State of the City Speech - May 10, 2012

DAYTON: EVOLUTION AND PROSPERITY


It’s good to be here with you tonight at Belmont High School.

This $31.9 million world class facility was dedicated in December 2011 and serves to remind us that the citizens of Dayton value education. In the year since my last State of the City speech, Dayton Public Schools has celebrated the on-time, on-budget completion of its decade-long $627 million construction program to build 26 new schools for Dayton’s students.

I want to thank Belmont administrator David White and Dayton Public Schools Superintendent Lori Ward for hosting us tonight. Thank you both so much for all you do for this community.

I also want to welcome our guests, Montgomery County Commissioners (name those present).

Last year when we all met at the Kroc Center, I laid out five basic facts to describe the state of our city.

They were-- #1 "We are on our own." #2: Dayton must reinvent itself to survive and thrive. #3: If we’re going to get anything done, we need to work together. #4: Dayton is evolving and #5: Dayton will prosper.

So tonight I want to review the events and changes of the last 12 months to chart just how far we’ve come in just one year and why we need to remain confident in our future.

In Dayton, we are still very much on our own. State and Federal funds continue to be cut from our budget, forcing us and cities all across this nation to make sacrifices.

But we have embraced the reality of this situation, and that has led us to prosper even under adverse financial conditions. Even with a severely slashed budget, we have responded with creativity and innovation and not by falling back on harsh service cuts seen in previous times.

Trash still gets picked up. Police officers and firefighters have not been laid off. Festivals and fireworks still go on as scheduled. Because we’re being smarter with our money, we ended 2011 with an unexpected surplus. Believe me, that constitutes bragging rights. We’ve been able to take those extra funds and apply them to our blight removal efforts and technology improvements.

The really great thing about generating our own revenue is that we get to decide how to spend it. The money does not come with strings attached or copious amounts of restrictions on how it can be used. I have often said that we need to find ways to generate our own funds so we are less reliant on monies from the state or federal governments, which have proven to be unreliable in current times.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank and acknowledge Dayton City Manager Tim Riordan for all of his hard work and financial wisdom. Tim, thanks to you and your hard-working staff, for helping lead us back to the road of prosperity.

One year ago I spoke of how we need to reinvent ourselves to survive and thrive. And this is clearly being done. They say that risk is commensurate with reward. Well, we have taken some risks and the rewards have been great. They also didn't cost much money.

The Welcome Dayton plan was formulated at a time when the word “immigrant” was being translated to mean something negative or threatening in many states and regions across this nation. But in Dayton, we saw an opportunity. The citizens of the Dayton region who volunteered to make the Welcome Dayton plan a reality discussed the issue and decided to clearly make it known that Dayton was to be an "immigrant friendly" city.

Last year when we launched this project, we had no idea that those two simple words — Welcome Dayton — would launch us to national and international acclaim. Our Welcome Dayton plan put us on the world’s radar, and we attracted not only news coverage from around the globe but inquiries from foreign citizens requesting more information. I personally received emails and phone calls from citizens in France, South Africa and Nigeria, all interested in relocating to Dayton. So tonight we owe much gratitude to the more than 100 people who helped create this plan. Obviously, we cannot acknowledge everyone individually, but if you were part of the Welcome Dayton Plan committee, would you please rise? Thank you so much for helping make Dayton an example of what being a progressive city is all about.

By adopting this long-term strategy, Dayton will attract more residents and grow its small business base. It’s been proven time and time again that foreign-born nationals demonstrate greater entrepreneurial spirit because they see opportunity that others may not. When a person has the American Dream, they will find a way to succeed. And that American Dream is alive and well in Dayton, Ohio.

I’d like to acknowledge Mr. Islom Shakhbandarov of the Ahiska Turkish Community Center for working with and assisting the more than 300 Ahiska Turkish families that now call Dayton home. Islom, your leadership and love for America is truly inspiring and we could not have done this without you. Thank you.

Someone who really understands the goals of the Welcome Dayton Plan is City Commissioner Matt Joseph. Through his work with Sister Cities International, he has served as one of Dayton’s finest diplomats. Long before this plan was drafted, Commissioner Joseph was following its core principles and making new citizens feel welcome. Commissioner Joseph, thank you for all that you do for this city. It is a pleasure to work with you. Please stand up and be recognized.

