The May runoff election often is predictive of who will win the November election. There have been five city commission runoff elections in the last 12 years, and all but one of the top two vote-getters in those contests went on to win a commission seat in the general election.
The city commission is guaranteed to have at least one new face next year, because City Commissioner Shenise Turner-Sloss has jumped into the November mayor’s race. The commission could have two new people if incumbent Commissioner Fairchild were to lose his seat. Commissioners Matt Joseph and Chris Shaw are in the middle of their four-year terms and aren’t on the ballot this year.
Fairchild, Davis and Turner-Sloss are running together. Beckham and Wick are campaigning as a team, along with incumbent Mayor Jeffrey Mims Jr. Duncan said she would be a bridge between different factions on the commission.
At a kickoff event for Turner-Sloss’ mayoral bid on Thursday, Fairchild addressed the makeup of the five-member commission: “We have a chance to take three seats. It’s an opportunity that Dayton hasn’t seen in a long time.”
Darryl Fairchild
Fairchild, 59, was elected to the city commission in May 2018 during a special election to fill Joey Williams’ seat, and he won reelection in 2021.
Fairchild, who serves as the manager of chaplain services at Dayton Children’s Hospital, says his accomplishments in city office include securing funding in the budget for youth programming and directing the city to create a housing plan and strategy and vision plans for revitalizing individual neighborhoods.
Fairchild said the city still has a lot of important work to do, and he would focus on supporting and investing in the youth in his next term. He said the city needs to help set up new after-school and mentorship programs, which were recommendations from the City of Learners initiative that have yet to be implemented.
He said he wants to create a handful of working groups to study the issues involving young people, to come up with recommendations to help them, and he envisions using a process similar to the police reform efforts that took place several years ago.
“One of the biggest challenges before us is getting the funding we need to be able to invest in our young people,” he said.
Fairchild, who lives in the Dayton View Triangle neighborhood of northwest Dayton, said this an critical time for the city.
The $138 million in federal COVID aid the city received is about to run out. Fairchild said the city is going to have to prioritize its spending and make fiscally responsible decisions moving forward.
Fairchild said he is worried about the possibility of a recession in the next four years, which could harm residents and reduce revenues that pay for vital city services. Fairchild said his experience on the commission is an asset, including when it comes to financial matters.
Fairchild said he thinks constituents want transparency, authenticity and accountability from their leaders. Unfortunately, he said, the city at times has made decisions behind closed doors and without sufficient public input, eroding people’s trust. He said he hopes he can help restore Daytonians’ confidence in city leadership.
Commissioners Fairchild and Turner-Sloss sometimes clash with the other three members of the commission (Matt Joseph, Chris Shaw and Mayor Mims).
Fairchild said disagreement is normal and healthy and often can lead to constructive discussions and better decisions.
“You should be able to vote no and it shouldn’t be a big deal,” he said.
Darius Beckham
Beckham, 27, who recently resigned from his role as senior aide to Mayor Mims, said he is running for office because he believes Dayton can be a more equitable city.
“I think Dayton is due for some younger, fresh leadership that can represent what the next generation wants in the community,” said Beckham, who also has served as a project coordinator for the Hall Hunger Initiative and as a legislative aide to former Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley. “I think I am someone who can skillfully bridge that gap between the city that we want and the city that we have now.”
Beckham, who lives in the Five Oaks neighborhood of northwest Dayton, said his background, experience and strong relationships with community members and partners means he will be able to get things done and make a difference right away. He said he has a proven track record of collaborative leadership.
Beckham says he’s a lifelong Dayton resident, public servant and community advocate.
Beckham said he thinks City Hall needs to do a better job of working with vulnerable neighborhoods to identify and address needs like safety, trash and negligent property owners.
He also said public safety is a major concern. He was heavily involved in bringing a new violence interruption program to the community when he was the mayor’s aide. He said he strongly believes this program will get positive results, and there are other opportunities for safety improvements, like prioritizing community policing through the implementation of geographic patrol beats.
He also said he wants to push the city to improve some of its procedures and services. He said he has heard many complaints from small businesses and community members about the permitting process, which he says is broken and can be frustratingly slow and time-consuming.
Beckham said Daytonians do not want to have to leave the city for entertainment, recreation, shopping and dining destinations. He said new businesses and investments will bring the things people want into their neighborhoods and communities. He said he will look at what other cities are doing to make it easier for small businesses to open and expand.
Beckham said the loss of federal COVID aid means the city will have to be proactive to lobby state and federal lawmakers and find other ways to ensure it has funding for demolition and other priorities.
Jacob Davis
Davis, 34, who lives in the Mount Vernon neighborhood of northwest Dayton, said he would be the first attorney to serve on the city commission in about two decades.
Davis is a small business owner and a lawyer who has a private practice that represents consumers, entrepreneurs, small businesses, nonprofits and fair housing organizations. He previously worked for the Dayton Human Relations Council, where he enforced the city’s anti-discrimination ordinances.
Davis said his skillset includes having the ability to navigate complex issues and mediate and achieve resolutions in difficult disputes and negotiations.
