Jacqueline L. Fisher
Current Employment: Retired (38 years at Wright-Patterson AFB)
Community Involvement: Founder of Kettering Backpack Program, manage Neighbor to Neighbor Food Pantry, Greenmont-Oakpark Community Church Executive Board, co-executive director for Kettering Backpack Program, council liaison for Board of Community Relations, Holiday at Home, council liaison for Volunteer Advisory Board, Court Appointed Special Advocate/Guardian Ad Litem for Montgomery County Children’s Service
Why are you seeking elected office? I would like to continue to serve in my current capacity as city council. I have been a volunteer for our awesome city for 20+ years, and this is just another way to give back.
Why should voters elect you? I bring not only passion but experience to the position. Many city decisions are not just annual decisions and some continuity is important. I, along with my fellow members, have proven our leadership through this unprecedented time in history with the pandemic. We not only ensured our city maintained our pristine level of safety, services and amenities, but also managed risk of many unknowns. We have continued to make Kettering home!
If elected, what will be your top three priorities? 1. Reducing tax base while maintaining excellent service/amenities 2. Working poor/seniors 3. Leadership stability
What specific plans do you have to address those top priorities? While we have superior services and amenities, we can always give more sweat equity to our neighborhoods, businesses and infrastructure. With more companies working from home, we need to adjust to the reduction of income taxes. I will continue to roll up my sleeves and come up with solutions, like retaining/attracting businesses. As I have continued to champion, the most at-need in our community are our working poor. Dollars from our federal government have assisted, but not everyone has been able to navigate the unemployment side of the house. I continue to champion with nonprofits, schools and businesses to help that particular segment of our residents. Additionally our seniors continue to need additional services. While our city does have many great resources, many live in paid off houses and fixed incomes without the benefit of cost of living increases. Thereby, continuing to add services, whether it’s sweat equity of shoveling snow or trimming trees, can be just the help needed to keep property values at their highest. With term limits our city will have a 100% turnover in council leadership over the next two years. Additionally, we are a city manager model, which means the continuity of our manager is also critical to the overall city leadership. I am working on documenting historical decisions so new members can have that readily available for decision making.
Anything else? I love my city! My daughter is a graduate of Fairmont. My husband Dave taught (just retired) government at Fairmont. Our family has served this city in many capacities and will continue to do so into the future, elected or not. I encourage every citizen to vote. We each own our future through this most precious and fought for right, so please exercise that right and vote!
Jyl Hall
Education: Ph.D., Asbury Seminary; B.A., Marymount and Miami University
Current Employment: Adjunct professor, United Seminary
Community Involvement: Over the past 20 years, I’ve been able to help create actionable change on the local and national level through my involvement with a number of organizations that align with my political agenda and values. Some of the key organizations I’ve played a role in are: Faith 2020/Faith Forward, Leadership Focus International, Kettering Board of Community Relations, trustee with Montgomery County’s County Corp., trustee with Miami Valley Goodwill/Easter Seals, Dayton Chamber of Commerce Committees: Economic Development, Legislative and Research committees.
Why are you seeking elected office? I was born in Kettering and know that this city I love has tremendous strengths and challenges. We have the opportunity now to improve our infrastructure: We can fix our streets, add more mid-market housing options, and make sure we all have safe, clean drinking water. It is the job of the city council to make sure we have smooth roads, public safety and working sewers. However, it is also important that the city council fosters economic development. I want to see Kettering work for everyone because we all want the same things: a safe place to live and raise kids that has decent jobs and a community we can take pride in.
Why should voters elect you? Kettering has a hardworking middle-class base that has been increasingly left behind over the last decade and a half. The burdens facing working families here can be lightened with good policies from city council. I want to work to attract well-paying jobs, re-zone to build more market-rate housing, and increase child care and transportation options. I have worked in policy organizations all my life and have the passion, experience, and knowledge to help make a difference in Kettering for working families.
If elected, what will be your top three priorities? My top three priorities are to attract jobs, deliver efficient services and help working families.
