Brandy Mariani
No response
Rob Stephens
Credit: doug sanders
Credit: doug sanders
Education: B.A., Wittenberg University
Current Employment: Stephens Insurance Agency
Community Involvement: Oakwood Rotary, executive director IIAAD, Oakwood High School Athletic Hall Of Fame Committee
Why are you seeking elected office? I want to maintain our safe, friendly and beautiful community.
Why should voters elect you? My background with our community and my experience on city council gives me great knowledge on how to operate our city in a sound fiscal manner.
If elected, what will be your top three priorities? Find ways to keep the high cost of maintenance down within our city’s infrastructure. Continue to improve our knowledge and programs regarding the local mental health crisis. And, maintain our wonderful public works operations, specifically regarding recycling and waste collection.
What specific plans do you have to address those top priorities? Find optional purchasing sites to keep costs down. Increase our education of our public safety officers on how to deal with individuals who may be having a mental health situation. Build and maintain a better recycling facility and host more recycling events to educate our citizens.
Anything else? I am always open to conversation with our residents. I want to hear from our community about ideas to help them within the parameters of local government.
Leigh Turben
Education: B.A. from Pennsylvania State University, Certified Treasury Professional (CTP) from the Association of Financial Professionals
Current Employment: Retired corporate banker
Community Involvement: Oakwood City Council; Oakwood Budget Review Committee; Oakwood Historical Society Board of Directors (president, vice president, assistant treasurer, membership chair, director of donor services); Wright Memorial Public Library Advisory Council; Dorothy Lane Market, Consumer Advisory Board
Why are you seeking elected office? Oakwood has been my home for more than 30 years. It’s where I have built my career and raised my family. I’ve enjoyed all the benefits of living here, and I treasure our traditions and strong sense of community. I feel it’s important to not only support but to serve the community we live in. While I have participated on several local boards, councils and committees, I believe the best way I can serve Oakwood is through a seat on city council. It’s my time to give back to a community I love, and I want to contribute in the most meaningful way I know. Throughout Oakwood’s history, ordinary citizens have accomplished extraordinary things. It’s why we have our own library, an exceptional school system, and a council-manager form of government that minimizes politics. I am genuinely inspired by the members of city council who have gone before me. Looking forward, I want to be viewed in Oakwood’s history as a woman who served on city council, listened to the citizens, communicated openly and regularly, and worked collaboratively to find fiscally sound solutions to ongoing operations and city management.
Why should voters elect you? Voters should elect me because of my professional background in corporate finance and my demonstrated accomplishments as a community volunteer. These are the same reasons I was selected last February from a pool of 14 candidates to fill the unexpired seat on city council. As a corporate banker for 33 years, I advised companies of all sizes, providing them with sound financial strategies based on my broad experience and understanding of their industries. I am conservative when it comes to public finance. I believe in fiscal responsibility, a balanced budget, and taxing citizens only to the extent necessary to maintain our desired city services. Although I have served for many years on Wright Library’s Advisory Council and the city’s Budget Review Committee, I am most proud of the work I did while on the board of the Oakwood Historical Society. Under my leadership, the society increased its membership, enhanced its educational programming, initiated the Far Hill Speaker Series, documented the people and stories of Dayton’s role in WWII, and began the process of digitizing the society’s archive. I facilitated the society’s establishment of an endowment fund to ensure its financial security, and launched a sophisticated customer relationship management program to manage the society’s fundraising operations better. Lastly, I guided the inaugural Holiday Home Tour, now the society’s most successful fundraiser. I trust my experiences of serving on the city council, knowledge of corporate and public finance, and demonstrated commitment to civic participation are the reasons voters will elect me.
If elected, what will be your top three priorities? 1. To maintain our exceptional city and public safety services while controlling costs and minimizing taxation. 2. To enhance and keep in good repair our city’s mature infrastructure. 3. To preserve our community’s culture and tradition of citizen involvement in the administration of our government, schools and library.
What specific plans do you have to address those top priorities? 1. We all enjoy Oakwood’s exceptional city and public safety services today. To support such services, we continually need to stay abreast of innovations, weigh costs and benefits associated with each service, act fiscally responsible and within budget. We will ensure that all expenditures are well-vetted and always in the best interest of Oakwood. I believe that a sound financial budget is the backbone of a city’s growth and well-being. 2. Oakwood’s public infrastructure encompasses over $100 million dollars’ worth of roads, sidewalks, wells, water treatment plants, a water storage tower, underground water lines, sanitary and storm sewer pipes, and a fiber optic network. By investing in the revitalization of our infrastructure, we invest in our future; we minimize unexpected calamity and its associated inconveniences to everyday life. I believe we should use the money we receive from the American Rescue Plan Act to ensure a sustainable infrastructure for the future. 3. Citizen involvement is a hallmark of our community. In today’s polarized political environment, we need to maintain a culture where people feel their voice is heard, their beliefs are respected and their involvement is welcomed. To form a welcoming and inclusive community, we need to educate, communicate, and engage citizens of all beliefs. We need to look for common ground and common goals. Today more than 100 Oakwood citizens serve on city commissions, councils, committees, and boards. This tradition of citizen involvement has defined our community in the past and will lead us into the future.
Anything else? Throughout my professional life, my ability to communicate a vision to meet the needs of my customers, clients, and coworkers, is what I found most satisfying. As a member of the city council, I want to help foster a vision that preserves our city’s historical identity and sense of community — this means engaging with all residents who wish for Oakwood to be a desirable and welcoming place. I want people to enjoy raising their families, as I did, in an environment where people care about one another, enjoy celebrating the milestones of life together, and work toward the common goal of raising the next generation to be informed, responsible and involved citizens. Should you elect me to the city council, this is my commitment.
VOTE FOR 1 (Unexpired term ending Dec. 31, 2023)
Anne Shank Hilton
No response