DaytonDailyNews.com

DAYTON — Gary Leitzell wants your vote, not your money.

In announcing his run this week for mayor of Dayton, the 47-year-old home schooler, home remodeler and neighborhood activist said he would rather have Dayton's citizens donate campaign money to a more effective cause — their own neighborhoods.

Leitzell wants to establish a Dayton Neighborhood Initiatives Fund that "will be used to help Dayton's neighborhoods improve themselves. The money will be there regardless of who gets elected."

Leitzell, an independent, is the first candidate to challenge publicly incumbent Mayor Rhine McLin, who has the backing of the Democratic Party. He needs the signatures of 500 local voters to get on the ballot. The announcement was made on his Web site, thisoldcrackhouse.blogspot.com/, named for the old farmhouse and one-time crackhouse he is renovating on Volkenand Avenue.

Local Republicans have said they are currently screening four potential candidates for the May primary, but have yet to make an announcement.

McLin said she welcomes the challenge to her third term in office. "If you're doing your job, you're going to draw opposition," she said.

McLin pointed to recent city successes, including the $55-million CareSource headquarters opening downtown, the retention of KeyBank, the razing of 100 neighborhood nuisance properties with more to come, the growth of Dayton International Airport and the new business retention-expansion center opening in January.

"As the mayor of Dayton, you have to see the whole city, and your number one priority at all times must be to protect the city," she said.

But Leitzell believes Dayton's best hope for revival is in its neighborhoods.

"I'm a neighborhood person," said Leitzell, president of the Walnut Hills Assocation and chairman of the Southeast Priority Board. "If our neighborhoods empower themselves to take care of their own neighborhoods, it takes the pressure off the city (government)."

He wants to give more power to the city's neighborhood priority boards, which he calls "the official voice of the people."

Leitzel made headlines last year with a push to create a Special Improvement District in Walnut Hills. If approved by 60 percent of its residents, the district could impose a small tax to be used for services in the Walnut Hills neighborhood.

Leitzel said he believes in heading off potential conflicts by airing major projects with citizens far ahead of time.

"A perfect example is the Wayne/Wilmington (intersection) expansion they're planning to do next year," he said. City officials sought citizen participation well in advance and "it solved what looked to have been a major headache. You don't hear about it anymore because everybody had plenty of time to react."

Leitzell said he is able to think creatively because he has lived differently. He resided in England for 12 years before moving back to the states at age 21 "with just a backpack, a suitcase and $600." After holding several sales and management positions in Pittsburgh, he moved to Dayton in 1994. He lives with his wife and 5-year-old daughter, whom they home school.

In addition to the mayor's race next year, Dayton voters will also elect two city commissioners. Joey Williams and Nan Whaley are up for re-election.

About Gary D. Leitzell

Age: 47

Residence : Walnut Hills

Education: Graduated from the University of London

Occupation: Self-employed home remodeler and stay-at-home father

Party Affiliation: None

Experience: President of Walnut Hills Association (active member since 1997) and Chairman of the Southeast Priority Board (active since 2001)

Reason for Running: "My only motivation is to create a better Dayton for my 5-year-old daughter to experience as she grows older."