Not every issue raised at the podium has a clear or practical policy solution — and Shenise understands that. Still, she doesn’t hide behind bureaucracy or deflect with hollow pleasantries. She says, “I see you. I hear you. I’ll look into it.”
I grew up on the west side of Dayton with no proximity to power. I didn’t know how decisions were made or who made them; I just knew that my friends and I seemed poorer than most other people. As I got older — and inspired by the example of President Obama — I became fascinated by government and how policy could shape people’s lives for the better. That curiosity eventually led me to what felt like a dream job with the City of Dayton. I walked in full of optimism, ready to roll up my sleeves and help make the city a better place.
But once I got there, I was disappointed to learn that many of the elected officials didn’t seem interested in governing. Too often, commissioners focused on ceremonial duties — cutting ribbons, reading proclamations, or celebrating “awareness months”—instead of tackling the real challenges facing Dayton residents. I had come ready to work. What I found instead was a governing body that seemed content to coast.
Shenise Turner-Sloss was never content to coast. Long before she joined the dais, she was a dedicated community servant and co-founder of Neighborhoods Over Politics. Her run for city commission wasn’t a career move — it was a continuation of the work she had been doing. And now, her run for mayor isn’t about prestige, power, or the title embroidered on a blazer. It’s about unlocking the ability to make real change. She hopes that her colleague and ally, Commissioner Daryl Fairchild, will be reelected, and that her running mate, Jacob Davis, will fill the open commission seat. Together, they would form a true working majority — three votes capable of moving Dayton forward.
That’s why I’m endorsing Shenise Turner-Sloss for Mayor of Dayton. She is the woman on the dais who listens, who engages, and who acts. And in a time when too many politicians are content to talk past the people, that simple act of listening is a quiet kind of leadership that reminds us what public service is meant to be.
Jared Grandy is a writer and organizer. He is the former Community-Police Relations Coordinator for the City of Dayton.
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