was like, it's time to go.

So as soon as she graduated, I quit.

Yeah, sure.

And as I was going, figuring out my next journey childcare center was just the thing to do.

I wanted to start at the beginning and help parents learn those deficits where they were and if they had hearing problems, if they weren't talking.

And that stuff that I can recognize, I I've worked with kids all my life, and I just wanted to make sure that we they could start off right.

There was an initiative a couple of years ago, and I know it hasn't fully gone away around universal pre-K.

I had the privilege of sitting on one of those committees, kind of in the early kind of the first go around, and so learned quite a bit about this.

I worked in education most of my career as well, but I'm curious, like talk a little bit about kind of the gap and the need for kindergarten readiness and what that what that actually means to get a child ready for kindergarten is very intense.

You have to be hands on, you have to have small classes.

You have to be able to help parents advocate for different things, because a lot of times they don't know.

And and I was definitely my child care center was definitely an affiliate of Hope Toledo, which is a great organization that helped worked with community based childcare.

This was not the big conglomerates.

These were the kids that will be those kids at my dropout recovery school that I was at.

They will be them if we don't touch them, because parents need access to not only early learning, but they need childcare as well.

So yes, they should learn parts of the day and then be able to learn all day long.

But be in a setting where parents feel comfortable, right?

Because in the traditional school setting that is also doing a great job with preschool, they don't go past 3:00 where you have parents that they don't get off work till six, start work at six or work.

So having quality childcare at the beginning of life is very important because I've, and this is the mission at my child care center is education begins at birth.

And you know who I got that from?

Ramon is Duran.

He he started that.

And that is what I took and carried on at the end of my career at the high school, I actually partnered with Doctor Durant to help our kids with career tech programs, the children that I serve, and just working alongside of him and hearing what he talked about with the early learning piece.

Education begins at birth and sometimes in the womb.

It's so insane to me that still compelling that we still are having this conversation is so patently clear.

It's so obvious that these these interventions from 0 to 5, 0 to 4 are just critical.

I mean, they change the trajectory.

I mean, it just people it just it makes me it makes me so it's insane.

It's that we're still talking about this.

The data is clear.

The interventions are clear.

What is the programs that are needed are clear.

But there's such a tremendous gap in our community.

Right.

My wife and I talk about it all the time, like because of the message that are in authority, don't want to do anything about it.

But like, I can't imagine a world where my kids wouldn't have been ready for kindergarten, right?

But like, I mean, I'm certainly coming from a place of privilege where both my wife and I have college degrees.

We both have good jobs.

We're both able to be home with the kids.

All of these things that are not the norm across the city.

And so the thing that worked for my kids, they can't just like, well, yeah, parents figure it out.

It's like, well, no, no, no, parents are trying to figure it out.

Parents are working three, 4 or 5 jobs all hours of the day.

And and one of the barriers that around pre-K was parents trusting that the center would take better care of their kid or take as good of care of their kid as they do.

And that's that's what it is.

And the majority of the non the majority of people in child care right now in community based centers, private community based centers are black women who carried the country, who took care of people's children throughout time.

That's right.

And so when you look at that and you look at who even at the state level, even locally, who people are targeting, who are not at the table, I've been in rooms when people are talking about child care, and I'm the only childcare owner in the building.

Sure.

Like, how are we talking about childcare and not having the people in the room that's doing child experiencing it, right?

Yes.

Like the challenges, the breakdown.

Oh yeah.

Because I'm, I went from making six figures to making no figures.

When I first opened my center on council, I was broke, my car was rebuilt.

I mean, and that was the time when we were making 27.5, going from six figures to 27.5 and still having six figure bills.

It was hard, but I was walking to my center with my car repo, answering constituent calls, talking to Doctor Whitman, walking and just being as happy as can be.

But I think it's interesting because you talk about like that.

We've got a group of constituents whose voices typically aren't heard.

We've got a government system that's pretty good at making decisions for other people without their voice being heard.

And so I got to believe that's part of the motivation for you.

When we talk about why in the world would you run for city council?

You wanted to be that that advocate and that voice for for a community?