Sometimes, in the midst of everyday life, something extraordinary happens. Something that forces us to put aside convention and shine the light of truth upon topics that were once considered too taboo to discuss. Commissioner Joey Williams recently did something remarkable that could be hailed as the best attempt in decades to bring closer our Police Department and the community it serves. He put together a group of diverse, dedicated people—the Community-Police Council that was able to openly discuss perceptions, reality and trust issues related to the working relationship between the police and Dayton’s neighborhoods. With the help of our Human Relations Council these ongoing meetings have led to some of the most positive strides yet made in improving the relationship and understanding between our safety forces and the community.

Also, a warrior in the fight for safe neighborhoods and improved relations between neighborhoods and Police is the legendary Commissioner Dean Lovelace, who for almost two decades has been working tirelessly for the citizens of Dayton.

Tonight, I’d to thank Commissioner Joey Williams and Commissioner Dean Lovelace for working so hard to make Dayton a strong, united city. Gentlemen, please stand up and be recognized.

These two examples demonstrate our willingness to recognize a need in the community and take an active leadership role in fulfilling that need. We are truly blessed to have so many citizens and community leaders committed to finding enterprising ways to facilitate future success for the City.

Commissioner Nan Whaley is one such leader. Commissioner Whaley was part of an independent group that formed very quickly and successfully implemented the concept of a street festival in the Oregon District centered around the NCAA First Four basketball tournament that has been hosted in Dayton for two and will be again in 2013. The one day event, sanctioned by the NCAA and officially named the NCAA First Four Festival will always be known as the "Big Hoopla" to this group of founders. Not only was the event a great success in terms of attendance, it also opened the eyes and minds of many people of influence, to ensure that more events of this nature can be held in Dayton in the future. Commissioner Whaley can't be here tonight but even in her absence, I want to thank her for her outstanding leadership and dedication to this community.

Commissioner Williams and Commissioner Whaley also saw an opportunity to resolve a long-standing issue in the Oregon District and helped bring together the business community and the residential communities in the process. After 18 long years, a solution was formulated in a matter of weeks and the Fifth St. business district is set to thrive and attract even more new businesses in the coming years.

Last year, I made it clear that if we were going to get anything done we needed to put aside political differences and work together. And, I am happy to say, we have done an excellent job at working together for the benefit of our citizens.

Because of this emphasis on teamwork, customer service is continuously improving at City Hall. Our main phone line – 333-4800 – now takes calls for a variety of service needs and has reduced the wait time for citizen calls. Water bills can now be paid online and up-to-date crime statistics can now be viewed by neighborhood at www.daytonohio.gov.

In the film “Wall Street,” actor Michael Douglas famously said ‘the most valuable commodity I know of is information.’ And we have successfully continued to make information more complete and transparent for our citizens. The City of Dayton Facebook page now has 9,400 “Likes,” compared to just 1,000 in 2010. Many of the local media stations with a broader audience have far less than this, and the local paper has just 4,400 more. The wonderful thing about this brave new world of social networking is that it’s free. 100% free. This gives us the ability to communicate with our citizens instantly and effectively — and at absolutely zero cost to the taxpayer. This allows us to communicate events and public relations information to these citizens the instant the information is released and even several times a day as needed. If you have not yet joined the City of Dayton’s Facebook page or visited the City of Dayton online, I urge you to do so at daytonohio.gov.

Dayton’s progress can also be seen in our recycling efforts. In 2009, the City collected around 170 tons a month of recyclable materials and paid $14 a ton to dispose of them. This time last year we were approaching 400 tons a month. Today we average over 500 tons a month and there is no disposal fee. That means that we are saving $19,000 every month in tipping fees at the landfill.

But now it is time to push a little harder. So, I pose these questions. Working together, why not form a coalition of municipalities and institutions that supplies 3000 tons of recyclables to recycling companies and have them pay us for the materials? Could the revenue generated be used for environmentally friendly economic development incentives instead of tax payer dollars?

For many years, Dayton was not ready for a do-it-yourself culture. But now, we are finding that communities and neighborhoods are embracing this idea, taking more responsibility for the quality of life in their own back yards. Community cleanups are being organized on a scale like we have never seen before. Citizens are learning how to organize these clean ups and how to access free resources to help. They are coordinating efforts with the City so that we can remove collected trash from the curb. People are claiming back their neighborhoods from the neglect of greedy landlords or unresponsive banks or mortgage holders by cutting grass on vacant properties, or devising ways to get it cut if they cannot do it themselves.

The idea of creating residential Special Improvement Districts was presented by my neighborhood association in 2007 and is now being considered in several Dayton neighborhoods as a means to protect those quality of life issues that so many of us see as being important. They are looking into self imposed assessments in order to establish special improvement districts so that neighborhood associations can address blight and improvement plans with the financial resources they need and provided by their very own residents. Mr. William Pace is leading this effort as president of the Mt. Vernon Neighborhood Association and I wish him luck.

