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Democrat Judy Dodge defeated challenger Youssef Elzein in the spring primary election, while Republican Kate Baker defeated candidate Jordan Wortham. Both are now facing off in the Nov. 5 general election.
Dodge and Baker talked to the Dayton Daily News about why they’re running and what they’re hoping to accomplish if elected.
Judy Dodge
Credit: HUE12, LLC
Credit: HUE12, LLC
Dodge, who was elected to her commission seat in 2006, said she wants to continue helping with efforts related to housing, workforce and economic development.
“We work to try to make life better for people in Montgomery County,” she said. “And our residents deserve that.”
Part of that strategy includes attracting businesses tied to budding industries in the region and working with area schools to incorporate programs that will give their students the skills necessary to fill jobs at those businesses, Dodge said.
Dodge said she’s also very passionate about all county residents having access to housing and groceries they can afford. The county is working with the Landbank and developers to build new workforce housing in the area and rehabilitate existing structures for housing.
The commission also allocated millions in federal COVID-19 relief funds to efforts to help unhoused and food-insecure people in Montgomery County. Some of those efforts included funding Homefull, a social services organization that serves people who need housing, job services and food aid.
Federal relief also gave a $1 million boost to the Longfellow Commons project, which will create senior housing that will be the first of its kind in Dayton and the second largest in the nation aimed at welcoming individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer/questioning, or asexual, along with allies of the LGBTQ community.
Overall, Dodge said she wants to add vibrancy to the region.
“We’re too humble sometimes,” she said. “Dayton, Montgomery County have a lot to offer.”
Before she was elected to her commission seat, Dodge served as the Montgomery County recorder. Dodge has also worked as a regional liaison to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office and an assistant court administrator for the Montgomery County Domestic Relations Court.
Dodge currently serves as the region’s chair for the One Ohio Recovery Foundation, a nonprofit created to distribute funds Ohio is receiving from the pharmaceutical industry as a consequence of its role in the opioid epidemic.
She is a graduate of Wright State University and a Vandalia resident. When she’s not working, she’s spending time with her family or her bulldog.
Kate Baker
Baker said her background in finance and healthcare, paired with her current experience as a city councilwoman, have equipped her to seek out and fulfill the needs of Montgomery County residents.
“I want my community to shine, and I want everybody to be pitching in and doing that. And that starts at the top and goes down,” Baker said. “My motivation stems from personal experiences and a deep passion for an effective and efficient government.”
Baker was appointed to a vacancy on Huber Heights city council for Ward 3 in 2020. She was elected to the seat in 2021.
Baker said that if elected as commissioner, increasing the efficiency of government offices will be a major priority.
“We need to be looking at things and saying, is this cost-effective? Are we meeting the needs of our residents?” Baker said.
Baker has worked in banking and on the financial side of healthcare. During these experiences, she worked with topics like appraisals, farm credits, Medicaid and prenatal healthcare.
Accessibility to mental health services is another priority, Baker said. She said she was disheartened to see RI International end its contract with the Montgomery County Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services (ADAMHS) Board.
“We have a mental health and addiction crisis in our county,” she said. “I’ve talked to young people in our community. People are dying in their families. They want things put back together.”
She said she’s running for a county commission seat because she likes hard work and wants to serve people on a larger scale. She wants to bring the county commission to each Montgomery County community through traveling meetings and even a shift in meeting time.
“I’m known as somebody who gets things done. And I love my community,” she said. “The community needs a commission that is accessible.”
Baker is a member of the Miami Valley Military Affairs Association and an alternate council representative to the Dayton First Suburbs Consortium.
Baker is a graduate of Wayne High School in Huber Heights, and she also holds a degree in financial management from Sinclair Community College and a degree from Wright State University.
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