Well, and not only that, my my goal in life is to make sure that when on my grandmother was the best and when I was at her funeral, I had to play on her funeral.

Unfortunately, it was probably the hardest time in my life.

What was her name?

Her name was Lorraine Whitaker.

She worked at Child Study Institute back CSI.

Yeah, it was an old JD.

See now do juvenile detention.

I did not know that.

That's what CSI stood for.

Yeah.

Child study Institute.

She worked there for 30 years.

You're kidding me.

And when I planned her funeral on and got all the people that she took care of in that setting coming to her funeral, I mean, I had never seen her funeral like this before in my life.

This woman had people that were 50 years old that said that she let me come stay with her after I left the detention center because my mom didn't take me home.

What?

What are you talking about?

Yeah, I live in Milwaukee now.

I'm here to visit and see and pay homage to her and honor her.

And that's the legacy.

I want to leave its legacy for me.

It's not what I do here.

We get a dash put on our heads down when we die, and that's it to tell us.

Tell everybody what you did in your life that you worked and what you do with that dash mean something.

And her dash meant something.

And to see it.

She was my grandma.

Yeah, she was great.

She was my best friend.

But to know that her dash meant something to so many people.

So it's so important.

And as an elected official, you speak through your budget.

The priorities that you place are in the budget that's put forward by the mayor, that's approved by council.

So what are and that was just approved a couple, a couple of weeks ago.

What are some of the priorities that you have in the new budget that City Council just approved that you're excited about, or pleased that were made part of that budget?

I'm not pleased about the budget.

Okay.

What are you displeased about the budget?

The fact that so as a district member, it was different for me.

I was able to say, this is what I want and stick with it and argue about it and say, this is our priorities, right?

But with our budget now, it's about many constraints because we don't have a lot enough revenue coming in.

The focus is just maintaining it and making sure the city doesn't go bankrupt.

What are the ideas that are currently on the table to increase revenue?

So increasing revenue maybe a levy and that is a real conversation.

Also an entertainment tax, which may not bring a whole lot in.

That is something that's on the table too.

It won't do what we need.

And the mayor has a great idea about bringing in more people and the way that our economic development.

I think he's a chief now.

Yeah.

Chief of bubbles.

That's right.

He's the economic growth bubble.

So.

So when you look at the the the purple bubbles.

Yeah we call it the bubble map.

So scrubbing bubbles so we Brandon show horse is probably the the most he's very smart.

Yes he is.

I've never met anybody like him.

Yeah he's very good.

And like I've had people from out of town saying, well he's ready to go.

We'll take him.

No, he's not ready to go when he's young.

Yeah.

And so the ideas that he has, they are amazing.

Yeah.

I'm interested.

Like, you know, the idea of, like, our city doesn't have enough money, and I can get that.

But then you start talking about Brain and cell horse and all the conversations we've had and all the years that he has been great at what he does and and driving economic development, driving growth to our city.

Why is that not translating into more revenue?

Well, if you think about it, it takes years to see things turn around.

Exactly.

It takes years, like I say, seven years for a business to turn around.

Well, I'm in my six.

Yeah, sure.

So.

Well, close to six.

So it takes years.

We may not see that for ten years, but that's something that if you start it out, it will happen.

We really have to focus on cutting the budget and that right now to sustain past 2029 to and then 20, 2030, we will probably see the results of what's going on right now.

It is wildly complex, right.

So you have you have population loss, which obviously is a direct line to revenue or income.

And the business concept of of government, we have aging infrastructure.

So costs are rising exponentially.

We just have the Arlington sewer disaster, which is no one's fault, but it is not going to be a lone wolf.

I mean, we that it's not right now.

So that's a that's probably at the end of the day, in all the costs, probably a $50 million boondoggle, which is no fault known for.

So, you know, to that end, I think that the CIC that put in place, Brandon, is that so that is the CIC.

So that was a stand for Community Investment Corporation Corporation and stuff.

You don't know.

Well then we ran show.

Yeah.

Well but I am right.

I know that you are not.

That's versus today's date.

But so I think you know we're here I do want before we get into a sort of a fun or portion of the show.