In school, we are taught that evolution and change take a long time. However, if some very beneficial trends arise simultaneously, then the process naturally speeds up. Tonight, I can stand here and tell you this — Dayton is evolving, and the process is speeding up.

In addition to neighborhoods stepping up to the plate with self-leadership, we see rapidly growing renewed interest in downtown Dayton as a place for entertainment, as a place to live and as place to do business. A new generation of entrepreneurs and retailers are setting up shop downtown. Events such as the NCAA Tournament and Urban Nights have added to the downtown rebound. And, this September, a major music event, the Downtown Dayton Revival Festival, will bring national headliners — including Dayton’s legendary Guided By Voices — to three stages on our city streets.

Do you want proof that Downtown Dayton is experiencing a serious growth spurt? Look no further than to Mr. Charlie Simms, who is with us tonight. One year ago this suburban developer took a risk on Dayton. He wanted to build 18 townhouses over several years. I asked him how he thought he would do. He replied that he expected to sell three units over the next 12 months and maybe he could get the first eight built. Less than a year later, he has 15 of the 18 units sold and he is almost finished with the entire project.

And there is more of this growth coming. Last year, I asked several of our state legislators to look into why Dayton had no breweries and to question state laws that established prohibitive licensing fees. I must not have been the only person questioning this because the fee was reduced by half and I have been told that there may be as many as five brew pubs opening in the area by early next year. More evidence that the evolution is happening, and that Dayton is running more and more at the speed of business, rather than at the speed of bureaucracy.

Last year at this time, GE Aviation had just broken ground on its $51 million Dayton project, which will create an estimated 200 new jobs – very high quality jobs, by the way. I would encourage all of you to drive by today and see evolution in action, at the corner of Patterson Boulevard and Stewart Street. I hope we will be holding this event in that facility at this time next year.

For further evidence of Dayton’s evolution, consider this — for a few years, Forbes magazine included Dayton in its annual lists of dying or miserable cities. Yet, while three Ohio cities made this year’s Most Miserable Cities list, Dayton was not among them. Now, suddenly, Dayton is considered a “progressive” city, a change we made simply by changing our attitude and approach to business. We were able to break through the belief and barrier that says we need big money from outside in order to generate change.

Now that those outside Dayton increasingly view the city as being “progressive,” we are attracting even more attention. Press Coffee, a locally owned café on Wayne Avenue, was named by Zagat as one of the 10 Coolest Independent Coffee Shops In America. Local business owner Hilary Browning of Thistle Confections is attracting national praise for her handcrafted baked goods that she sells at downtown’s 2nd Street Market and via mail to customers throughout the country. This is grassroots, small business evolution in action.

Let's also consider all the new businesses that have opened within the last year — in the Oregon District, we have Basho Apparel, Lucky’s Tavern and Roost Italian restaurant. Planet Smoothie, Fusian Sushi, and J. Gumbo’s along the Brown Street business corridor. Rene’s Gourmet Creations, and the new Hospice center in the Wright-Dunbar neighborhood. There are many more throughout the city and the Belmont Business District just up the street is beginning to experience a new evolution.

The vast majority of new jobs are now created by small businesses and these are but a few examples that prove that Dayton’s economy is indeed on the move. We need to continue to market ourselves in a positive way and we need our citizens to realize that there is more good happening here than bad. We have now evolved into a city where people now tell me that there is too much to do in Dayton — talk about a great problem to have.

The City of Dayton is working hard to set the stage for those who are choosing to live, play and work in the center city. We have dedicated millions of dollars to street resurfacing this year and to aggressively seek funding from outside sources for major infrastructure needs. By the end of this year we will see major improvements to a number of our major thoroughfares. Already Brown Street, Patterson Blvd. and the Great Miami Blvd. are lined with orange barrels and construction equipment. These enhancements will create the welcoming environment for business and neighborhood growth.

This year, I appreciate the media more than I have in the past, because it seems they are evolving too. Channel 2 hosts the mid-day show “Living Dayton,” which puts a positive spin on the things happening around us. The Dayton Daily News has experienced a change in staff and thus a change in style that places accuracy before opinion and loyalties, and I know that many as well as myself really appreciate the change. With the media working with us and not at us, we can continue evolving into the world class city that we becoming at an even faster rate. Instead of being a bad city where some good things happen, the reality is we are a GREAT CITY where, just like anywhere else, some bad stuff occurs. If everyone starts to accept this we will evolve much faster and attract more businesses, jobs, people and excitement.

