Turner-Sloss, Fairchild win Dayton commission race

Shenise Turner-Sloss and Darryl Fairchild have defeated Stacey Benson-Taylor and Scott Sliver in the Dayton city commission races, according to the unofficial final results from the Montgomery County Board of Elections.

Turner-Sloss finished with 28.9% of the vote, while Fairchild won reelection with 28.7% of the vote, which is exactly the outcome they were hoping for since they supported each other and campaigned together.

Benson-Taylor and Sliver ran together on the same ticket and both were endorsed by the Montgomery County Democratic Party.

Benson-Taylor finished with about 23.4% of the vote, while Sliver received 19%.

Like Fairchild, Turner-Sloss unsuccessfully ran for the city commission twice before finally prevailing the third time around.

After two failed bids for the commission, Fairchild ultimately won office in 2018 during a special election to fill a seat vacated by Joey Williams.

Turner-Sloss was confident coming into this election after receiving the most votes of any of the six candidates in the May runoff election.

She also said her message resonated with voters and residents are fed up with the poor state of their neighborhoods.

She has said her priorities include rebuilding neighborhoods and making them healthy, strengthening business relationships and putting residents first.

Benson-Taylor narrowly edged out Fairchild to finish second in the May runoff, but Fairchild said he liked his chances in the general election.

Fairchild has said he was the only candidate with commission experience and he demonstrated responsible and responsive leadership in the last three years, during challenging times.

Benson-Taylor was the only first-time candidate in this contest.

Sliver ran for the commission in 2015, but he finished in last place in the four-way race. Turner-Sloss unsuccessfully ran for the commission in 2017 and 2019.

The candidates said this is a critical juncture for the city.

Dayton faces challenges ahead, including millions of dollars in potential revenue losses from a shift to remote working and leaders will have to make decisions about how to try to recover from the pandemic and spend $138 million in federal rescue funds.

Fairchild is the manager of chaplain services at Dayton Children’s Hospital. Turner-Sloss works in logistics management at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

Benson-Taylor was regional director AFSCME Ohio Council 8, a union that represents many city employees. Sliver is a pastor at Dayton Vineyard.

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