He said city commissioners do not always have all the facts and information they need to get the full picture before they make decisions. He said he will be able to draft some of his own legislation, and he will conduct independent research to make sure the elected body is making informed choices.
Davis promised to give a voice to the voiceless in the community.
“I want to speak with and for people who don’t always have a seat at the table,” he said.
And he said he would prioritize the beautification, stabilization and development of neighborhoods.
One of his proposals is to create a litter and trash division within public works possibly modeled after the Downtown Dayton Partnerships’ successful ambassador program.
Davis also has called for establishing a new “15-minute city” plan that could come into play during planning, zoning, land use, transportation and other policy discussions and decisions.
This concept envisions a community where all residents, no matter where they live, are within a 15-minute walk or bike ride from critical services and amenities, like grocery stores, health facilities and parks. Davis said he believes this approach would help rebuild neighborhoods.
Davis said city government may have to step up to meet community needs and gaps in services due to funding cuts to state, federal and social services agencies and nonprofits.
Davis said he thinks voters are looking for a candidate who offers “something different, who provides a different skillset, a different perspective, and who is ready to propose new ideas and solutions.”
“We have made some progress over the years, but far too often that progress has been slow and ultimately a lot of people still feel they have been left behind — entire neighborhoods feel they’ve been left behind," Davis said.
Valerie Duncan
Duncan, 70 who lives in the Eastern Hills neighborhood in east Dayton, said her expertise, empathy and sincerity helps her stand out from the competition. Duncan worked for the city of Dayton and local government for more than 30 years before retiring in 2015.
Duncan, who worked as a zoning inspector and administrator, says she has a ton of useful experience in neighborhood and business development, which are her top priorities.
Duncan has unsuccessfully run for city commission several times but made gains at the polls in the last election cycle. She came in third place in the 2023 city commission runoff election and general election; two years earlier, she had finished in last place in a seven-person runoff election.
Duncan said people know and like her after years of knocking doors, attending community events and advocating for causes like improving access to health care in West Dayton. She said she now has good name recognition, and she’s made a lot of community connections.
Duncan promises to fight to expand important programs to all neighborhoods, like home repair assistance. Duncan also said she has a deep understanding of the city’s budget, and she’s highly knowledgeable about state and federal grant programs and other opportunities to get funding for demolition and other neighborhood improvements, when current funding sources run dry or fall short.
“We need to really get serious about neighborhood development,” she said. “We need to get really serious about (providing) minority business assistance and grants.”
Duncan said she knows residents are very concerned about crime and public safety, including the problems around the downtown bus hub. She said she wants to increase the police presence by the hub and in other areas struggling with crime.
If elected, Duncan said she would advocate for expanding the number of housing inspectors. She said Dayton has a fraction of the housing inspection staff it had a couple of decades ago, despite terrible problems with blight.
Better enforcement of housing code and providing property owners with assistance, tools and guidance to fix up their homes and buildings would go a long way to enhance neighborhoods, she said.
Duncan said she cares deeply about people and their needs.
“I know there’s friction going on currently with the city commission and I would want to be the peacekeeper and bring all of those different factions together so we can work for the benefit of Dayton,” she said.
Karen Wick
Wick, 60, who lives in the Rubicon area south of downtown, is finishing her second term on the Dayton Public Schools Board of Education. Wick is the owner of Coco’s Bistro, which has grown from a 30-seat restaurant in the Oregon District to a 300-seat destination in the South Park neighborhood.
Wick said the three pillars of her platform are public safety, neighborhood investment, and entrepreneurship and business development.
Wick said Coco’s believes in “community through food,” and she wants to help other entrepreneurs invest in Dayton and achieve similar kinds of success.
Wick said she will bring creativity and a new perspective to the city commission. She described herself as a longtime public servant and business leader who has a talent for relationship building and a tireless work ethic. And she said Daytonians are hungry for change.
Wick said serving on the city commission would have some things in common being a school district leader.
“We are the leaders that set the standard for behavior, for communication, for expectation, for accountability, and to do what I said I was going to do,” she said. “There aren’t any silver bullets oftentimes in the work that we’re doing that will fix something immediately, but (we) really need to make sure we use the resources we have in ways that we believe will bring value to our citizens.”
Wick said she’s very proud of the work she did on the school board, including the renovation of Welcome Stadium, which she says gives kids and the community a high-quality facility that is going to be an economic engine, that also honors and continues the legacy of an important piece of local history.
Wick said if elected, she will work hard to come up with creative ideas for new investments and projects. For instance, she says she thinks the city with the right moves can make the Dayton International Airport into an even more successful economic powerhouse.
Also, she said, the city can do more to incentivize homeownership and the purchase and rehab of empty and deteriorating properties, possibly through tax credits and new programs.
Wick said she will make sure that all of the city’s neighborhoods have resources to create strong neighborhood associations. She said the city’s high-performing and high-functioning neighborhoods are organized and coordinated and have leaders to advocate for their needs.
About the Author