How we all market ourselves, the city and this region is important because it will determine the end result. There is a saying in sales that I heard 20 years ago—“If you think you can, you will. If you think you can't, you're right.”

But let me be clear on one thing — I get just as frustrated as all of you at how slow progress and change can be. I am not going to stand here and paint you a picture of Dayton that is all sunshine and roses. It’s not. I don’t like it any more than you that we can’t run out and knock down every single vacant, burnt-out house in our neighborhoods. I have two derelict houses behind my home and one burned out across the street that even I can’t get torn down. I don’t like it that there are citizens in this city who still cannot find a good paying job. But the thing we all have to remember is that real, lasting change takes time.

Most economists predict it’s going to take at least five to ten years for our nation’s employment to return to the level it was at before the Great Recession. But after decades of decline, Dayton is on the rebound. Believe it. We are moving forward. Things are happening. We just need to maintain our present course — because it’s working. We need to make sure our economic base is fertile enough for businesses to grow and expand by not bogging them down with red tape. We need to work together to ensure our neighborhoods are safe and clean by recommitting ourselves to block watch programs and cleanups. And you, the citizens, need to understand that Dayton is your city. We don’t run it — you do.

We work hard every day to provide you with Police and Fire services and streets to drive on, but it’s largely up to you to take it from there.

I recently opened my dictionary and looked up the word ‘prosperity.’ The word is defined as “Prosperous state or condition; successful progress; success.” Let me say this. If we take the five facts that I laid out last year and we 1) accept that we have to take care of ourselves without relying on outside influences that we have no control over, 2)Continue to reinvent ourselves and never stop doing it, 3) Work together for common goals and not at each other just to see the other side fail, 4) take advantage of those traits that will speed up progress and not dwell on those that will not, and 5) believe that success will breed more success.

Charlie Simms is prospering, so what does he want to do? Prosper some more and contribute to the greater success of Dayton. That will inspire others to do the same. Tomorrow is Urban Nights. If you have never been, you need to. If you are afraid of Downtown, don't be. Not tomorrow. Go and see what a vibrant successful city looks like and tell me afterwards that you would never want to see that every week.

If we continue to push forward and continue to create activity, then the success and prosperity will be the natural result of hard work. Always remember, no one ever wants to ride the coattails of failure and we saw too much of this in the past. Moving forward will certainly be interesting, because people come from far and wide to share in the good times when success has been achieved.



Ladies and gentlemen, the success of Dayton depends on you. You are the true leaders of this community. You are the workers who drive this economy. You are the ones who hold the true power to determine if Dayton sinks or swims. I believe in this city. And I believe in you. And I believe that we are making great strides in returning Dayton to her former splendor as one of America’s most innovative cities. Tonight, let us pledge to continue to work together as we continue to move our city forward.

Thank you and God bless.

Policy and Proceedure

It is funny but when you are "Independent" and not affiliated with either the Republican Party or the Democratic Party and you are the mayor, you are held to a much higher standard than any of your predecessors ever were. Expectations of your achievements are greater. Since this is a presidential election year the daggers are already starting to emerge. The Democrats are already questioning what I have done in two and a half years. I was told that I am a good ribbon cutter but I have done nothing policy wise. My reply was quick and to the point. "Do you think we would have Internet access to commission agendas, police reports or the ability to pay water bills and fines online? What about increasing recycling efforts, the Welcome Dayton plan, municipal employee appreciation week, a push for housing and more entertainment downtown? Have you noticed a change in the way some of our media outlets are reporting the news? How about GE Aviation? I suspect they would be anywhere else but Dayton had I not been elected in 2009." None of this took new policies or rewriting old ones. After all a policy is a piece of paper that outlines what should happen and often it gets in the way of real progress. In 2009 Dayton was called a dying city. Two years later it is a progressive city. Just because I don't brag about my role in many of these changes does not mean that I didn't have some role to play. In most cases the role is simply to influence and inspire others to do their very best at making positive things happen. I focus on results and not who gets the credit. Right now in Dayton I would say that we are getting results. Policy and procedure will never generate quick results. Taking action does. So the next time I hear that I have done nothing around policy, I can say that people who focus on devising policy before taking action end up being caretakers. I am simply a producer of results. Besides, policy is easier to develop around results versus speculation!

Third Year and Now Region Wide!