I do want to highlight one thing before we move into that.

You've had a long road as a community advocate, and I'm sure there's several, but do you mind highlighting something that that was your favorite or a feel good?

Almost nothing on the level that you work on is a 100% win or you get despite the football, I'm sure there's always something you're like, I wish I would have gotten a little more here or it would have been slightly different.

That's that is that is the blight and challenge of some of your intellect in your drive.

It's never going to be perfect to your standards, but there's got to be something that you're immensely proud of.

Do you mind sharing at least one of them?

I definitely, and I do have several.

But the biggest thing that I am so happy about today is that Ashland Manor actually has new owners.

Sure, that is such a plain to people.

Why in there are a couple areas in our district that could be better served, and I've walked through one of them with you.

Yes, but talk to me about why that was a win and the process for doing so.

So Ashland Manor is affordable housing project, and it used to be marketed as for veterans.

Right.

And so veterans need to be taken care of.

There are heroes.

They're the ones that fight for our freedoms every day.

But we have maybe about ten veterans in there.

The owner of that complex actually was terrible.

A terrible person, terrible organization, actually is being sued by the feds.

And I've been working on this for about three years now.

And now we have a I mean, when you walked through, it was eight floors of compacted trash and you had the director of HUD here.

I mean, it was like if became a very big story, but the really the deplorable conditions that the people were living in there, they had been complaining for a long period of time to different agencies and, and they voices were unheard and no one was murdered there.

And that's, that's the part that gets me is the poverty pimps.

And that's what I'm speaking about.

Poverty pins when you're profiting off the poor.

And that's so bad.

And I have issue with that.

And that's what Ashland Manor owners were doing.

And they kept transferring to their next LLC, changing their names and playing the game.

I tracked it all the way back to a company in Beverly Hills, and as soon as I got on them, they hurry up and say, no, it's not ours.

Yes it is.

We know this is your affiliate company, so that is one actually where I feel like residents will get this is a great owner out of New York that I feel like will be an asset to our community on a broader scale.

That's amazing.

We're talking with Venice Williams from Toledo City Council.

All right, buckle up.

It's now time for.

I'm ready.

Gretchen's wacky quiz.

She loves.

I guess I'm doing this.

I did make up that name.

All right.

For rapid fire questions for me.

Gretchen is asking you to describe Toledo in one word.

And you and Matt will list the nine best things in Toledo.

Question number one.

What is your biggest fear?

God.

Okay.

Great answer.

What toppings do you like on your pizza?

Crab meat and pineapple.

Crab meat and pineapple.

It's so good.

Okay, I'll try it.

What is your favorite t shirt?

Have on it.

I can't say it.

Grab me.

Yeah, we have it.

Okay.

Okay.

Well, it's my black girl magic shirt.

Okay, good.

All right.

There we go.

And then you worked at KFC?

Yes.

So I'm excited to hear the answer to this.

What's your favorite fast food?

Kenny Rogers.

No, no, that's not it.

It was Boston Market.

Market was so good.

Sampler side and is gone.

Yeah it is.

What is the one word you would use to describe the city of Toledo?

Eclectic.

That's my girl.

I were doing the nine.

Your knife here.

Things about the city.

That's great.

Let's go.

Okay.

The metro parks.

Thank you.

Oh, Jesus, I really.

I mean, you got to give it to.

And the metro, though.

Do you?

Yes, I do, because.

And let's be clear, I fought against some funding that we gave them.

Yes, but that doesn't mean that I don't love it.

And it's like the best thing since you're just trying to make up for that vote.

Understand?

Not not making up for that vote.

It was it was metro parks versus grocery stores.

So I went with grocery stores.

So all right.

Metroparks number one.

Okay.

The next one is boxing.

Yes.

You know boxing.

It's a big deal for your brother as well as part of your family.

Toledo boxing is something that I actually love.

We have a great boxing family here.

The Toledo Golden Gloves will be fighting this weekend.

Shout out!

Shameless plug.

I love the art museum.

It's amazing.

I got to go see cursed.

Yeah.

The the the party.

Arts commission, art commission, the arts Commission and the mix.

