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Dayton residents rejected calls for dramatic change Tuesday, electing City Commissioner Nan Whaley as their mayor by a solid margin over A.J. Wagner.
While Wagner repeatedly called Dayton a dying city, Whaley campaigned on the idea that Dayton has slowly moved in the right direction the past few years, positioning itself for future success.
“Today the people of Dayton have decided to invest in Dayton’s future,” Whaley told a cheering crowd at Democratic Party headquarters downtown. “Today the people of Dayton have chosen to face our challenges not with an attitude of defeat and despair but with a sense of hope and opportunity.”
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In the race for two City Commission seats, lone incumbent Joey Williams was the top vote-getter. He’ll be joined on commission by longtime education leader Jeffrey Mims, who came in second, far ahead of fellow challengers David Esrati and David K. Greer.
Whaley, Williams and Mims were the three candidates endorsed by the Montgomery County Democratic Party.
Wagner was gracious in defeat, saying congratulations to Whaley and offering any support she desired in moving the city forward. Asked whether the “dying city” angle might have hurt him, Wagner joked, saying, “Was it that? Was it that I’m ugly? There’s all kinds of reasons that can come into play, and you’ll never know which one it was.
“Certainly she had a lot more money than I did, certainly she had the (Democratic) party support … but in the end, I just didn’t make my case,” Wagner said. “I’m a lawyer, and you make your case. If you lose, it’s on you, and you didn’t do your job. I didn’t make my case, and that’s the end.”
Whaley won’t take office until Mayor Gary Leitzell’s term ends in January, but she said she can get off to a running start because she has broad support from the other City Commissioners who will serve in 2014. She said all of them read and endorsed her “Roadmap” plan for the city before she published it.
She touted Williams’ work on anti-violence issues, Mims’ expertise in education and Commissioner Matt Joseph’s ties to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base as strengths for the commission team moving forward.
“These are all key parts of the plan, and we’re really excited that we have a team that can work together and really make a difference in this city,” Whaley said. “We really believe that Dayton’s best days lay ahead, and that’s a big deal.”
Despite the two candidates for mayor spending close to $500,000 over the past year — the great bulk of that coming from Whaley — voter turnout in Dayton was startlingly low. The Montgomery County Board of Elections reported just over 16,000 people voted in the mayoral race. Turnout is traditionally low in odd-year elections, but Tuesday’s numbers stood out. In the past three mayoral elections, turnout was 36,526 voters in 2001, 32,979 in 2005, and 29,750 in 2009.
Whaley’s victory means women have won three of the past four Dayton mayoral votes. In contrast to the lack of voter enthusiasm for the race, Whaley said city residents will see how invested she will be in the job.
“You can expect someone who has passion, energy and will work really hard,” she said. “We’re going to set a tone that has to do with the future of this city. We’re proud of our past, but it’s time to look forward, it’s time to create jobs, it’s time to be really excited about all this community has to offer, and I’m just so honored that the citizens of Dayton backed me up.”
Several Daytonians who voted for Whaley on Tuesday mentioned some form of personal connection with her – that Whaley had campaigned in their neighborhood, knocked on their door, or responded to a complaint. Others cited her jobs plan and her support for union workers.
“I’ve followed how she conducts herself by watching the commission meetings,” said Bawalta Hughes, who voted at Thurgood Marshall High School. “She’s been to the church I attend a couple of times, and I like the ideas she stands for.”
City Commission
Joey Williams won a fourth term on Dayton City Commission, where he’ll be joined by newcomer Jeffrey Mims. Both men are former presidents of the Dayton Public Schools Board of Education. Mims is currently a member of the state school board, but he’ll step down from that role to join City Commission.
Mims said Tuesday night that he would focus on creating unity in a city that is sometimes fragmented. And Williams said unity should be a strength of the new city commission.
“I think that’s a really strong team,” Williams said. “Most of that team has worked together. Jeff’s the new member of the team, and I’ve been knowing Jeff since high school. So I feel very comfortable with this group.”
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