Dayton Mayor Gary D. Leitzell has announced details of the third annual Municipal Employee Appreciation Week, running Sunday, April 1, through Saturday, April 7, 2012. During this week, municipal and public employees of local governments throughout the region will receive special discounts at a variety of local businesses when they show their ID badges. Participating businesses include:

Airway Billiards, 2611 Needmore Road—10% on food
All Cuts Barber Shop, 3405 West Siebenthaler Avenue—10% discount
Angel Heaven, 11 N. Miami Street West Milton—10% discount
Baker’s Heating & Cooling, 2500 N. Main Street—10% discount
Barnsider Restaurant, 5202 N Main Street —15% discount (April 1 only)
Butler’s Concrete LLC, 937-835-3194 or 937-307-3856—10% discount
Cachet-G! E., 133 E. Third St.—10 to 20 % discount on regular priced items excluding cosmetics
Champion Auto Service, 1524 Milburn Ave.—10% discount
Christopher’s Restaurant, 2318 E. Dorothy Lane—10% discount
Color Tile and Carpets Plus, 3609 Linden Ave.—10% discount
Computer MD, 937-436-2972/937-604-5452—10% discount
Desserts By Ann K, 600 E. Second Street—10% discount
Dayton Grand Hotel, 11 S. Ludlow Street—10% discount on rooms
Dublin Pub, 300 Wayne Ave.—10% discount
Randall Dwillis Massage Therapy, 8529 N.Dixie Dr.--$10 off massage services
Ghostlight Coffee, 1201 Wayne Ave.—free size upgrade (coffee and tea)
Goodyear Tire, 21 Otterbein Ave.—10% discount
Goodyear Tire, N. Main Street—10% discount
J Gumbo’s, 1822 Brown Street—10% discount
Main Hardware, 3016 N. Main Street—10% discount
Mary Ann’s Kitchen, 3651 Salem Ave.—10% discount
Mendelson’s, 340 E. 1st St.—10% discount
Ohio Automatic Transmission, 3164 Salem Ave.—10% discount
Patterson Chase, 460 Patterson Road—15% discount
Pepito’s, 2412 Catalpa; 3618 Wilmington Pike—10% discount
Price Clothing Store, 4th & S. Jefferson St.—10% off on men’s clothing
Rut’s Eatery, 32 James H. McGee Blvd.—10% discount
St. Anne’s Violin Shoppe, 1500 E. Fifth Street—20% discount
Smokin’ Bar-B-Que, 200 E Fifth Street—10% discount
Submarine House, 3598 Salem Ave.—10% discount
Top Of The Line Salon & Barber, 2836 Salem Ave.—10% discount
Top of The Market, 32 Webster St.—10% discount
Towe’s & Associates CPA’s, 415 S. Miami St., West Milton—25% discount
Uno’s Chicago Bar & Grill, 126 N. Main St.—15% discount
Upper Deck Tavern, 2652 Blanchard Ave.—10% discount on all entrees
Xclusive Cuts, 4321 N. Main St.—10% discount

This particular week was chosen because Dayton was settled on April 1, 1796.

“Employee Appreciation Week is a way of acknowledging the hard-working men and women who serve the citizens of this community,” Mayor Leitzell said. “Dayton’s small business community really stepped up to show our local government employees how much their work is appreciated, whether it’s plowing streets during the winter, filling potholes in spring, patrolling neighborhoods, or addressing citizen concerns. We hope this small gesture—which won’t cost taxpayer’s a cent—conveys a big ‘thank you’.”

During this time, Mayor Leitzell asks all citizens to show their appreciation for the entire region's civil service workers by waving and saying “thank you.”

Municipal Employee Appreciation Week was put together with the assistance of Mr. William Pace, volunteer public liaison to the Mayor.

Keeping Up

It was always my intention to keep up regular posts on this sight but it seems that my time is extremely limited these days. My wife and I still home educate our daughter, the house repairs have slowed down tremendously but are still happening and this part time Mayor role still absorbs an average of 30 hours a week. In reality it is more, because whenever I am out in public, including grocery shopping, I am at work because people recognize me and want to talk.

The big event this past week was the visit to by two of the most powerful people in the free world. We had the President of the United States and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom arrive at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Air Force One as part of a diplomatic visit. The President wanted to take Prime Minister Cameron to the NCAA First Four basketball game on opening night at the University of Dayton Arena.