Oh, my God, that's so turned up.

Yep.

I love Inglewood.

I love Inglewood.

That's where I was born and raised.

Still live.

I love Gino's Pizza.

I love it, all right?

I love Gino's Pizza.

Gino's by far is probably the best pizza, but pizza Cat is the second.

It's a close second, though.

I got one left.

One left.

I did not ate already.

Yep.

What are you writing?

I don't even know what that is.

Answer the question.

For God's.

The absolute last one that I actually love is Junction Neighborhood.

You got it, I love it.

Benny's Williams, thank you so much for having me here.

Program.

All right.

When we come back, Eric Klinger with what?

He's got, the Red String Diaries radio hour.

Yes, something like that.

Red string diaries, like strings.

We're just gonna make up whatever the name of the show is.

We'll learn more about it on the other side of the break here on the 419.

We'll be right back.

Support for the 419 comes from We Wealth Management, where we understand that your financial path is personal.

Advisory services are offered through Capital Investment Advisory Services, LLC.

Securities offer through Capital Investment Group member Finra and speak.

More information at Whiterock Advisors Destination Toledo.

Whether you're a local or visitor, Destination Toledo invites you to explore the region and be a tourist in Toledo.

Find events, dining and things to do at Visit Toledo.

Work spring HR issues and employee well-being.

Go hand in hand.

Work spring supports employers through compliance, training and wellness because healthy workplaces don't happen by accident.

Learn more at work.

Spring Toledo Refining Company, a subsidiary of PDF Energy Toledo Refining Company is a supplier of fuels that keep our region moving.

Located in Oregon, Ohio, the refinery processes crude oil into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and other petroleum products.

And Tada!

Celebrating its 55th year of connecting Northwest Ohioans to their community.

More information at Tada.

Welcome back into the 419 Powered by.

There's so many great things happening here at wheat and some incredible programing on FM 91.

On the app, on the website, you can find it everywhere.

We're joined now by Eric Klinger, the host of the Red String Radio Hour.

Correct.

What in the world is the Red String Radio Hour?

So it's about 30 minutes long, right?

It's a correct.

So what I do is I make the connections that exist between music.

So I look at the ways in which music is all connected.

Right?

I start with one song.

I choose it more or less at random.

Then I make the connections that that song has to other songs by other artists.

We cross, we are all over the place.

It's very eclectic.

And then the goal is with every episode to bring it to a satisfying conclusion.

So one of the things we had the chance to chat recently, I found this show idea so clever, so interesting.

Also, I would encourage anyone to go to the wheat Facebook page because Eric makes these short videos where he's pointing to a board which will have him put up here in a second with the red string going around.

But but what you were explaining to me was you might go down a path and get get yourself sort of into a corner with your connection and then you can't get it back around.

And so you have it back.

Okay.

So what's the plan when you have something like that happen?

You don't have one?

Okay.

That's the best part is you start to see that that this person played with this person.

And then you dig deeper and you say, wait, why did this person play with this?

Why why did Jerry Garcia play with Ornette Coleman?

You people at home get that right.

But this is the music version of Chaos Theory, right?

If you stare at something long enough that seems not connected, you'll see patterns emerge.

No.

Inform your own pattern.

You force your own pattern.

That's what keeps theory is okay.

Yeah.

Okay.

Elementary chaos theory.

Yes.

So.

Yeah.

So that's that's what that's what I'm doing here.

And how are you finding who is playing on all of these on all of these songs?

Is this something that's searchable?

Do you have this knowledge innately already in your brain?

So there are plenty of discography websites out there that I use to research it.

But then what I try to do is go, well, what's the most interesting one?

So a while back I was doing an episode where I came to Graham Nash, right, who played with The Hollies.

Right.

And I could have said, oh, well.

Graham Nash then joined Crosby, Stills and Nash.

Right.

That's not that interesting.

Everybody knows that.

So I'm like, well, what else can we do?

So I found out that the Hollies backed up the Everly Brothers on an album that they made in 1964.

Follow That Around just ended up in all kinds of different directions, ended up heading into jazz, into avant garde classical music, whatever I find.