What specific plans do you have to address those top priorities? My strategies to address these priorities is as follows: Attract jobs: we can address our jobs imbalance by raising the profile of Kettering, promoting community events, and working with individual businesses to relocate to or expand in Kettering. As your city council member, I will further Kettering’s Business Assistance Program that supports businesses affected by the economic downturn and will help retain jobs. Finally, city council can make use of tax increment financing to bolster the creation of local businesses. Build Infrastructure: Kettering received the second most infrastructure dollars in the region in 2021. There are many ways to improve infrastructure in our community, including paving roads, building more mid-market housing, and increasing child care opportunities so families are able to get back to work. Building infrastructure also helps to create jobs. Land use policy is established through the council’s zoning powers, which can be focused on improving and increasing housing stock. Additionally, by expediting the building permit process, the council can encourage the development of market-rate and higher housing production, which will also reduce property taxes on working families and seniors in Kettering. Help Working Families: Many families and seniors in Kettering are facing economic hardship, we need to reinvest in the community now more than ever. I will work to combat poverty by attracting and retaining businesses. The city council can create public/private partnerships to increase food distribution events to prevent hunger. We can also partner with our school district to ensure our youth are not forgotten.
Anything else? I am the third generation of the Hall family to seek to serve the public, including my father, retired Dayton Congressman Tony Hall, who taught me to have the backs of people in the Dayton region. Kettering is my hometown, vocationally I worked on behalf of children and families in political advocacy and social service organizations for several years. Currently, I am a professor at Dayton’s United Seminary, and I am heavily involved in community service locally. I want to see Kettering work for everyone because we all want the same things: a safe place to live and raise kids that has decent jobs and a community we can take pride in.
Joseph Patak
Education: B.S. in geophysics, Wright State University
Current Employment: GM, RS Hill Construction Inc.
Community Involvement: Precinct captain, Republican Party; Ohio Right to Life; NRA; Feed the Hungry Compassion International; Homeschool Legal Defense Association; Foundation for Applied Conservative Leadership
Why are you seeking elected office? I am running for Kettering City Council because I want to protect the rights and freedoms of our citizens. After feeling the draw to enter public service for several years, the last two years have removed all my reservations. As a student of the Constitution, I understand that local government is most important. I want to serve my community with integrity and make sure Kettering’s public safety is priority. I also want to ensure that Kettering government maintains accountability and transparency while keeping property values high and taxes low. See www.josephpatak.com
Why should voters elect you? Voters should elect me because I have worked hard to earn everything I have accomplished while serving others with integrity and I will do the same as a public servant. I sincerely love and want the very best for all people and enjoy hearing their concerns and ideas to make Kettering a better place. As a small business owner and a general manager for a small business for over 25 years, I know what it takes to get the best out of the resources available. As a former director of operations for a worldwide nonprofit, I know how to create, track and keep a budget while producing effective life-giving programs. I am pro-life, pro-police, pro-2A, and pro-small business. I am against forced vaccine and mask mandates. See www.josephpatak.com
If elected, what will be your top three priorities? 1. Public Safety is top priority. 2. Keeping property values high and taxes low. 3. Create more opportunity for small business.
What specific plans do you have to address those top priorities? Public Safety: From what I learned from two recent police ride-alongs, I will work to keep and hire only the best police officers and firefighters and give them the best equipment and resources to keep Kettering safe and strong. I will fight to make high crime locations held accountable. Additionally, Kettering already has programs in place for the overdose epidemic, but I will work to keep fighting these tragic losses. Property values and lower taxes: To keep Kettering property values high, I will work to restrict the ability to build more multi-unit government housing through zoning and planning. I will work to enforce Kettering’s property maintenance standards for homeowners and landlords and offer programs to help citizens that need assistance with their property maintenance. I will work to keep taxes low by being more efficient and accountable with our tax dollars and capitalizing on non-tax revenue sources. Small Business: I will work within city council to create more opportunity for new and existing businesses to have a permanent home in the city of Kettering by doing the following: provide assistance to upgrade older commercial property with low-interest loans and other incentives; legislate to use the federal aid allotted to Kettering to assist small businesses and provide aid for 2020 losses; create “shop local” programs and events for local walk-in and online businesses; simplify the process to contract with the city of Kettering; hold job fairs for businesses within the city that need workers.
Anything else? I am proud that my wife of 28 years and I have grown up in the Miami Valley and have made Kettering our home for the past 16 years and have raised our two hard-working, productive sons here. I served six years in the Ohio Army National Guard as a combat medic, where I was awarded the National Defense Medal. I serve on central committee for the Montgomery County Republican Party as precinct captain. I have happily volunteered in Kettering as a Cub Scout leader and as a baseball, football, basketball and tennis coach. I held worship services at the Terraces retirement community for eight years. I have served in my church as an elder, teacher, family pastor, worship leader and small group leader. I was director of a ministry that helped connect sponsors (individuals, businesses and churches) to meet the needs of children and their families; this included food, education, vocational training, housing, etc. I have 25 years experience in commercial construction estimating and project management. See www.josephpatak.com