I was one of only six dignitaries invited to greet the pair as they exited the airplane. We had the Governor of Ohio, an Air force four star general, a three star general, a colonel, the mayor of Cincinnati and myself lined up to shake hands and make small talk with the two VIPs.
So everyone wants to know what we talked about. Not much I am afraid. I simply welcomed the pair to Dayton and acknowledged that they had arrived in excellent weather. I also stated that I hoped that they would enjoy the basketball game. The President made a comment about this being a good region to the Prime Minister who confessed to me that he had never been to see a basketball game before so this was a new experience for him.

Following this event I attended the Niagara Foundation Abrahamic Traditions dinner event at the Turkish American Society facility at 2601 E. Fourth St. I had committed to attending this event several weeks earlier and I am known in the community for keeping appointments that I commit to.

Some have criticized me for not going to the basket ball game with the president. Well, the truth is this. The White House could only secure a certain number of seats at the game for the visit, the secret service, students and the governor were invited. I was not provided a ticket. So I certainly did not brush off the President. The citizens at the dinner event certainly did not expect me to show up, but I did as promised. The citizens of Dayton employ me. Not the White House.

Does the Media Hype Homicides?

I was just interviewed by Don Hammond from Fox 45 as a follow up to my statement last Friday where I made a comment on TV. That comment was "The only reason people are afraid to come out is because the media hypes homicides."

You can access Dayton crime statistics here and they clearly show that the overall trend in crime is down. I have never interviewed with Don Hammond before and I can honestly say that I won't interview with him again. Here is why. Mr. Hammond started the interview very well by asking me some decent questions about other subjects. He then wanted me to discuss crime statistics. Then he went into intimidation mode. He pressed me on my statement above and his body language became more aggressive. I remained calm for much of the interview but he would not back down. Making statements like "You said the ONLY reason people don't come out is because the MEDIA hypes homicides." Mr. Hammond wouldn't accept my answers, especially when I stood by my original statement. He badgered me because he wanted one of two reactions. To back peddle and admit that I was wrong or to do as I did so he could get some excellent footage. He did get some excellent footage because I finally got disgusted with his interview tactics and walked off. I suspect this will make an intersting story on tonight's news because there are a lot of excellent sound bytes. I'll bet they will start the story with the ending footage and even hype their interview with the mayor so that they get better ratings. However, unless you view the unedited interview in it's entirety you are not getting the story told fairly and accurately. So I am challenging Fox 45 to show this interview entirely if they wish to run this story! After all "Fair and Accurate" is how Mr. Hammond stated that he reports the news.

Welcome Dayton Plan - How it started

We have been getting some national attention as well as some international attention lately as a result of the commission unanimously approving the "Welcome Dayton" plan which is geared towards making Dayton attractive towards foreign born citizens. If you were to Google "Dayton immigrant friendly" then you would find many of the articles about the plan and how some people praise us for the initiative and others condemn us on the grounds that we will attract illegal immigrants to our city. I have found that the best way to explain why we did this is to tell the true story about how it came about. When people hear it they say that it really makes sense and realize that our decision had nothing to do with dealing with illegal immigrants at all.

Truth. We had some issues in 2009 regarding unfair housing practices with regards to the Hispanic community that were being investigated by our Human Relations Council. However, on May 6, 2010 I was invited to the Northeast Priority Board meeting which is a district type neighborhood meeting involving several neighborhoods in the northeast section of the Corporation limits of the City of Dayton. I don't think I was expected to actually show up but I did and sat near the back of the room. I was introduced to the attendees towards the end of the meeting and asked to say a few words. When done, a man with a Russian accent asked me some questions. He tried to explain how he and about 4000 other families arrived in the U.S.A. from Russia. He described his people as Ahiska Turks.

I handed this gentleman a business card and invited him to call my office to make an appointment to meet with me. He did. I was smart enough to invite the City Manager to sit in on this meeting. The Ahiska Turkish community had two asks of us. To help them acquire a community center and to help them establish a cemetery. They invited us to integrate into their community which consisted of some 300 families in Dayton. They were buying up property in the Old North Dayton neighborhood and renovating houses. They had priorities. Number one seemed to be owning a home that no on could take from them. The City Manager and I discussed the fact that the very worst thing that could happen if we helped this group was that 4000 families of Ahiska Turks would relocate to Dayton and fix up one third of our vacant housing stock. The best thing that would happen is that they would start businesses to support their own community and then grow to support the greater Dayton community. Helping them made absolute sense since they were here anyway and doing good things.

