The incumbents will face challengers Jordan Wortham, Marcus Bedinger, David Esrati and Valerie Duncan, most of whom are framing this as an extraordinarily important election because they say that majority control of the five-member city commission is at stake.
The challengers claim that if they win, that would shift power at City Hall away from a three-person group of commission members — Joseph, Shaw and Mayor Jeffrey Mims Jr. — who were all endorsed by the Montgomery County Democratic Party and who tend vote the same way.
Commissioners Joseph and Shaw say they are the right candidates to continue to lead the city because they have proven track records of accomplishments and there’s still a lot more work to do. City commissioners serve four-year terms.
Chris Shaw
Shaw, 56, is seeking a third term on the city commission.
Shaw owns Shaw Cleaners, which is a commercial and wholesale dry cleaning and laundry business that has operated in southwest Dayton for more than a century. He also used to work in human resources.
Shaw, who lives in northeast Dayton, said he’s proud of the work he has done to bring together business and labor leaders and Dayton Public Schools to invest in apprenticeship programs.
“These apprenticeship programs are a way that we are investing in our youth so they can stay here in Dayton and have a chance at a great, quality life,” he said.
Shaw said he offers experienced leadership that will help keep the city moving in the right direction. He said workforce development is a top concern of his and that the city has added thousands of good jobs while he’s been in office.
“If I am re-elected to the city commission, we will continue to see progress across the city,” Shaw said. “I’ll keep fighting for good jobs and safe and prosperous neighborhoods.”
Shaw said it is imperative that city residents have the skills to fill the jobs that come.
Shaw also has highlighted some of the investments the city is making using its $138 million in federal COVID relief funds, including the planned demolition of more than 1,000 blighted structures and significant upgrades to city parks.
Jordan Wortham
Wortham, 34, served as a Dayton police officer for seven years, until he was fired, and previously he owned and operated several small businesses, including a landscaping company and a food truck.
Wortham, who lives in Shroyer Park, unsuccessfully ran for the city commission in 2021. Last year, he narrowly lost his bid for a seat on the Montgomery County board of commissioners after running as a Republican.
Wortham describes himself as “socially progressive and fiscally responsible.”
He said the issues most important to him include neighborhood advancement, youth services and safety, and commissioner-led civic engagement.
“We need to serve the people, not the parties,” Wortham said. “I believe our city can grow and flourish if we listen to all of our people.”
Wortham said if he is elected to the commission, it would be the first time in a long time the city would be run by a majority of independents.
Two of the five current commissioners — Shenise Turner-Sloss and Darryl Fairchild — were not endorsed by the Montgomery County Democratic Party, and they regularly vote against measures and policy items that the other three commissioners support.
Wortham said he would work to address vacant and blighted properties in the city by researching and developing vacant property ordinances, prioritizing ways to expedite the civil penalties process and collaborating with community-led groups that are committed to these issues.
Also, he said, “I will create funding opportunities for dynamic, creative and engaging programming for our youth.”
Matt Joseph
Joseph, 51, is a principal logistics engineer with Sierra Nevada Corp. who lives in the Belmont neighborhood.
Joseph, who is seeking a sixth term on the commission, said he wants to continue to be a part of that team that is making transformational changes and building a better and stronger community.
“If re-elected, I will continue to look for ways to make sure all residents of Dayton have access to a good-paying job, a safe affordable home in a safe neighborhood and have amenities to truly thrive while living in Dayton,” he said.
Joseph said he believes the city commission has a responsibility to ensure Dayton’s citizens are safe and that they have quality infrastructure, such as good roads, trash pickup, snow removal and safe drinking water.
He said the commission also must ensure that the community is inclusive of everyone, no matter who they are, what they look like, where they are from and who they love.
Joseph said he puts results ahead of politics and votes based on what he thinks is best for residents. He said he doesn’t believe in taking sides or trying to score political points.
Joseph also said he is committed to making Dayton more sustainable and immigrant-friendly.