And that's like the more interesting, the better.

And then you just keep bringing it around.

And on the show you're playing these songs as you're going through, as any listener called you out and said that they thought that you were incorrect or that you've made a registering radio.

Our error in your in what you were saying.

Not yet, but I welcome that.

Okay.

You got it.

You got a corkboard next to you looks like you're trying to solve a murder in the 1980s.

It looks like he might be also a little bit.

That's what the red string is.

Right.

So, you know, the old, you know, 1980s there, Pharisee theories, murder boards, whatever we call them.

Yes.

That's how I got the name.

I was like, it's great.

Was like, what?

That's what I'm doing here is I'm making these connections.

So I'll give you an example.

So the first this is episode three which will air on the 22nd of April, okay.

Which aired I'm sorry on the 22nd of April.

I'm sorry my verb tenses, but so the song I started with initially is Lovey Dovey by the clovers.

Okay, lovey dovey by the clovers.

The first stanza is you're the cutest thing that I ever did.

See.

You really love your peaches.

Want to shake your tree?

Steve Miller appropriated that or I thought that was the theme.

Okay, okay, so there's a piano player on that called Van the Piano Man was he played with stick McGhee.

Stick McGhee and his buddies.

One of his buddies was brownie McGhee.

Brownie McGhee played with Sonny Terry, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee.

They were the two blues guys in the movie The Jerk.

Okay.

That's them.

Okay, okay.

Stick oh, stick.

McGhee recorded a song one called One Monkey Don't Stop the Show.

Okay.

Terry recorded a completely different song, also called One Monkey Don't Stop the Show.

A different song.

Totally different song.

That's not surprising.

Yeah.

Very common, very common.

Okay, so appearing on the Sonny Terry song was Lightnin Hopkins famous blues guy.

Lightnin Hopkins had a bass player named Jimmy Bond.

Jimmy Bond played with the Jazz Crusaders.

Okay.

Jazz Crusaders bass player Wilton Felder played with John Cale, who was in the Velvet Underground.

Right.

Okay.

John Cale recorded an album called Paris 1919.

That's the Paris Peace Talks there, sort of related.

And we have to do that, have peace talks.

That was great.

Yeah, yeah, that was fun.

So John Cale also recorded with the minimalist 20th century composer Terry Riley.

Okay, okay.

Terry Riley, the album that they recorded together was called Church of Anthrax, and I play a little snippet from that.

It's a long piece, but okay, so we get into some minimalist 20th century composer stuff there.

The drummer on that was Bobby Gregg.

Bobby Gregg played on Bob Dylan's 1965 classic Bringing It All Back Home.

He plays on the song Bob Dylan's 115th dream.

Okay, the bass player on Bob Dylan's 115th dream was Bill Lee.

That Spike Lee's father.

Okay, so.

But you're not chasing that string.

You're leaving spike Lee out of this.

It looks like, for now.

Okay, now we never know.

You revisit this.

I've got a lot.

He's got a lot of sound boards in his percolating up here.

Yeah.

Okay, so Bill Lee played with Stanley Cowell, the jazz composer and Toledo native.

Try to work in a little Toledo wherever I can.

Yes, sir.

Right.

Or northwest Ohio, something like that.

Ohio.

Anyway, let's tilt that board a little bit.

Push that.

Yeah.

There.

There you go and see it.

Yeah.

Right.

Okay.

Also.

Okay.

We'll get to that in a minute.

The bass player on that was Charlie, folks, who also played in Count Basie's band when he recorded a version of uptight, which was written by Sylvia moir.

Sylvia moy also wrote the song This Old Heart of Mine, by which was recorded by The Isley Brothers.

But I played the version by Tammi Terrell that was also written by Holland-Dozier-Holland.

Motown legendar composers Holland-Dozier-Holland who after leaving Motown, formed a different label called Invictus, where they recorded a group called The Honey Cone, who released a third, completely different song called One Monkey Don't Stop the Show.

Wait, can't they leave these monkeys alone?

And that's what I call bringing it all back.

That is great.

And then it ends with the red string goes on for.

And just point out that the red string goes on red string radio hour here on wheat.