What happened next was phenomenal. The City Manager asked our Human Relations Council to investigate what it would take to make Dayton "immigrant friendly" and attract opportunists and entrepreneurs. We discovered that immigrants are at least 2X more likely to succeed at small business than a national born resident and we had groups of people here in Dayton from all over the world who were here legally and striving towards the American dream. Thus began a series of meetings and the formation of several committees to formulate a strategy to facilitate the success of foreign born nationals in Dayton. That is it. The concept came out of a desire to facilitate the success of groups of people who are already here and now, primarily because of timing, we have been labeled by the media as being somewhat progressive because we are going against the grain of what other states in the U.S. are doing. Some other states are passing laws that are restrictive to illegal immigrants which makes those areas unattractive to legal immigrants as well because legal immigrants can be profiled and suffer the hardships of prejudice.

I continue to point out that historically, cities that embraced diversity of culture tended to thrive for hundreds of years until the leaders of the cities adopted elitist attitudes towards race and culture that destroyed the stability of those cities. Two cities that come to mind are Byzantium which became Constantinople and ultimately Istanbul and Cordoba in Spain. Constantinople was the Capitol city of the Eastern Roman Empire and out lasted Rome by 500 years. Cordoba thrived under the Moors as long as religious differences were ignored. Dayton is truly a world class city. We have world class facilities here and we certainly have world class people. Now is the time to recognize that trait and to develop it to it's full potential. Open minds open doors to opportunists. Here in Dayton opportunity knocks!

Old Tricks?

Our local newspaper has supposedly changed how they report news. I was excited when this was announced and felt that if they can maintain the new approach over a long period of time, it would be good for the entire region. I was told by some of their staff that they would no longer endorse candidates or pick sides when it came to non-partisan races. Today, they printed a story that was factual but it is very one sided, and barely "newsworthy." The story is about one of the independent candidates running for city commission. You can read it HERE

Mr. Pace announced two years ago that he would be running for city commission. He has never hidden that fact and has been aggressive in his fund raising efforts for the last two years. I would like to add an element to this story that the newspaper has failed to report. The amazing thing that was not reported was how an African American was able to set up his own production company in downtown Dayton which employed several people and generated over $400,000 a year without receiving a dime from the city or any government agency. Between 2002 and 2009 over two thirds of his advertisers and sponsors either went out of business or moved out of the city. His personal income plummeted but he managed to stay in business and only owe $2000 in state income tax. With regards to the foreclosure issue, Mr. Pace has first-hand dealings with an issue that millions of Americans have experienced, and he also understands issues dealing with unresponsive banks.

So the real questions that need to be asked are these; Why did the paper publish this story less than a week before the election when the information has always been available on the public record. Some of it for over two decades. Is this really a news story? The debates are all over and Mr. Pace has no way to rebut this story. The other question to ask is; What is the relationship between the journalist who wrote the story and one of the incumbent commission candidates up for re-election?
To me this reeks of the same old, same old that must be changed. Whether this was intentional or not it sends a bad message. It sends a message that reporting is back to business as usual at the local paper and that one political party is up to the same old lame tricks that everyone is sick and tired of. If this was intentional, shame on you DDN. If it wasn't then open your eyes and see what it is that you do to ruin yourself.

First Time for Everything

I have been in office for 22 months now and today I had to do something that I have never done before. I had to ask a citizen to leave my office. When they wouldn't leave at my request, I had to have our security guard come and escort them out. This does not make me proud. In fact it disturbs me a little. The truth is that I rarely get angry but someone today just pushed me overboard. There are always two sides to a story. I try to be fair when I describe mine. Let me start by stating that I go out of my way to make myself extremely accessible to our citizens.
I had a call to the office from someone with issues with our water billing. This person owns rental property so I could almost predict what the issues would be. They have owned the property for seven years, they have issue now. I have heard it before. The complaint is that we charge a meter fee whether water is consumed or not. This person feels that if the water is not being used, they should not have to pay a service fee. Fair enough, but you can request to have the meter removed for a $30 fee and installed again at a later date for $30. I informed the person of this but it was not the answer that they wanted to hear. The next issue that was predictable was going to be the one where we charge the water bill to the property owner if a tenant doesn't pay the water bill. The person was somewhat confrontational. It was almost as if anything I was saying was not going to be acceptable. So I made a clear concise statement. It went something like this; "If you own rental property and it generates income then there are certain expenses associated with a business that you need to account for. If you don't want your tenants to f**k you then you need to have control of the water bill. I have a rental and I pay the bill. We factor the cost into the rent." This person was offended by my use of one of the oldest slang words in the English language. Instead of telling me that they would prefer that I refrain from using such words, they said rather confidently "I am recording this conversation."
My reaction was simple. " Really?" I said. "Then you can leave my office."
" But I have some other issues." they replied.
"You can turn off the recorder or you can leave then." I stated.
"But,but ..."
"You can turn off the recorder or you can leave then." I stated again and I believe one more time.
"I have no recorder." Came the reply.
Now this person has either just lied to me once or they have lied to me twice. My reply was "You have breached my trust, leave my office now!"
They would not leave so I had security called to escort them from city hall.