“We need to look for more ways to make infrastructure more resilient, to save energy, to invest in renewable energy, and even increase our tree canopy to create more shade in our neighborhoods to keep energy costs down and our neighbors safe,” he said.
Marcus Bedinger
Bedinger, 34, who lives in the Roosevelt neighborhood, says he has experience in retail management with Party City, FedEx Office, Staples and Office Depot. He said he used to be a Congressional constituent services liaison and field representative.
Diverse voices are needed in positions of power, and representation matters, said Bedinger, who was born and raised in Dayton and moved back in 2020 with his partner and two sons.
“As a young, gay, Black father who works a regular job, I know firsthand how it feels to be underrepresented, undervalued and unheard in our society,” Bedinger said. “I want to use my platform to bring attention to the issues that affect people in my community, such as police brutality, lack of access to quality healthcare and inadequate education.”
Bedinger is a Democrat, but he said he thinks voters are tired of the Montgomery County Democratic Party’s “insider politics.”
Bedinger said the city has “misappropriated” its $138 million in federal COVID relief funds, and he wants to revisit the issue, because only a tiny share of the money is being spent on Black and minority-owned businesses.
Dayton’s housing infrastructure is in crisis, given blight and the lack of affordable places to live, Bedinger said.
He said he wants to take a closer look at code enforcement and find ways to increase the resources available to homeowners to help rehabilitate and renovate their homes.
Bedinger said he supports inclusionary zoning and land trusts, which are mechanisms for creating and maintaining affordable housing.
David Esrati
Esrati, 60, lives in the South Park neighborhood and owns an ad agency called Next Wave Marketing Innovation.
Esrati has run for many elected offices over the years, including Congress, but hasn’t won, except in precinct captain races.
He said he is a citizen journalist who has published more than 3,500 posts on his blog, Esrati.com. He said he wants open, honest and transparent government.
Esrati said it’s time to end the Montgomery County Democratic Party’s control of the city commission. He calls the county Democratic party the “friends and family” party, and has accused it of nepotism and doing shady backroom deals.
Esrati said he wants to dramatically change commission meetings so the city gives updates and reports back on how citizens’ requests to the city were handled.
He said he also supports eliminating runoff special elections, reducing petition requirements to make it easier to get on the ballot, and using ranked-choice voting.
He said he helped make South Park a thriving neighborhood by serving as a volunteer, marketing strategist and neighborhood president, and he wants to apply the lessons learned from that success to the entire city.
“It’s time to improve the standard of living in Dayton — making it America’s cleanest, safest, most affordable city,” he said, adding that he doesn’t believe in subsidizing developers, universities or hospitals.
Esrati also said he wants to provide transit subsidies to people who use the Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority’s buses to get to work.
Valerie Duncan
Duncan, 67, is a resident of the Eastern Hills neighborhood who worked in the public sector for more than three decades, both for the city of Dayton and Montgomery County.
Duncan said she helped prepare funding and grant proposals for development projects and has the “know-how” to tackle and solve contentious and complicated city issues and improve the community’s livability and stability.
The condition of Dayton’s neighborhoods is a major problem, and the city has not adequately funded its housing inspection division, despite a growing number of blighted and abandoned properties, she said.
She said Dayton needs programs to help its residents become homeowners and assist homeowners in making repairs when they have housing issues, she said.
Duncan said the city should devote more of its $138 million in federal COVID funds to battling blight, stabilizing neighborhoods and properly funding the housing inspection and nuisance abatement divisions.
“The city’s housing issues need to be our no. 1 priority,” she said. “There are several creative ways to get our housing infrastructure back on track. We need new leadership to implement plans and get measured results.”
Duncan also said the city should work with Montgomery County to try to establish facilities and provide more comprehensive services to better assist seniors, homeless individuals, domestic violence victims, drug-addicted community members and young people.
Dayton has a lot of problems, but with the right leadership the city will have a bright future, she said.
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