Where can people listen to it?

They can listen to it on 91, because only public media, only public radio would play shows like this.

It's the only place you can get this type of thing.

It's amazing.

And yes, once the episode has launched its aired, I put a mix cloud of it up on our website so you can listen to it on demand.

You can get to it via our website or via the app.

Seven A is 7 p.m.

7 p.m.

on Wednesdays.

Yes on FM 91.

Correct.

Red String Radio Hour with Eric Klinger.

Yes.

Where did you come up with this idea?

I had a bunch of red yarn you had to get rid of.

Yes.

So, a failed knitter, I started here.

No.

So I started here as a communications strategist in November of last year.

And while I thought, well, while I'm here, I used to work here as a news director back in the olden days.

And so I'm like, I like radio, you know, I want to come up with an idea for a show.

So I was just thinking about it and I'm like, what if we did that?

And it just it just came to me.

I think it would only come to me if I worked here.

I wouldn't have occurred to me to do this.

How much time does it take to make a single show on average?

And you can tell by your voice that this is fun.

And it's really fun to watch, to listen to you do it.

Yes, I think it's a brilliant idea.

And everyone is familiar with going down a a search hole, a wormhole.

But how long would you say this takes air for one episode?

So I it's one of the few things I do in my life where I don't count how many hours it takes me to do so fun, but it takes me a few hours to research it, a few hours to write it, and then a few hours, a couple hours to record it.

Recordings.

Actually, the quickest part?

Sure.

All right.

Wednesday, 7 p.m.

on FM 9120 473 65 online at search for Red String Radio Hour.

Of course, you can find it on the new and improved easy to Beat.

This is what he's going to say.

It is great.

It is easy to use even for me, and I'm not an app person.

It's a fantastic tool for everyone.

I'm getting so emotional just thinking about it.

Thank you so much for joining us.

Thanks.

When we come back, we'll wrap up this Friday edition of the 419.

Every day when you left with us, you learned with us.

We made sure your childhood was special.

Memories that could only be provided by PBS.

For generations, we've given you programs that made a difference.

Programs that entertain, informed and inspired.

And today is no different.

This is public media in Toledo.

It's where you belong.

Support for the 419 comes from Waitrose Wealth Management, where we understand that your financial path is personal.

Advisory services are offered through Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC, securities offer through Capital Investment Group member Finra and speak.

More information at which advisors.com.

Destination Toledo Whether you're a local or a visitor, Destination Toledo invites you to explore the region and be a tourist in Toledo.

Find events, dining and things to do at Visit Toledo.

Work, spring HR issues and employee well-being go hand in hand.

Work spring supports employers through compliance, training and wellness because healthy workplaces don't happen by accident.

Learn more at work.

Spring Toledo Refining Company, a subsidiary of PDF Energy Toledo Refining Company is a supplier of fuels that keep our region moving.

Located in Oregon, Ohio, the refinery processes crude oil into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and other petroleum products, and Tada!

Celebrating its 55th year of connecting Northwest Ohioans to their community.

More information at Tata.

Welcome back into the 419.

As we wrap up a Friday edition.

What are you doing?

Matt is being silly.

All right.

Matt.

Surprise guest.

Home run.

Yeah.

Benny's is fantastic.

Yeah, she really is.

I mean, she is a tough cookie on the outside and just tougher on the inside.

No, I think, but I think a good reminder that, like, these people that we see in the news that, like we might disagree with on a, on a random Tuesday or Wednesday, but like our real people.

Yeah.

She dealt.

I mean, we're dealing with some real life stuff here.

We have a great time and great city.

That's what this show is about.

But there's the reality that we're also a shrinking town in the county.

And they, they they being our local government and the look at the officials and all of us deal with real stuff.

Have real issues.

And you can't argue and disagree and be friends and come together later if you treat each other with respect.

And she embodies that.

If you miss any part of the show.

7 a.m.

on YouTube, 3 p.m.

on FM 91 and 6PMTE connects channel 30.4.

It's the 419 powered by GT, presented by Wealth Management.

The 419 Howard by White is made possible in part by supporters like you.

Thank you.