Now let me state this. I really go out of my way to be accessible. I don't judge people and I listen to what they have to say. I have no problems being recorded if you declare in advance that you wish to do so. However, when you declare in the middle of a dialogue that you are recording me because you don't like what I have to say, that tells me that you made a conscious decision in advance that you were not going to agree with my statements and that you have an agenda. Your agenda includes wanting to embarrass me at some later date for whatever purpose you wish to serve. Fortunately I have never been ashamed of anything I have ever said. Being recorded hasn't stopped me from using risque language in the past either. In fact I have been called out for using two eight letter and one five letter cuss words that were used to describe me in a comments section of the local paper last year. People know that I am real, I don't pretend to be better than anyone else and I have never been afraid to speak my mind.
So to the person in question. If I offended you, I am sorry. However your violation of my trust offended me in a more permanent way.

Welcome Dayton Plan

Tonight we vote on the "Welcome Dayton" plan which will set us on a path to becoming a city where we facilitate the success of foreign born residents. Some extreme conservatives are opposed to the plan because they have entirely set their focus on the issue of illegal Hispanic immigrants and not on the thousands of legal immigrants that are already located here from many different nations. After all the citizens speak in favor or opposition I will be reading the following statement. It is posted here so that the media can refer to it if they want to quote my statement.

Too often it seems that people read a paragraph in the newspaper or see a 30-second preview on the evening news and presume they know everything they need to know about a subject. The Welcome Dayton plan has been slowly and carefully developed over the course of this year, with input from the Human Relations Council, Police, and various community organizations. The plan was conceived out of the necessity to support foreign born citizens who want to succeed in the Dayton region.

Our universities, hospitals and tech industries are recruiting to fill highly skilled positions. The Welcome Dayton Plan was formulated to help Dayton become a global city by attracting the best and the brightest. This plan is designed to enhance the potential of Dayton as a competitor in the global economy by attracting immigrants who bring new ideas, new perspective, and new talent to our workforce. In order to reverse the decades-long trend of economic decline in this city, we need to think globally and recruit the very best from around the world.

This is NOT about harboring illegal immigrants or drawing illegal immigrants into Dayton. We understand there are problems with people entering the U.S. illegally. The Welcome Dayton Plan leaves federal immigration law enforcement to the feds, and instead focuses on making our community one that treats all people kindly, fairly and humanely. If you are an illegal immigrant, you will be subjected to the same Federal laws as anyone else.

My office has received several phone calls and emails from citizens who are completely misreading what is really contained within the plan. If you have not fully read it, then I suggest you do before you openly criticize it. This is a living document that directs policy. With it, we are committed to facilitating the successful integration of foreign born residents and their children to be productive citizens of the city of Dayton. Failure to do this would only hinder Dayton’s economic recovery.

History has demonstrated that cities that embrace all people and cultures thrive until one culture deems itself better. It is then that they fail. Byzantium outlasted Rome by 500 years and became Constantinople. Cordoba in Spain flourished during the occupation by the Moors because the leadership there ignored religious differences. We could also look towards successful centers of learning such as Baghdad and even Timbuktu.

History proves that closed minds and resistance to change only results in failure. To those citizens who are against the Welcome Dayton plan—instead of condemning something that you didn't participate in, volunteer to help us make it better.

Mayors Walks

Next Mayor’s Walk: Tuesday, May 31, Five Points

Release Date: Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Contact: Jason Webber, Office of the Mayor, 937-333-3653

Mayor Gary Leitzell will conduct the next Mayor’s Walk on Tuesday, May 31, in the Five Points area. The two-hour walk begins at 5:30 p.m. and will convene at the Tabernacle Baptist Church, 380 S. Broadway St. Parking is available at that address.

Mayor’s Walks are opportunities for citizens to informally discuss neighborhood issues and progress with Mayor Leitzell and City of Dayton staff. Mayor Leitzell encourages residents and community leaders from across the Dayton region to participate.

Additional Mayor’s Walks for 2011:

Monday, June 6—Jane Reece
Monday, June 13— Five Oaks
Monday, June 20—Westwood
Monday, June 27—Sandalwood Park
Monday, July 11—Belmont Business District