Within a few weeks after May 1998, when the people of Toledo, Ohio,
voted down the construction of a new baseball stadium in downtown
Toledo, Lucas County Commissioner Sandy Isenberg was quoted in the
local newspaper, The Blade, (Toledo Blade) as saying:"We don't need
the vote of the people". What is the exact date of this issue of The
Blade (Toledo, Ohio)?

I did some research on this and could find no corroborating evidence
for this quote. I did find several articles in the Toledo Blade's
archives at their web site http://www.toledoblade.com, but could not
verify the actual contents of the articles because it requires a fee
to access them, and the extracts I was able to view did not contain
the quote you refer to.

Because I was unable to verify the quote without incurring costs that
would offset the fee, and further that might offset the fee without
verifying the quote (if, for example, the quote is inaccurate, I would
incur expenses and be unable to verify the quote, thereby being unable
to post a satisfactory answer), I did not post an actual answer, but
rather this comment.

No other search on any system, Google, InfoTrac, or otherwise, using a
wide variety of search terms and sites/systems/databases, was able to
return anything meaningful regarding this quote or the stadium issue
which was defeated in May 1998 by a margin of about 59%.

If you wish to research this further, I would imagine you'll have to
visit the Toledo Blade website and pay their fee for article access.
Each article costs $2.95 to access, or, according to the Toledo Blade
website, microfilm versions of the Blade are available for free if you
are able to go to a library in the Toledo area.

Good luck!

Like cyclometh, I cannot verify the quote without incurring costs,
BUT:

You could yourself take a look at Article ID: 9805070148, ISENBERG
WANTS MAYOR OFF STADIUM, published on May 7, 1998, in the Toledo
Blade.

The archive abstract states: "The Lucas County commissioners will
relegate Mayor Carty Finkbeiner to a secondary role in a renewed drive
to build a downtown baseball stadium, commission President Sandy
Isenberg said.

"Ms. Isenberg said the commissioners will take the lead now that Lucas
County voters have rejected Issue 9, a proposed quarter-cent sales-tax
increase that would have generated funds for a downtown home for the
Toledo Mud Hens.

This abstract seems most mnearly to fit your need, found through an
advanced seacrh in the Toledo Blade archive, using "isenberg" and
"baseball" and "vote".

This is meant to add to cyclometh's comment, not to detract from it,
but it should get you that bit closer to the date you seek.

Best, read2live