Larry Sykes
Prior offices
Toledo City Council At-large
Elections and appointments
Personal
Larry Sykes was an at-large member of the Toledo City Council in Ohio. He assumed office in 2013. He left office on July 22, 2020.
Sykes ran for election for an at-large seat of the Toledo City Council in Ohio. He lost in the general election on November 2, 2021.
Biography
Sykes was a community affairs officer with Fifth Third Bank at the time of his retirement.[1]
Elections
2021
See also: City elections in Toledo, Ohio (2021)
General election
Nonpartisan primary election
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
2017
- See also: Municipal elections in Toledo, Ohio (2017)
The city of Toledo, Ohio, held elections for mayor and six seats on the city council on November 7, 2017. A primary election took place on September 12, 2017. The filing deadline for this election was July 14, 2017.[2][3] The following candidates ran in the general election for six at-large seats on the Toledo City Council.
| Toledo City Council, At-large General Election, 2017 |
| Candidate |
Vote % |
Votes |
 Sandy Spang Incumbent |
12.12% |
27,459 |
| Rob Ludeman Incumbent |
11.04% |
25,004 |
| Cecelia Adams Incumbent |
9.72% |
22,030 |
| Gary Johnson |
9.40% |
21,296 |
| Nick Komives |
9.13% |
20,689 |
| Larry Sykes Incumbent |
8.94% |
20,246 |
| Harvey Savage Jr. |
8.23% |
18,656 |
| Sam Melden |
8.13% |
18,410 |
| Kurt Young Incumbent |
6.90% |
15,637 |
| Patricia Robinson |
6.55% |
14,847 |
| Alfonso Narvaez |
5.99% |
13,566 |
| Clyde Phillips Jr. |
3.85% |
8,722 |
| Total Votes |
226,562 |
| Source: Lucas County, Ohio, "November 7, 2017 General Election," accessed November 7, 2017 |
The following candidates ran in the primary election for six at-large seats on the Toledo City Council.
| Toledo City Council, At-large Primary Election, 2017 |
| Candidate |
Vote % |
Votes |
| Sandy Spang Incumbent |
12.16% |
12,679 |
| Rob Ludeman Incumbent |
10.75% |
11,205 |
| Larry Sykes Incumbent |
10.55% |
11,004 |
| Cecelia Adams Incumbent |
10.27% |
10,704 |
| Harvey Savage Jr. |
8.81% |
9,186 |
| Gary Johnson |
8.39% |
8,745 |
| Nick Komives |
8.24% |
8,595 |
| Sam Melden |
7.33% |
7,646 |
| Kurt Young Incumbent |
6.30% |
6,570 |
| Patricia Robinson |
5.75% |
5,994 |
| Alfonso Narvaez |
5.03% |
5,243 |
| Clyde Phillips Jr. |
3.60% |
3,754 |
| Thomas Names |
2.83% |
2,949 |
| Total Votes |
104,274 |
| Source: Lucas County Board of Elections, "Board of Elections," accessed September 12, 2017 |
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Larry Sykes did not complete Ballotpedia's 2021 Candidate Connection survey.
Federal bribery and extortion charges
- See also: Toledo City Council members arrested on federal bribery and extortion charges
On June 30, 2020, federal agents arrested Sykes and three other Toledo City Council members on charges of bribery and extortion. The Federal Bureau of Investigation accused the four officials of "soliciting and/or accepting cash, checks, money orders, or other things of value from local business owners in exchange for their votes on City Council." The arrests resulted from a two-year investigation into the city council that the FBI first opened in 2018.[4] The FBI alleged that the bribe payments totaled $34,000 among the four council members, with Johnson allegedly having accepted $1,500.[5] Sykes denied the charges and pleaded not guilty.[6]
On July 21, a grand jury indicted Sykes, the other three city council members, and attorney Keith Mitchell on additional charges of extortion and conspiracy.[7] On July 22, Sykes and two of the council members voluntarily suspended their positions pending the investigation. The agreement came after Attorney General of Ohio Dave Yost (R) filed a request for suspension proceedings, saying, "Until allegations of public corruption are resolved in court, a suspension is the proper remedy to balance the accused’s right of a presumption of innocence with the public’s interest to have a functioning city council."[8]
Arrest at campaign event
Sykes was arrested and charged with assault on October 19, 2017, after an altercation with activist Julian Mack outside of a candidate forum. Mack told local police that Sykes grabbed his neck and punched him after a brief conversation outside of the event. Sykes campaign manager Shaun Strong countered that no punches were exchanged and Mack grabbed Sykes by the arm after the councilman tried to walk away from the confrontation. Sykes was later released from detention with an arraignment held on October 23, 2017.[9] Sykes pleaded not guilty during the arraignment with a hearing date not scheduled as of October 23, 2017.[10]
See also
External links
- ↑ Larry Sykes, "Sykes Bio," accessed July 31, 2017
- ↑ Nick Katers, "Email exchange with LaVera Scott," July 14, 2017
- ↑ Lucas County Board of Elections, "Historic Election Results," accessed September 16, 2021
- ↑ 13abc, "Four Toledo City Council members accused of accepting bribes in 2 year FBI investigation," June 30, 2020
- ↑ WTOL11, "Documents indicate Toledo City Council members accepted $34,000 in bribes," July 1, 2020
- ↑ 13abc, "One year later still no trial or trial date for Toledo City Council members in bribery case," July 1, 2021
- ↑ WTOL11, "Grand jury indicts council members, local attorney in alleged pay-to-play scheme," July 20, 2020
- ↑ WTOL11, "3 Toledo City Council members accused of conspiracy, extortion voluntarily suspend their positions," July 22, 2020
- ↑ The Toledo Blade, "Toledo councilman Larry Sykes arrested on assault charges at campaign event," October 19, 2017
- ↑ The Toledo Blade, "Toledo Councilman Sykes pleads not guilty on assault charges," October 23, 2017
